The Italian way towards environmental, social and governance (ESG) disclosure: Insights from a sample of listed companies

Abstract

This study is aimed at providing some insights about the Italian listed companies approach to Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) disclosure. A reference framework and a tested investigation model used for analyzing the Italian approach to ESG disclosure have been reported and discussed. Drawing on the Sustainability Helix Model, the results of a study conducted on the Non-Financial Statements of a sample of Italian listed companies on the basis of manual content analysis, and conducted to grasp their disposition and approach to ESG disclosure, are discussed. The study pointed out some specific characteristics of the Italian companies’ approach to ESG disclosure, which still suffer from voluntary and, therefore, somewhat a variety of practices. In this sense, policy and science should better support companies through specific laws and regulations as well as through learning/enhancing projects towards more effective ESG reporting and communication. The analysis offers interesting insights for public institutions, academy and companies on the way to further exploit and supporting ESG disclosure. The originality of this study lies upon the implementation of the Sustainability Helix Model to investigate the importance that open dialogue and shared action of the various actors involved can have in enhancing companies’ awareness about the importance of a strategic approach to sustainability and to its disclosure to gain the consensus of external stakeholders

Does ESG Disclosure Influence Firm Performance?

“…At the European level, however, Nicolò et al [43] find that the presence of women on boards enhances ESG disclosure; the disparity in findings may be explained by the concept of a critical mass of women on boards [44], though this does not appear to apply across sectors, as illustrated by the banking domain [45]. With regards to the quality of the ESG information disclosed and the impact that the credibility of such information has on firm performance and market value, in Italy the assurance of the quality of the information does not appear to lead to an incremental benefit, perhaps because the market perception of quality assurance is still in its infancy [46]; the findings in this area suggest that there is a lack of homogeneity in disclosure requirements [47] and that third party auditing would be beneficial to ESG score reliability [48]. Equally, there is no evidence to suggest that mandatory over voluntary disclosure has led to the incremental value of the firm [49]; even though at the global level, investors increasingly believe that ESG ratings provide information that is material to the performance of the investment [50], recent research in Italy suggests that there is not a homogeneous corporate response to ESG rating requirements [51].…”

Computational Thinking to Learn Environmental Sustainability: A Learning Progression

“…As students consider and engage with computational components, it allows them to bridge connections within and between domains (e.g., between biological levels in biological evolution learning for students; Christensen & Lombardi, 2020). In learning about sustainability, these domains include economic, societal, and scientific content and perspectives (Saviano et al, 2019). This is because computational outputs, and in turn feedback, should directly correlate to solving the problem at hand which achieved the highest levels of the learning progression.…”