Title: An integrated ESG readiness evaluation and reporting methodology

Authors: Nikolaos Chr. Kakogiannis; Haris Doukas; Filippos Dimitrios Mexis; Aspasia Feliou; Konstantinos Stouris

Addresses: ResNovae PC, Sustainability and Investment Consultants, Irakleiou Avenue 350, Athens, Greece ' Energy Policy Unit, Decision Support Systems Laboratory, School of Electrical and Computer Engineering, National Technical University of Athens, Athens, Greece ' Energy Policy Unit, Decision Support Systems Laboratory, School of Electrical and Computer Engineering, National Technical University of Athens, Athens, Greece ' Athens, Greece ' ResNovae PC, Sustainability and Investment Consultants, Irakleiou Avenue 350, Athens, Greece

Abstract: Green financial products like green portfolios, funds, and bonds have almost become synonymous with sustainable development. Respectively, reporting environmental, social, and governance (ESG) criteria performance is becoming more significant for companies and the financial market. Although many reporting methodologies exist, an integrated and standardised framework for assessing SMEs' performance on ESG criteria is lacking. This issue has raised criticism and discordance in the scientific and financial community regarding the impartiality and integrity of the published ESG reports, uncertainty to investors and allowed greenwashing phenomena. The present manuscript proposes an ESG benchmarking and readiness methodology based on a holistic approach, considering all the main aspects of market needs. Through the methodology, companies can assess their alignment with ESG criteria based on major international standards. The methodology can be the basis of implementing an online tool that will be able to provide a first-tier qualitative ESG rating within a brief self-assessment questionnaire.

Keywords: environmental, social, and governance; ESG; investing; criteria; performance; risk management; sustainability; corporate governance; sustainable finance.

DOI: 10.1504/IJMCDM.2024.143240

International Journal of Multicriteria Decision Making, 2024 Vol.10 No.1, pp.1 - 22

Received: 28 Apr 2022
Accepted: 04 Nov 2022
Published online: 11 Dec 2024 *

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