Social Pillars Research Articles

The sustainable challenge: Where does social psychology stand in achieving the sustainable development goals?

The United Nations Agenda 2030, inclusive of its 17 sustainable development goals (SDGs), serves as the global blueprint for sustainability for both present and future generations. Scientific research is entrusted with the responsibility of contributing by informing the current situation and future challenges in achieving the SDGs. This paper investigates the role of social psychology in contributing to the SDGs and the environmental, economic and social pillars of the UN Agenda. We analysed 4808 papers using Natural Language Processing to identify (i) the relevance of social psychology within the SDG-related literature and (ii) the current and potential contribution of social psychology to the SDGs. Results highlight that social psychology contributes to the SDGs by addressing typical social issues, primarily those related to health and gender, while noting its under-representation in some environmental and economic areas, despite social psychology well-established research on these topics. This paper introduces a novel approach for assessing the SDGs, fostering a critical reflection on the SDG framework and social psychology to guide less explored research paths. This approach could potentially enhance the evaluation and advancement of the 2030 Agenda, facilitating a deeper dialogue between the scientific community and policymakers, driving social change.

Too Much of a Good Thing? Two-Sided Effect of ESG on Corporate Financial Performance

The purpose of this research is to clarify the curvilinear link between Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) and corporate financial performance (CFP), and draws upon the “too much of a good thing” (TMGT) theory to verify whether the curvilinear relationship supports the conflicting results of previous studies. The sample comprises 69 listed companies in Taiwan with ESG disclosures over 2005 to 2020. The findings reveal that ESG impacts CFP in an inverted- U shaped, which is predominantly evident in the environmental and social pillars. This study validates the rising popularity of ESG investments. To enhance CFP, businesses must meticulously assess the allocation of capital to ESG to prevent under or over-investment. Managers should be aware of the TMGT effect and ensure the threshold of ESG is identified, as this is essential to balancing the cost/value trade-off, improving the CFP, and maintaining sustainable development.

Environmental, Social, and Governance Scores and Loan Composition Inside United States Banks

We analyze the loan portfolios of United States banks from 2013 to 2023, showing that high environmental, social, and governance (ESG) banks have larger shares of consumer loans and commercial loans and smaller shares of construction loans and real estate loans. We also find that the governance pillar (G) is more tightly related to the bank loan composition compared to the environmental (E) and social (S) pillars. Furthermore, we show that construction loans and real estate loans decrease more considerably with bank ESG scores inside countries with high gas emissions, i.e., where ESG issues would arguably be more serious. Our interpretation is that sustainable banks are reluctant in lending money for real estate projects, exposing them to potentially high ESG risk. These findings contribute to developing a deeper insight about the relationship between ESG and bank lending, which, in the previous literature, has been treated more frequently in aggregate terms instead of separating loan types. Our outcomes suggest that sustainability is crucial for the availability of funds in the real estate sector, delivering important insights to bank and real estate managers, besides policy makers.

The Genesis of the Crypto-economy: Application of the Institutional Theory

This study investigates the institutionalization of the crypto-economy from an institutional theory perspective and also examines the role of existing institutional pillars in its development. The path analysis using global institutional indicators reveals that the development of the crypto-economy is significantly affected by regulatory, cognitive, and normative factors of a country. Further, the regulative pillar fully mediates the relationship between the social pillar and the crypto-economy. While we find convincing evidence that a country’s social pillar endorses crypto-economy, its indirect effect is more prominent and significant than the direct effect.

Is national economic growth associated with environmental social and governance performance of firms?

AbstractThis study delves into the effect of environmental, social and governance (ESG) indicators on economic growth trajectory of an emerging economy. A sample of firms listed on the ESG index of the National Stock Exchange (NSE) was examined. The findings reveal a positive and statistically significant relationship between ESG performance indicators and economic growth represented as gross domestic product (GDP) per capita. The sample is further segregated into energy and non‐energy sectors, where the aggregate ESG scores exhibited a statistically significant influence on economic growth in both sectors. However, upon a closer examination of the individual ESG pillars, the governance pillar is observed to exert a negative influence on economic performance in non‐energy firms. In contrast, the environment and social pillars show no significant influence. The analysis then employs a unique approach by applying a Difference‐in‐differences estimator to assess the impact of Business Responsibility and Sustainability Reporting (BRSR) regulations, which confirms a positive impact on economic growth after regulations but exclusively within the non‐energy sector. This study underscores the substantial impact of ESG aggregate and individual scores on GDP per capita, which translates to economic growth.

Financial development and sustainable development: A review of literature

AbstractIn the contemporary world, the sustainability of the economic system and its related issues are of major concern for both policy makers and practitioners. The financial sector's role in this context has gained significant attention over the past decades. Although theoretical studies are on the rise, few scholars consolidate both theory and practice. This study addresses this gap through comprehensive bibliometric analysis, mapping the research landscape in the finance‐sustainability field, and encompassing both optimistic and skeptical perspectives. It reviews and synthesizes key theoretical and empirical literature focusing on most recent studies. Specifically, it emphasizes broader aspects of financial development—depth, access, efficiency, and stability—in critically analyzing the economic, environmental, and social pillars of sustainable development, which are distinct yet highly interconnected. It further provides a detailed analysis of sustainable development theories, highlighting their shortcomings and future prospects. Particularly, this study identifies different dimensions, significant factors, and important indicators of sustainability which are vital for achieving and understanding long‐term sustainable development. Some practical implications are also discussed.

Sustainability Indicators for Dairy Cattle Farms in European Union Countries: A Systematic Literature Review

The European cattle milk sector has rapidly intensified in recent decades. This trend has received widespread disapproval from the public, which highlights the many problems linked to intensification. To address these concerns, agricultural policies commonly impose an agroecological transition. In order to evaluate and monitor the degree of sustainability of dairy cattle farms over time, many sets of indicators have been proposed in recent years. However, these indicators have often referred only to specific aspects of sustainability or have been generically proposed for the entire agricultural sector, and therefore, they are not capable of capturing the peculiarities and the complexity of the dairy cattle sector. A systematic review of the scientific literature was carried out to obtain a complete picture of the indicators proposed for the European context. A total of 325 out of over 6700 papers were selected, and three pillars—environmental, economic, and social pillars—were explored. A total of 70 indicators were identified, which could help build a complete and less sectoral picture of sustainability than that proposed so far. A total of 22 indicators were associated with the environmental pillar, 18 indicators were associated with the economic pillar, and 17 indicators were associated with the social pillar, while 12 indicators were associated with two different pillars. With reference to the measurement methods, considerable variability was highlighted, which did not allow us to identify or propose unique methods for measuring each indicator.

Women on Board and ESG Performance: Insights from the Italian Utilities Sector

The purpose of this paper is to investigate the relationship between gender diversity and environmental, social and governance (ESG) performance in the Italian utilities sector. The study examines whether the presence of women on the board of directors (BoD) is related to ESG dimensions. We analyzed a sample of 482 utility companies for the period 2018-2022 and we developed an econometric model applying unbalanced panel regression data with firm fixed effects and controls per year. Within a multivariate regression model, the authors considered the ESG score provided by Refinitiv Eikon to test the research hypotheses. Findings show that the presence of women on board of directors improves ESG performance when a critical mass of female board members (at least three) is reached. A critical threshold of female directors also positively influences the scoring of environmental and social pillars. From a managerial perspective this study draws attention to BoD composition encouraging utility companies to define internal corporate governance mechanisms thoroughly. The overall findings support managers, policy makers and regulators on how to improve ESG performance through gender diversity on BoD. This paper offers an in-depth examination of the ESG practices of utility firms, and it attempts to bridge the gap in prior literature on the determinants of ESG performance in the Italian utilities sector. This study is the first that investigates the relationship between board gender diversity and ESG performance in such a context exploring how a critical mass of women on BoD affects ESG dimensions.

Role of environmental, social and governance disclosure in business profitability and cost of debt: An analysis of small Southern Italian agri‐food businesses

AbstractThis article investigates the environmental, social, and governance (ESG) commitment of small agri‐food businesses disclosed by 279 Italians using Thomson Reuters Eikon ESG indicators and its relationship with their financial dimensions, that is, the corporate profitability indexes (ROE and EBITDA) and cost of debt, used as a proxy of the ability to access credit. Findings showed the absence of social reporting and the disclosure of business governance, including sustainability strategy, and the poor reporting of the environmental and social pillars, except for product innovation, product quality, and responsible marketing themes. The capability of ESG disclosure to predict corporate profitability and access to credit is limited. Moreover, investments in product responsibility are negatively related to the cost of debt, while commitment toward the internal and external companies' community appears to predict their ability to access credit positively. In light of the new institutional pressures requiring small agri‐food businesses to change and combine intrinsic and extrinsic motivation for CSR, the study extends the literature on the sustainability of small agri‐food businesses, which is mostly limited, and provides significant practical and political contributions to foster the paradigm shift toward sustainability [EconLit Citations: M21, Q01, Q13].

Environmental, economic, and social impacts of sugar cane bagasse and eggshell wastes for soil stabilization.

Sustainability is a core topic for all sectors including geotechnical engineering (e.g., design of foundations, earthworks structures, and pavements for major infrastructure and building projects). Despite being comprised of environmental, economic, and social pillars, most sustainability studies in this area have focused on the first. Furthermore, social impacts and the three pillars integration are little explored. As a result, there is a lack of systemic and holistic assessments of innovative geotechnical alternatives. This research advances in this area by performing a complete sustainability assessment and integration of the environmental, economic, and social pillars of two expansive soil stabilization alternatives: (i) sugar cane bagasse ash combined with hydrated eggshell lime alkali-activated by sodium hydroxide (NaOH) and (ii) Portland cement. Individual analyses were carried out to determine the environmental, economic, and social impacts, and the single sustainability index. Alkali-activated binder dosages showed higher impacts in 4 out of 10 environmental categories. For both binders, high-density/low-binder dosages contributed to environmental and economic sustainability as they require lower quantities of raw materials and diesel for materials transportation. The total costs of alkali-activated binder dosages ($189.79 and $154.45) were higher than that of Portland cement ($72.49 and $54.04), mainly due to the high cost of NaOH acquisition. However, the alkali-activated binder dosages implied lower carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions and thus lower social cost of CO2. The alternative binder presented a higher positive social impact. The alkali-activated high-density/low binder dosage is the most sustainable soil stabilization strategy.

Can ESG Performance Mitigate Credit Risk?

With the development and improvement of the banking and financial systems, people are increasingly concerned about the impact of non-financial factors on corporate performance and long-term value. Using a sample of Chinese A-shared listed commercial banks operating from 2013 to 2022, this study investigate the association between environment, social and government (ESG) combined scores and bank credit risk. By conducting descriptive tests, autocorrelation tests and mixed regression analysis,we find that a banks ESG performance is negatively associated with its credit risk. In addition, we took a closer look at banks' good performance on the environmental and governance pillars of ESG ratings and found that these two pillars can reduce credit risk more effectively than the social pillars. Our research provides new ideas for risk management and bank governance, helping banks to incorporate ESG scores into their daily management and risk monitoring, enabling banks to prevent risks more effectively and take effective measures.

Does ESG affect stock market dependence? An empirical exploration of S&P 1200 companies shows the divergent nature of E–S–G pillars

If ESG characteristics of companies attract loyal and resilient investors and customers, does ESG affect the stock-market connectedness during market upturns and downturns? The micro-level analysis uses the cross-quantilogram to measure quantile dependence between stocks in the S&P 1200 and the market with distinguishing factors of ESG scores. We employed the scores of seven major ESG data providers and their structural combination to capture the shared information. We found a systematic effect both on the level of multidimensional and unidimensional ESG scores. Moreover, we showed Governance scores create a counter-effect on the Environmental and Social pillars. In general, the high- and middle-ESG stocks tend to have lower dependence on the market during market downturns, with E and S scores pushing the dependence down and the G dimension pushing it up. Results suggest a lower distinguishing power of Environment and Social pillars and persistent Governance pillar power during moderate and upturn market times.

Delineating suitable zones for solar-based groundwater exploitation using multi-criteria analysis: A techno-economic assessment for meeting sustainable development goals (SDGs)

While several articles have focused on determining a suitability map for groundwater exploitation by assigning weights to different thematic layers, this technique suffers from a lack of worldwide application because it focuses on the features of a specific region (terrain features, vegetation, and climate) during the investigation. To overcome this drawback, we expanded the evaluation method of groundwater exploitation by integrating the region characteristics and topography with the three pillars of sustainability outlined by the SDGs agenda. Seven thematic layers, reflecting the economic and technical characteristics of El-Saloum depression, Egypt, were prepared to develop a solar energy-based groundwater suitability map. It was depicted that about 11.5%, 29.3%, and 44.0% of the total depression were classified into “Most’, “Moderate”, and “Marginal” suitable locations, respectively. Based on the sensitivity analysis, the southeastern zone of the depression emerged as the most suitable site for solar-groundwater utilization due to its low salinity (<5000 ppm), reasonable groundwater depths (less than 50 m), and land availability (undeveloped regions). Substituting a diesel power system (DPS) with a photovoltaic system (PVS) in groundwater pumping and/or reverse osmosis (RO) desalination would reduce 1.2 kg CO2/kWh and maintain a payback period of 6.4 years with a cost of energy (COE) of ∼0.25 US$/kWh. Applying PVS for groundwater management could fulfill about 25.0%, 37.5%, 40.0%, and 20.0% of sustainable development goals (SDGs) 2 “Zero hunger”, 6 “Clean water and sanitation”, 7 “Affordable and clean energy”, 13 “Climate action”. The achievement of these SDGs was equivalent to 22.7%, 15.4%, and 13.2% of the environmental, economic, and social pillars of sustainability, respectively. Consequently, the study's findings are crucial for stakeholders and policymakers involved in the sustainable management of groundwater resources within the SDGs umbrella.

Extending corporate sustainability reporting indicators to projects’ sustainability

Measuring the sustainability performance of an organisation is a rather complex task. This study aims at analysing a broad number of performance indicators related to the economic, environmental, and social pillars of the Triple Bottom Line (TBL) framework and evaluates their applicability toward the development of a sustainable performance measurement system (SPMS) of projects. To this purpose, an analysis of the annual sustainability reports of the listed EURO STOXX Sustainability 40 companies was conducted, identifying the sustainability indicators incorporated in each individual report, and classifying them according to the three pillars of the TBL framework. The analysis of the reports yielded 67 economic indicators, 109 environmental, 130 social, and 38 additional ones, mainly combining the latter two categories, giving 344 unique indicators in total. The proposed system, based on empirical evidence, recommends that selected indicators for an SPMS for projects should relate to predefined subcategories. These are costs, efficiency, and shareholder return for the economic dimension; emissions, energy, paper, resource consumption, waste, and water for the environmental dimension; diversity & equality, ethical behaviour, external commitment, health & safety, training & development, and working conditions for the social dimension.

Analyzing the Environmental, Economic, and Social Sustainability of Prefabricated Components: Modeling and Case Study

The building industry has significant environmental, economic, and social impacts. The trend of construction industrialization to promote sustainable development is becoming increasingly evident. As an essential component of this process, prefabricated components provide a foundation for studying the sustainability of prefabricated buildings. This study proposes a life cycle sustainability assessment (LCSA) model involving environmental, economic, and social aspects to assess the sustainability of prefabricated components. The sustainability impacts on the raw material extraction and production, off-plant transport, material processing and component manufacturing, on-plant transport, and component storage stages are comprehensively assessed. The LCSA model is applied to four types of prefabricated components: interior wallboards, precast stairs, composite beams, and composite floor slabs. The results show that the precast stairs exhibit the highest sustainability score and that the performances of environmental, economic, and social pillars of four components are slightly different. These findings enhance our understanding of the sustainability of prefabricated components and broaden the scope of LCSA applications. The established sustainability assessment model is expected to help guide prefabrication scheme designs and production plan optimization, further encouraging the wider adoption of sustainable practices in construction.

Assessing social performance in supply chain design and planning through a monetization approach

AbstractSustainable development is today a major concern, and within this supply chain’ environmental and social performances need to be considered. The social pillar of the supply chain is not easy to measure, and its quantification is a researcher's challenge. In addition, quantifying the social impact of a monetary unit, easily understood by decision‐makers, is an important step towards achieving global sustainable supply chain performance. This work intends to contribute to this challenge and develops a monetization approach for assessing supply chain's social performance, considering three main relevant social indicators: job creation, accidents and training. These are then integrated into an optimization‐based decision tool that can be used to design and plan a supply chain based on an informed decision. This operation research–based tool considers the economic and the social pillars independently or simultaneously, allowing the development of different analyses to reflect on the different trade‐offs that could be considered when designing and planning sustainable supply chains. A case study is utilized to demonstrate the tool's applicability, and a number of conclusions and insights are provided on how to strengthen supply chain sustainability.

Sustainable Entrepreneurship in Agribusiness: A Case Study in a Brazilian Agro-Industrial Cooperative

Purpose: To identify sustainable practices in an agro-industrial cooperative in Rio Grande do Sul - RS (a southern state of Brazil well known for its significant participation in the national production of agribusiness), correlating them to the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) of the 2030 Agenda, as well as analyzing how sustainable entrepreneurship is transforming the lives of families and the space where they live. Methodology/approach: The study used primary data collection through a semi-structured interview that took place in July 2020 with the Environmental Coordinator, also made use of secondary data with observation, document analysis through consultation on the cooperative's website, documents, and internal controls to generate evidence convergence and strengthen construct validity through source triangulation, in which case study findings are supported by more than one source of evidence. Originality/Relevance: Sustainable entrepreneurship refers to the discovery, creation and exploitation of business opportunities that contribute to sustainability, generating socio-environmental gains for society. Key findings: The studied Cooperative assumes a socio-environmental responsibility role through the developed activities that generate value to the cooperative members in an innovative, safe, and sustainable way, in addition to benefiting the surrounding community with sustainable practices, therefore the Cooperative in question is certified with the Certificate of Environmental Distinction, proving its commitment to sustainable development and good environmental practices. Educational and environmental practices that contribute to the promotion of sustainability in agribusiness were identified, such as the use of clean technologies in production and the proper management of waste generated by agro-industrial activity. These practices generate socio-environmental gains for society. Theoretical/methodological contributions: This study brings a relevant theoretical contribution linked to sustainability and entrepreneurship in agribusiness based on findings in the practices of a cooperative. In addition to also contributing at an environmental level, this work contributes to contributing to the financial and social pillars that sustainability encompasses.

Sustainable Entrepreneurship in Agribusiness: A Case Study in a Brazilian Agro-Industrial Cooperative

Purpose: To identify sustainable practices in an agro-industrial cooperative in Rio Grande do Sul - RS (a southern state of Brazil well known for its significant participation in the national production of agribusiness), correlating them to the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) of the 2030 Agenda, as well as analyzing how sustainable entrepreneurship is transforming the lives of families and the space where they live. Methodology/approach: The study used primary data collection through a semi-structured interview that took place in July 2020 with the Environmental Coordinator, also made use of secondary data with observation, document analysis through consultation on the cooperative's website, documents, and internal controls to generate evidence convergence and strengthen construct validity through source triangulation, in which case study findings are supported by more than one source of evidence. Originality/Relevance: Sustainable entrepreneurship refers to the discovery, creation and exploitation of business opportunities that contribute to sustainability, generating socio-environmental gains for society. Key findings: The studied Cooperative assumes a socio-environmental responsibility role through the developed activities that generate value to the cooperative members in an innovative, safe, and sustainable way, in addition to benefiting the surrounding community with sustainable practices, therefore the Cooperative in question is certified with the Certificate of Environmental Distinction, proving its commitment to sustainable development and good environmental practices. Educational and environmental practices that contribute to the promotion of sustainability in agribusiness were identified, such as the use of clean technologies in production and the proper management of waste generated by agro-industrial activity. These practices generate socio-environmental gains for society. Theoretical/methodological contributions: This study brings a relevant theoretical contribution linked to sustainability and entrepreneurship in agribusiness based on findings in the practices of a cooperative. In addition to also contributing at an environmental level, this work contributes to contributing to the financial and social pillars that sustainability encompasses.

“Two Pillars Of Sustainability”: Pemberdayaan Pendidikan Dan Lingkungan, Serta Pertumbuhan Ekonomi Daerah Melalui Perspektif Social Humanity

The humanitarian project in the 2023 of MBKM program is an activity concept designed to make "humanity" the main aspect in its implementation. Humanitarian projects implemented refer to the Sustainable Development Goals (SDG's) by prioritizing the development of two sustainable pillars that need to be supported in order to help the level of progress in achieving the SDG's, namely the economic and social pillars. In order to realize the objectives of this humanitarian project activity, it goes through several stages, namely preparation, implementation, monitoring and evaluation. The 16 (sixteen) programs that have been designed are implemented according to the schedule that has been agreed upon with partners to ensure that the activity concepts that have been prepared can be implemented well, which is then monitored and evaluated. The entire program is implemented well in accordance with the targets or target results. Which is aimed. This program is carried out with in-depth studies to create projects or several activities of a social nature involving all elements of society where the aim of this activity is to instill and foster a social and humanitarian spirit within students and society itself. This activity is a form of developing personal creativity for students to be able to spread benefits to the wider community. It is hoped that the existence of educational activities in the economic and educational sectors, as well as social activities related to environmental activities and so on, will be a step to increase the impact of other positive activities in the future.

The Success of the Development of the Structurally Affected City of Karviná

Abstract The aim of this paper is to propose measures leading to overcoming the limits of development of the city of Karviná. Based on the results of the situational analysis supplemented by a questionnaire survey, it can be said that the economic and social pillars of the city are not developing very successfully. On the contrary, the environmental pillar, its landscape condition, and environmental care are developing most successfully. The current problematic factors limiting the development of the city are mainly the insufficient and unattractive local labour market and business activities, the image of the city, and the still low air quality. A strategy of diversification of the economic structure and a programme of support for small and medium-sized enterprises can make a significant contribution to overcoming these problems, achieving successful future development, and fully exploiting the city‘s potential. There is also scope for the use of development projects such as the New Economic Zone initiative and appropriate publicity for the city‘s strengths. A strategy aimed at improving air quality in the region is also a key aspect. There is an opportunity to finance these measures through the European Equitable Transformation Fund, which can greatly facilitate their implementation.