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Purpose: ESG compliance management is transforming legal practices through its necessity in the current corporate world, and its role in limiting legal risk in the ESG area.

Methodology: A qualitative research approach, relying on a range of sources, including legal sources, case studies, and information on the practical aspects of the work of lawyers specialising in ESG compliance management, the methodology facilitates a deep understanding of the practical aspects of ESG compliance management and its integration into legal services.

Conclusions: Results show that ESG compliance management is becoming an indispensable part of legal services due to the increasing complexity of regulations and the need for proactive ESG risk management strategies. The growing demand for specialised lawyers adept in compliance strategies, the importance of developing ESG concepts in business practice, also reveals the role of technology in enhancing the efficiency and effectiveness of ESG compliance management practices.

Limitations: Limitations in its scope, primarily due to the rapidly changing nature of legal regulations and ESG compliance requirements, mean this study is constrained by the variability of ESG compliance practices in different areas of the legal services market, which may affect the generalisability of the findings.

Future Research: The impact of emerging technologies on ESG compliance management, the evolution of regulatory frameworks in response to global challenges, and the development of standardised best practices for ESG compliance management in the legal services market areas.

Purpose: ESG indices serve as vital tools for investors to measure a company’s sustainability performance, reflecting its economic, environmental, and social standings. However, integrating ESG faces numerous constraints, particularly in emerging economies. This study aims to identify the key challenges of ESG integration in emerging economies.

Methodology: Systematic search and reporting framework following a five-stage iterative process, encompassing: (1) formulating the research question, (2) identifying pertinent studies, (3) selecting studies, (4) organising data, and (5) compiling, summarising, and presenting the findings.

Findings: Several important factors including the lack of quality and availability of non-financial data, underdeveloped regulatory frameworks, technological constraints, difficulties in supply chain integration, cultural and social barriers, financial constraints, and a general lack of awareness and understanding of ESG issues. An unbalanced approach to ESG compliance, with companies often focusing primarily on societal issues while neglecting environmental aspects. Despite these challenges, the research contributes to the discussion on the significant benefits of ESG integration, including improved risk management, access to new markets and capital, and enhanced reputation.

Implication: Overcoming these challenges requires concerted efforts from governments, businesses, and international organisations to develop supportive policies, develop inclusive capacity-building systems, and raise awareness of ESG issues.

Limitation: The scope of available literature and the inherent biases within selected studies.

Future research: Future studies could analyse deeper into case studies, and comparative research to better understand how ESG integration operates in emerging economies and to evaluate how effective the strategies implemented are in tackling the challenges that have been identified.

Purpose/Objective: The study explores the moderating effect of ESG performance on the connection between information relevance, accurate representation, and financial performance.

Methodology: The moderating effects were examined based on ESG data available in the Eikon-Refinitiv platform for 2017–2021. A total of 28 regression models were estimated using the Panel Generalised Least Squares method, and four specifications of each model were developed for the ESG score and its components. Financial performance was measured by ROE, ROA, EPS, NetOCF, EBIDTA, and CR indicators.

Findings: Both the ESG score and its three components moderate in a statistically significant manner the relationship between the relevance of financial information and financial performance. The moderation effect is partially confirmed in the case of ROA, ROE, EBITDA, and EPS indicators. Results highlighted that both the ESG score and its components moderate in a statistically significant manner the relationship between the accurate representation of information and financial performance in the case of EPS, Cash_R, and CR indicators.

Implications: The ESG component variables and performance score directly influence the relevance and inversely and significantly influence the accurate representation of financial information. New business performance optimisation models can be designed based on the main findings.

Limitations: The small number of companies in the sample and limits on information available on ESG performance.

Future Research: Expanding the number of companies and variables in the statistical models. Various mathematical models for estimating optimal performance can be tested depending on the size of the data set.

Purpose: This chapter presents the topics related to environmental, social and governanace (ESG) scoring, with particular emphasis on ESG ratings as a tool for benchmarking the company. The banking sector was selected for the study and comparisons were made against the banking sector in the European Union (EU).

Methodology: Firstly, a literature review and a bibliometric analysis of publications related to ESG scoring were conducted for this chapter. Secondly, the LSEG database were employed and further studied in environmental, social, and governance. The time scope of the research is 2017–2022. Using descriptive statistic tools and comparative studies of scoring, we perform an analysis for all three ESG areas and the value of the total scoring for banks from EU countries.

Findings: ESG scoring for all dimensions in the banking sector in EU countries shows good relative ESG performance and above average degree of transparency in reporting material ESG data publicly. The highest rank for total ESG score has banks from France, Portugal, and Spain (score A). Banks from Sweden, Slovenia, Poland, the Netherlands, Italy, Ireland, Hungary, Greece, Germany, Finland, the Czech Republic, and Austria assessed the scoring, which was situated above the median values, in the third quartile (score B). The last group with satisfactory relative ESG performance (score C) are banks from Slovakia, Denmark, Cyprus, and Belgium. The studies also allow us to formulate the following conclusions: the average and the median values for all ESG disclosure areas are higher in the old EU countries in all ESG dimensions. Moreover, other statistical measures (Q1, Q3) are also higher in banks from the old EU countries.

Implications: Important both for banks’ insiders and stakeholders as it provides a measurement and benchmarking tool. The data can be used as well for further analysis of the banking sector.

Limitations: Comparable ESG scoring among EU countries. Nevertheless, not all banks and countries were included in further analysis because of a lack of data. Unfortunately, the comparative analysis covers only 19 out of 27 counties. The time scope of the research is limited to six years due to regulatory limitations.

Future Research: The relationship between ESG scores and the performance of banks (e.g., return on assets, return on equity, market value).

Purpose: This study reviews the financial implications of ESG business model redesign, focusing on providing higher orientation to ESG principles for firms’ supply chains, including training needs, policy requirements, or monitoring tool implementation. It assesses the association between firms’ profitability and the efforts firms make to align with principles of sustainable business models.

Methodology: Several statistical analyses, including canonical analysis, ANOVA, and multiple regression analysis. The focus of the research is limited to the CAER ex-communist members.

Findings: There is significant reluctance from the firms’ side to make the transition to the ESG-based and more circular economy business models when reviewing data about ESG supply chains, mainly driven by insufficient know – how transferred on the firm level from the academic side and insufficient understanding on the cost-benefits analysis of such transition.

Implications: Better resource allocation, increased environmental innovation capital acquisitions, or reduced waste along business processes lead to increased firms’ profitability. Transformation driven by the transition to circular business models also involves supply chain management-related business processes. The direct impact of transforming supply chains on firms’ profitability depends especially on the business models, mainly described by the particularities of the sector firms operate in, by countries’ institutional framework, and potential for growth. The green transformation of supply chains also generates indirect effects on firms’ profitability.

Limitations: Data selected for the study is extracted from the Refinitiv database, namely, all the listed companies with assets valued over 10,000 EUR from ex-communist economies.

Future Research: An extended database.

Purpose: Environmental, social, and governance (ESG) factors indeed play a vital role in sustainability efforts across various sectors and industries. ESG factors are often aligned with the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), which provide a framework for addressing global challenges related to poverty, inequality, climate change, environmental degradation, and more. Countries that prioritise ESG considerations in their operations and decision-making processes contribute to achieving the SDGs, thus advancing sustainability. The study explores the interplay between ESG practices and overall sustainability outcomes. This involves examining how ESG considerations influence environmental conservation, social equity, and economic resilience and how these factors collectively contribute to sustainability goals.

Methodology: Data envelopment analysis (DEA), which is performed in order to find out the most efficient countries, which will provide valuable insights into the complex relationship between ESG factors and sustainability, informing decision-making and driving positive change towards a more sustainable future.

Findings: ESG practices transform to sustainable development efficiently in half of the EU countries; however, the efficient countries differ depending on the model. Demonstrating the efficient transformation strengthens the country’s case for sustainability. Countries that embrace ESG practices not only contribute to environmental and social well-being but also enhance their competitiveness and long-term value-creation potential.

Implications: Policymakers can use the findings to advocate for policies and regulations that promote ESG integration and sustainable development. This may include measures to incentivise responsible business practices, enhance corporate transparency and disclosure, support sustainable finance initiatives, and strengthen regulatory frameworks to address emerging ESG risks.

Purpose: This study quantitatively assesses the impact of ESG profile on equity value and risk, as well as identifies potential differences occurring in different sectors, based on the data of the Nasdaq Nordic market.

Methodology: To reach this purpose, (i) the stock return and volatility analysis is being conducted (using the methods of paired sample t-test, correlation, etc.), and (ii) panel data models with constant, fixed and random effects are being constructed. The analysis is based not only on the company’s ESG performance but also on a cross-sectoral approach.

Findings: The results revealed that although ESG factors appeared to have a significant impact in most of the constructed models, the impact of these factors varies depending on the sector.

Implications: This research provides a comprehensive and comparative approach to the importance of the ESG profile for investment performance and therefore can be useful both for impact investors making investment decisions in dynamic global financial markets and for companies developing or reforming their ESG strategies.

Limitations: Due to the problem of data availability, the cross-sectoral comparison was performed based on the limited number of sectors. In addition, the limited availability of ESG data in the analysed market did not allow the use of additional methods to assess the impact of ESG.

Future Research: Expanding the data sample and assessing the impact of a company’s ESG profile not only in different sectors but also in different phases of the economic cycle might be the direction for future research.

Purpose: Sustainable and responsible business is strongly associated with activities that minimise negative environmental or social impacts. As a result, the utility of big data is becoming a reality, opening up exciting possibilities for ESG monitoring and assessment. This study systematises existing knowledge and provides recommendations for big data in ESG monitoring and assessment.

Methodology/approach: Theoretical and exploratory focusing on a literature review.

Conclusions: Results indicate different levels of progress and challenges related to ESG and big data. Awareness and adoption of ESG and big data practices is growing, accompanied by regulatory pressure.

Significance: Understanding the relationship between big data and ESG is critical to properly conducting sustainable and responsible business practices. The urgency and necessity of developing standards for constructing big data cannot be overstated for ensuring consistency between existing policies and the SDGs and for the effective use of big data in ESG monitoring and assessment.

Limitations: A lack of data quality and standardisation in reporting for ESG assessments. Standardisation efforts are growing as data challenges, especially data availability, are major constraints. Large data sets offer exciting opportunities, analysed mainly from the perspective of existing applications for measuring sustainability goals.

Future research: An in-depth analysis of case studies that combine ESG issues with big data infrastructure. Fundamental is knowledge and understanding of companies’ ESG practices and understanding big data issues. We can standardise approaches to using new data sources and move towards deepening our measurable dimension of sustainability assessment.