The IPR ESG and Purpose Research Library features the latest research and insights devoted to topics related to environment, social, and corporate governance (ESG) and purpose for public relations professionals. 

Last updated: January 13, 2023

Research Topics:

Socially Responsible Investment Strategies for the Transition Towards Sustainable Development: The Importance of Integrating and Communicating ESG
Mauro Sciarelli, Silvia Cosimato, Giovanno Landi, and Francesca Landolo
The TMQ Journal
2021
Researchers studied whether integrating environmental social governance (ESG) in investment strategies can support sustainable financial growth. An explorative analysis showed that some companies are near to a full integration. Other companies demonstrated less than a full commitment to ESG, mainly due to the different approaches that asset management companies (AMCs) and/or managers have adopted for integrating ESG criteria.

Effective ESG Communication Strategies to Address Increasing Investor Collaboration
Leaders Arena
Principles for Responsible Investment
2018
This guide provides proactive steps that communicators can take to effectively collaborate with investors on ESG. These ten steps include suggested benchmarking practices and tips for creating a robust ESG engagement plan.

Reconsidering Systematic Factors During the Covid-19 Pandemic – The Rising Importance of ESG
Violeta Díaz, Denada Ibrushi, and Jialin Zhao
Finance Research Letters
2021
This analysis found that the COVID-19 pandemic moved ESG investing strategies to the forefront. ESG efforts had an overall positive impact on communications; findings indicate this impact is attributed to the environmental and social aspects of ESG.

Transparency Among S&P 500 Companies: An Analysis of ESG Disclosure Scores
Nabil Tamimi and Rose Sebastianelli 
Management Decision
2017
Data were retrieved from Bloomberg using the financial analysis ESG function for companies in the S&P 500 index. Findings reveal that S&P 500 companies differ in their level of disclosure across the three areas (ESG). Large companies have significantly higher ESG disclosure scores than mid-size companies. The highest level of transparency was found on governance and the lowest level on environmental.

Mapping the ESG Behavior of European Companies. A Holistic Kohonen Approach
Irina-Eugenia Imandi, Laura-Gabriela Constantin, Sebastian Madalin Munteau, and Bogdan Cernat-Gruici
Sustainability
2019
Researchers analyzed the ESG performance of 1,165 European corporate entities as of January 2019. Results found that the ESG approach of the European companies is mainly strategic and long-term oriented, aimed at increasing corporate competitiveness and supporting societal well-being overall. Data also show that environmental and social priorities are preferred over corporate governance targets.

ESG Performance and Firm Value: The Moderating Role of Disclosure
Ali Fatemi, Martin Glaum, and Stefanie Kaiser
Global Finance Journal
2018
This study examined the effect of ESG activities and their disclosure on firm value. Findings show that ESG strengths increase firm value, and ESG weaknesses decrease firm value. However, high disclosure of ESG efforts was found to weaken the positive perception of ESG strengths. Conversely, disclosure of ESG efforts mitigated the negative effect of ESG weaknesses.

Integrating Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) Disclosure for a Sustainable Development: An Australian Study 
Chitra Sriyani De Silva Lokuwaduge and Kumudini Heenetigala
Business Strategy and the Environment
2016
This article explores the ESG reporting of metal and mining companies in the Australian Securities Exchange to determine the ESG indicators used in the sector. 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. The study reveals that stakeholder engagement is the key to enhance company environmental policy and sustainable development.

ESG Disclosure and Firm Performance Before and After IR: The Moderating Role of Governance Mechanisms.
Khaldoon Albitar, Khaled Hussainey, Nasir Kolade, and Ali Meftah Gerged
International Journal of Accounting and Information
2020
Data was collected from Bloomberg and Capital IQ between 2009 and 2018 to investigate the effect of ESG disclosure on firm performance (FP) before and after the introduction of integrated reporting (IR). The results show a positive and significant relationship between ESG disclosure score and firm performance. Additionally, this paper finds that firms voluntarily associated with integrated reporting tend to achieve better firm financial performance.

Perception of ESG Criteria by Mainstream Investors: Evidence from Tunisia
Souhir Khemir
International Journal of Emerging Markets
2019
Researchers examined the consideration of corporate social responsibility (CSR) and ESG criteria by investors in Tunisia. A series of focus groups and semi-structured interviews were conducted with financial professionals in Tunisia. Findings suggest that although the Tunisian government has made a push to promote CSR and ESG criteria in investment allocation decisions, CSR and ESG criteria are still secondary to financial criteria.

ESG and Financial Performance: Impact of Environmental, Social, and Governance Issues on Corporate Performance
Asli Aybars, Levent Ataünal, and Ali Osman Gürbüz
Managerial Thinking in Global Business Economics
2019
This study investigated the relationship between Thomson Reuters Environmental Social Governance (ESG) Combined Score and performance of S&P 500 firms. Eleven years of data from between 2006 and 2016 were analyzed. The study confirmed a positive and significant relationship between ESG Combined Score and operational profitability (ROA), suggesting that improvements in ESG score have a positive impact on operating performance of the firm.

Does Integrating Environmental Values and Emotion in Green Marketing Communications Induce Sustainable Consumer Behavior?
Khan Raziuddin Taufique
Journal of Marketing Communications
2020
A survey of 381 Malaysian adults in major cities was conducted to analyze the relationship between environmental values and emotion in marketing and sustainable consumer behavior. Findings suggest consumers’ emotional affinity towards nature and environmental values have a strong direct positive influence on green consumer behavior (GCB), while the direct impact of knowledge is insignificant. These findings are consistent across genders. Thus, the use of moral and emotional appeal in green communications (e.g., advertising, packaging) appears to induce green consumer behavior.