"The ESG investment boom and its effect on green innovation"

• Autor(a) principal: Exarchos, Orestis
• 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/10362/144706
• topic: Technological innovation; Greenwashing; Sustainable finance; Esg; Environmental sustainability; Green; Esg ratings; Domínio/Área Científica::Ciências Sociais::Economia e Gestão

The ESG investment boom brought scrutiny and stirred a raging debate on the true value of sustainable companies. While the majority of research focuses on past share performance and expected future returns, my paper aims to contribute to this debate, by shedding light on a less discussed aspect of ESG firm value: their output in terms of green innovation. Using detailed data on green patenting, my fixed effect regression analysis shows that despite the significant capital flows to the sector, reflected in higher stock returns, companies have taken lackluster steps towards combating the effects of climate change innovatively. My results cast doubt on the relevance of the ESG scoring system for real environmental outcomes and support calls for regulatory action.