Understanding resource deployment efficiency for ESG and financial performance: A DEA approach

COVID-19 has stimulated additional research interest on economic sustainability and ESG in both academia and industry. This study adopts a DEA approach to examine the efficiency of achieving ESG targets and their relationships with financial performance. Using MSCI ESG data from 2015 to 2019 on 1108 Chinese firms, we examine the ESG proportional and pillar mix efficiencies. The dominant strategies for our sampled firms are to improve overall ESG performance by enhancing the E and S pillars through sacrificing G’s performance. The second result shows a positive relationship between proportional efficiency and financial performance while a mixed relationship between pillar mix efficiency and financial performance. However, for the technology sector, there exists some trade-offs between ESG performance and financial performance. Specifically, relative to non-technology firms, improving proportional and pillar mix efficiencies for technology firms could result in some sacrifice in stock valuation.     

Integrating Environmental,Social and Governance (ESG) Disclosure for a Sustainable Development: An Australian Study

Addressing environmental, social and governance (ESG) issues has become a critical part of business strategy. This article explores the extent of ESG reporting of metal and mining sector companies listed in the Australian Securities Exchange to determine the nature of ESG indicators in use in the sector. The current study argues that stakeholder engagement is the key to enhance company environmental policy and sustainable development. According to the results of this study, ESG reporting motives are highly influenced by reporting regulations. Given the diversity in reporting of ESG, comparability of ESG strategic performance is problematic. This study contributes towards developing an ESG disclosure index, which companies could use as a legitimacy tool that external stakeholders could use to reliably measure and compare the ESG performance of companies. It also reveals there is an increased demand for more empirical research on integration of sustainability into strategic planning process. Copyright © 2016 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd and ERP Environment     

Corporate stakeholders,corporate valuation and ESG

In addition to explicit contracts, corporations issue their stakeholders implicit claims, including fair treatment of employees and the promise of continuing service to customers. Corporate value is created by selling these implicit claims for more than it costs to honour them. Recently, a new class of non-investor stakeholders, related to environmental, social and governance (ESG) issues, has arisen. Although many ESG advocates stress their role in creating shareholder value, they do not explain how this value creation occurs. This paper shows that implicit claims provide a critical link that ties non-investor stakeholders and ESG to shareholder value, both its creation and its possible destruction.     

Does the severity of a client’s negative environmental,social and governance reputation affect audit effort and audit quality?

In recent years, investors have begun to value companies’ reputations through their environmental, social, and governance (ESG) practices. ESG risk can affect business processes and controls and can heighten financial risk and threaten a firm’s survival. This study examines whether and how the severity of media coverage of a firm’s negative ESG issues (tainted ESG reputation) is associated with audit effort and audit quality. I find that auditors manage the higher expected engagement risk conveyed by tainted ESG reputation by applying higher audit effort. Next, I observe that the increased effort is associated with auditors likely detecting and requiring adjustments for material misstatements and that tainted ESG reputation is associated with fewer misstatements (i.e., reduces poor audit quality). The association between tainted ESG reputation and audit quality is driven primarily by increased audit report lag, not by increased audit fees. Further, I find that tainted ESG reputation is positively associated with audit effort and reduces poor audit quality for up to three years. The results also show that the audit effort and audit quality effect vary across the three components of ESG.     

The effect of cross-listing on the environmental,social, and governance performance of firms

We propose that cross-listing is associated with better environmental, social, and governance (ESG) performance, because cross-listed firms adopt ESG practices to mitigate the liability of foreignness (LOF) in foreign financial markets. Institutionalization processes have made ESG practices important for managing challenges associated with the LOF. With tests involving the S&P Global 1200 index, we show that cross-listing improves corporate social responsibility (CSR; i.e., social and environmental dimensions) but not corporate governance. The effects of cross-listing on CSR also depend on investor protection regimes of listing destinations: Stronger regimes correspond with poorer CSR performance, suggesting that they limit managerial discretion.     

企业ESG表现会影响审计意见吗?

ESG水平已成为新时期企业高质量发展的重要体现之一,但是有关ESG表现的信息价值特征依然有待理论探索。据此,基于重要的信息中介,探索审计师如何依据企业ESG表现出具审计意见。研究发现,企业ESG表现越好,审计师越倾向于发表标准审计意见。作用机制表明,ESG表现较好的公司经营风险和重大错报风险较低,审计师更可能出具标准审计意见。异质性检验显示,在环境规制力度较强的地区、内部控制质量较差、分析师关注较少以及机构投资者持股比例较低的企业中,ESG表现对标准审计意见的正向影响更显著。进一步分析发现,企业ESG表现越好,审计投入越少,审计师收取的审计费用越低。结论为ESG的财务信息价值提供了理论依据。     

ESG表现对企业财务绩效的影响研究

ESG已成为衡量企业表现的重要指标。研究企业ESG评级对企业绩效的影响,有利于激发企业的ESG意识,使企业积极承担ESG披露责任,弥合投资者与企业的信息不对称。构建固定效应模型,以2010—2020年A股上市公司为研究样本,对企业污染程度的异质性、企业性质、区域发展程度等进行进一步测试,考察企业ESG评级与企业财务业绩的关系及信息透明的机制效应。实证表明：(1)良好的ESG性能对企业业绩有直接的促进作用;(2)企业信息透明度为其机制;(3)ESG表现与企业绩效的关系受企业污染程度、企业性质、区域经济发展水平的影响,低污染、非国有、东部地区及非省会城市企业ESG评级更能显著提升企业绩效。根据以上结论,本文同时提供决策可借鉴的经验。