IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/p/hal/journl/hal-04591317.html
   My bibliography  Save this paper

Restoring trust in ESG investing through the adoption of just transition ethics

Author

Listed:
  • Aoife M Foley

    (University of Manchester [Manchester])

  • Raphael Heffron

    (TREE - Transitions Energétiques et Environnementales - UPPA - Université de Pau et des Pays de l'Adour - CNRS - Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique, CAM - University of Cambridge [UK])

  • Dlzar Al Kez

    (University of Manchester [Manchester], QUB - Queen's University [Belfast])

  • Dylan D Furszyfer del Rio

    (University of Sussex)

  • Celine Mcinerney

    (UCC - University College Cork)

  • Andrew Welfle

    (University of Manchester [Manchester])

Abstract

The prominent growth in environmental, social and governance (ESG) investment is evident, with the number of global assets managed sustainably more than doubled over the last decade. This trend is expected to continue until 2030. This type of financial data is positive but given the United Nations stated 'climate emergency' and 'climate survival' in society today, there needs to be an even greater acceleration of growth in ESG investment. Unfortunately, significant negativity has emerged on ESG in recent years. This 'Cutting Edge' study explores the reasons why and how ESG investment has veered off the journey towards enabling society to achieve both its targets under the 2030 United Nations Sustainable Energy Agenda and the 2015 Paris Agreement. It examines the factors prompting leading multinational companies, particularly in the energy and food sectors, to shift their corporate strategies. The key message advanced is that ESG frameworks and guidelines are not problematic; rather, the issue lies in the practice of ethics in decision-making within corporations. Addressing this ethical challenge, which is at the heart of ESG practices, across different professions and disciplines can rebuild trust among stakeholders in ESG investing. This form of interdisciplinary ‘just transition ethics' can re-orient us back on the journey towards a just and sustainable world

Suggested Citation

  • Aoife M Foley & Raphael Heffron & Dlzar Al Kez & Dylan D Furszyfer del Rio & Celine Mcinerney & Andrew Welfle, 2024. "Restoring trust in ESG investing through the adoption of just transition ethics," Post-Print hal-04591317, HAL.
    • Handle: RePEc:hal:journl:hal-04591317
    DOI: 10.1016/j.rser.2024.114557
    Note: View the original document on HAL open archive server: https://hal.science/hal-04591317
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://hal.science/hal-04591317/document
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1016/j.rser.2024.114557?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Eduardo Duque-Grisales & Javier Aguilera-Caracuel, 2021. "Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) Scores and Financial Performance of Multilatinas: Moderating Effects of Geographic International Diversification and Financial Slack," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 168(2), pages 315-334, January.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Chung, Yessica C.Y. & Kunene, Noxolo & Chang, Hung-Hao, 2024. "Renewable energy certificates and firm value: Empirical evidence in Taiwan," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 184(C).
    2. Tian, Zengrui & Zhu, Bingsheng & Lu, Yuzhong, 2023. "The governance of non-state shareholders and corporate ESG: Empirical evidence from China," Finance Research Letters, Elsevier, vol. 56(C).
    3. Ren, Xiaohang & Zeng, Gudian & Zhao, Yang, 2023. "Digital finance and corporate ESG performance: Empirical evidence from listed companies in China," Pacific-Basin Finance Journal, Elsevier, vol. 79(C).
    4. Shakil, Mohammad Hassan, 2021. "Environmental, social and governance performance and financial risk: Moderating role of ESG controversies and board gender diversity," Resources Policy, Elsevier, vol. 72(C).
    5. Chen, Xun-Qi & Ma, Chao-Qun & Ren, Yi-Shuai & Lei, Yu-Tian & Huynh, Ngoc Quang Anh & Narayan, Seema, 2023. "Explainable artificial intelligence in finance: A bibliometric review," Finance Research Letters, Elsevier, vol. 56(C).
    6. Veeravel, V & Murugesan, Vijaya Prabhagar & Narayanamurthy, Vijayakumar, 2024. "Does ESG disclosure really influence the firm performance? Evidence from India," The Quarterly Review of Economics and Finance, Elsevier, vol. 95(C), pages 193-202.
    7. Narula, Radhika & Rao, Purnima & Kumar, Satish & Matta, Rahul, 2024. "ESG scores and firm performance- evidence from emerging market," International Review of Economics & Finance, Elsevier, vol. 89(PA), pages 1170-1184.
    8. Sun, Weizheng & Chen, Shuning & Jiao, Yuqing & Feng, Xu, 2024. "How does ESG constrain corporate earnings management? Evidence from China," Finance Research Letters, Elsevier, vol. 61(C).
    9. Wang, Kai & Li, Tingting & San, Ziyao & Gao, Hao, 2023. "How does corporate ESG performance affect stock liquidity? Evidence from China," Pacific-Basin Finance Journal, Elsevier, vol. 80(C).
    10. Chao Li & Mian Wu & Wenli Huang, 2023. "Environmental, Social, and Governance Performance and Enterprise Dynamic Financial Behavior: Evidence from Panel Vector Autoregression," Emerging Markets Finance and Trade, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 59(2), pages 281-295, January.
    11. Chun, Wootae & Wang, Zhan & Gon Kim, Hyun, 2024. "Do environmental regulations drive MNEs’ equity ownership? Considering the impact of exogenous shocks on MNEs’ cross-border acquisitions," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 174(C).
    12. Rojo-Suárez, Javier & Alonso-Conde, Ana B. & Gonzalez-Ruiz, Juan David, 2024. "Does sustainability improve financial performance? An analysis of Latin American oil and gas firms," Resources Policy, Elsevier, vol. 88(C).
    13. Zhang, Jiawei & Li, Yuan & Xu, Hanwen & Ding, Yi, 2023. "Can ESG ratings mitigate managerial myopia? Evidence from Chinese listed companies," International Review of Financial Analysis, Elsevier, vol. 90(C).
    14. Asif Saeed & Umara Noreen & Akbar Azam & Muhammad Sohail Tahir, 2021. "Does CSR Governance Improve Social Sustainability and Reduce the Carbon Footprint: International Evidence from the Energy Sector," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(7), pages 1-16, March.
    15. Kumari Juddoo & Issam Malki & Sudha Mathew & Sheeja Sivaprasad, 2023. "An impact investment strategy," Review of Quantitative Finance and Accounting, Springer, vol. 61(1), pages 177-211, July.
    16. Juhee Hwang & Hyuna Kim & Dongjin Jung, 2021. "The Effect of ESG Activities on Financial Performance during the COVID-19 Pandemic—Evidence from Korea," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(20), pages 1-17, October.
    17. Chai, Shanglei & Cao, Mengjun & Li, Qiang & Ji, Qiang & Liu, Zuankuo, 2023. "Exploring the nexus between ESG disclosure and corporate sustainable growth: Moderating role of media attention," Finance Research Letters, Elsevier, vol. 58(PC).
    18. Yavuz GÜL & Ceren ALTUNTAŞ, 2024. "Do ESG Ratings Affect Stock Prices? The Case of Developed and Emerging Stock Markets," Sosyoekonomi Journal, Sosyoekonomi Society, issue 32(60).
    19. Victoria Pistikou & Floros Flouros & Georgios A. Deirmentzoglou & Konstantina K. Agoraki, 2023. "Sustainability Reporting: Examining the Community Impact of the S&P500 Companies," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 15(18), pages 1-25, September.
    20. Xiyan Gu & Yingjun Zhu & Jingxia Zhang, 2023. "Toward sustainable port development: an empirical analysis of China’s port industry using an ESG framework," Palgrave Communications, Palgrave Macmillan, vol. 10(1), pages 1-14, December.

    More about this item

    Keywords

    Environmental; ESG factors; Ethics; Global finance; Just transition; Sustainable finance; social and governance UN SDGs United;
    All these keywords.

    NEP fields

    This paper has been announced in the following NEP Reports:

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:hal:journl:hal-04591317. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: CCSD (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://hal.archives-ouvertes.fr/ .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.