Value-Based Vs Pragmatic Approach to the Sustainable Development of Energy Sector Companies in the Context of Industry 5.0

The sustainable development has become acutely relevant in the last decade, and countries are allocating resources to decarbonization of energy and carbon-intensive production and technological processes. Since the signing of the Paris Agreement in 2015, the fourth energy transition has become a key challenge to achieving the goal of keeping global warming to 1.5 °C. This is primarily due to the dominant role of energy sector in the emission of climate-active gases, which accounts for more than 75% of greenhouse gas emissions worldwide, what causes the interest in studying the involvement of energy companies in ESG-agenda (environmental, social and governance). Therefore, in the context of the formation of Industry 5.0, along with achieving economic goals, digital transformation is aimed at solving social and environmental problems of sustainable development. Companies around the world set ambitious goals, which are published annually in non-financial reports; however, setting goals does not mean achieving them, but only improving their image in the eyes of counterparties, clients, and the state. The relevance of this article is due to the ongoing discussion of experts are the principles of sustainable development integrated into the business model of companies (strategic approach) or is ESG-agenda still about greenwashing (pragmatic approach). In this regard, the research assumption is that companies, despite the ongoing development of Industry 5.0, take a more pragmatic approach to sustainable development. Presumably, with negative changes in external business environment, companies can abandon or change their sustainable development goals to less ambitious ones without explaining their position to stakeholders. The selection of the energy companies is due to the fact that they have a significant environmental and social impact, are one of the leaders in integration principles of Industry 5.0 and they also publish non-financial reporting according to international standards that allow comparing the data. To confirm the assumption, the largest companies in the energy sector and their public non-financial reports in the area of social and environmental goals were analyzed in the period from 2017 to 2022. Non-financial reports of energy companies were examined over time according to such criteria as goal-setting in the field of social and environmental aspects of sustainable development, their changes over the analyzed period, the availability of quantitative data confirming the implementation of the goals, the nature of changes in the goal-setting area (more ambitious goals or, on the contrary, refusal or relaxation of previously set goals). The results of the study confirm the assumption and the need for government regulation and the formation of an institutional environment for the development of a value-based approach to sustainable development by business structures.