ESG standards in Portugal PSI companies case study

• Autor(a) principal: Silva, Carolina Pinto da
• Data de Publicação: 2022
• Tipo de documento: Dissertação
• Idioma: eng
• Título da fonte: Repositório Científico de Acesso Aberto de Portugal (Repositórios Cientìficos)
• Texto Completo: http://hdl.handle.net/10071/27473
• topic: ESG; Corporate social responsibility; Sustentabilidade -- Sustainability; CSR; Responsible investing; PSI; Stock exchange index; Responsabilidade social corporativa; Investimento responsável; Índice da bolsa de valores

Corporate Social Responsibility has been growing to record significance in the XXI century. Investing patterns around the globe are suffering a deep shift towards the prioritization of conscious practices. Once the exclusive domain of impact investors and sustainable development funds, today ESG (Environmental, Social and Governance) considerations are being mainstreamed by the world’s largest asset managers, insurers, banks and pension funds. According to the Forum for Sustainable and Responsible Investing (USSIF) (2021), there are now more than US$30 trillion of assets globally under management with an explicit ESG mandate, an increase of over 50% in just three years. In the same period, the number of companies disclosing ESG information in line with internationally recognized standards has more than doubled. The business case for ESG is now well established. A growing body of evidence shows that companies with strong ESG practices outperform their peers on a range of financial measures, including share price performance, earnings growth, return on equity and credit ratings. Through the investigation of selected organizations within the Portuguese market, this research seeks to provide input on the status of ESG standards adoption by some of the most prominent Portuguese enterprises, showing risks and/or opportunities for these groups to increase international competitiveness. The objective is to examine selected companies of PSI – the Portuguese Stock Index –, look through their internal processes, resources, values and drivers so as to conclude on where they rank relatively to ESG score. The return was an average of 65.5% compliance within the organizations selected, when accounting for all three pillars of ESG, showing a relatively low will to innovate responsibly, leading to the conclusion that the subjects are content with moderate levels of ESG performance.