Analyzing the Sentiment of Tweets Regarding Sustainability Practices to Predict Stock Performance

Abstract

In recent years, sustainability has entered the mainstream consciousness of citizens, policy makers and companies across the globe. A key factor of sustainability in the investing world is ESG (environmental, social, governance) scores that demonstrate how sustainable the actions and decisions of a company are for employees, shareholders, and its ecosystem. In the United States, there has been a political divide in ESG values as investors seek to balance their drive to maximize shareholder value and promote positive change in society for all stakeholders. One platform that debate has occurred on is Twitter where users express their opinions on various companies. I analyzed the sentiment of users’ tweets on companies that have been regarded as sustainability leaders and companies that are laggards in this area. My analysis was completed through the Python coding language, a programming language designed for statistical computing and graphics. This data was then correlated with the stock performances of these respective companies during specific time frames of high Twitter activity. Ultimately, I sought to determine whether social media has a significant influence on the stock market and whether that will play a large part in driving sustainable change which will improve the environmental and social consciousness in the United States. Future research can identify what specific ideas or principles regarding sustainability are most widely discussed on Twitter and how this in turn relates to the decisions that companies make on key public policy issues.