The Diversity of Environmental, Social, and Governance Aspects in Sustainability: A Systematic Literature Review

Abstract

Significant emphasis has recently been placed on measuring companies from a sustainability perspective by environmental, social, and governance (ESG) scores, resulting in a considerable amount of financial, accounting, business, and management research on the subject. We provide a concise and harmonized systematic literature review of the current trends within this area for a broader range of academic researchers and practitioners. This work comprehensively explains ESG ratings, scores, and reports and aims to summarize how CSR activities are accounted for as non-financial information. The review aims to provide information and a better understanding of the complexity of corporate ESG aspects for those interested in this area. The results suggest that diverse methodologies, subjective elements, and some complexity of ESG measurement exist, leading to companies unconsciously using ESG ratings based on incorrect measures. Scoring methodologies are controversial, highlighting the need for more certainty about the validity of the ratings. ESG ratings need more reliability, and ESG reports do not help increase credibility, transparency, or accountability. Greenwashing emerges from loose regulation, measurement complexity, and the absence of transparency, emphasizing the need for more auditing and regulations in sustainability reporting and rating. Our results also demonstrate that ESG reporting is an ever-growing issue in sustainability and finances, and regulators must focus on it. Inconsistencies and uncertainties exist in ESG ratings and reporting; therefore, education is needed for decision-makers to understand better how this emerging topic works in practice.