Analysis of the impact of sustainable development on company’s value

Abstract

The attention to sustainability has been increasing rapidly due to environmental and social issues, as well as increasing business risks. It is changing an understanding how business is valued, putting pressure on, and also bringing opportunities for business performance. Along with the increasing weight of sustainability aspects, accessing the value of the company has become a more complex task. The literature analysis suggests different implications on the impact of sustainable development on business value, with most finding a positive relation; however, no clear measures to evaluate such impact can be distinguished. The aim of this paper is to find out the impact of sustainable development on the value of the company. Business sustainability is analysed through the aspects of Environmental, Social, Governance (ESG), which is currently the most emerging sustainability framework, with a special emphasis on governance. Meanwhile, business value is investigated through literature review by determining a range of possible internal and external measures. Panel regression analysis is considered as a method in order to discover a link between sustainable development and business value through selected time period. The results suggest that sustainable development could have a positive impact on business value in the long term.