Are we there yet? The evaluation of ESG impact on corporate financial performance in CEE

Abstract

The goal of this article is to provide an evaluation of ESG’s (environmental, social, governance) impact on the financial performance in the context of the corporations that are stock listed in the emerging economies of Central and Eastern Europe (CEE). A number of studies have proven ESG’s importance for the global equity markets, however, given the practically slower roll-out of sustainability measures in the emerging markets, the impact on the adoption in the CEE might be lagging. Based on the quartile analysis performed on a sample of RobecoSAM ESG scores and Bloomberg ESG disclosure, the results do not indicate a direct correlation between higher sustainability scores and improved financial performance. The results of the study demonstrate that companies with good ESG performance in the CEE currently do not benefit from higher stock returns. In addition, also no clear trends between the link of the ESG and corporate financial performance can be detected.