La inversión socialmente responsable

La ISR permite a los inversores la integración de variables no consideraras hasta el momento en los modelos financieros en el proceso de inversión, al reflejar sus valores personales en la elección de sus inversiones o incorporar criterios políticos en la gestión de las carteras de inversión. La base de la ISR es el convencimiento de que factores medioambientales, sociales y de gobierno corporativo pueden mejorar los resultados financieros, mejorando el análisis de riesgos y, por lo tanto, ser integrados en el análisis de la inversión y en la selección de activo

La incorporació a la gestió empresarial dels criteris FASG, com a mesura de control de risc integral per a superar la crisi

Financial Crisis that surrounds us has been caused by multiple factors, among which stands out a lack of analysis, control and risk assessment related to financial assets, as well as a lack of transparency in information systems. To take into account all risks holistically and to manage in a sustainable way are proposed as solutions to the model change, incorporating into the decision making process extra-financial variables and transparent information systemsLa Crisi Financera en què estem immersos ha estat causada per múltiples factors, entre els quals destaca la manca d’anàlisi, control i valoració del risc associat als actius financers, així com a una falta de transparència en els sistemes d’informació. Es proposa com a solució per al canvi de model tenir en compte tots els riscos, de manera integral i gestionar de forma sostenible, incorporant al procés de presa de decisions variables extrafinanceres i sistemes d’informació transparents.La Crisis Financiera en la que estamos inmersos ha sido causada por múltiples factores, siendo destacable la falta de análisis, control y valoración del riesgo asociado a los activos financieros, así como a una falta de transparencia en los sistemas de información. Tener en cuenta todos los riesgos, de manera integral y gestionar de forma sostenible se propone como solución para el cambio de modelo, incorporando al proceso de toma de decisiones variables extra-financieras y sistemas de información transparentes.La Crise financière dans laquelle on est plongé a été causée par plusieurs facteurs : à remarquer le mangue d’analyse, de contrôle et d’évaluation du risque associé aux actifs financiers, ainsi qu’un manque de transparence des systèmes d’information. Tenir compte de tous les risques, de façon intégrale et gérer de manière soutenable sont proposés comme solution pour le changement de modèle, en rattachant au processus de prise de décisions des variables financières et des systèmes d’information transparents

A comparative account of indigenous participation in extractive projects: The challenge of achieving Free, Prior and Informed Consent.

Indigenous peoples’ right to Free, Prior, and Informed Consent (FPIC) has been recognised as an important principle to ensure their meaningful participation in decision-making processes related to extractive projects. Yet, many companies grapple with their duty to engage in good faith consultations with indigenous peoples implied by the standard of human rights due diligence. Instead of understanding project impacts from the perspective of these peoples, companies generally conduct one-off environmental or social impact assessments or sign private agreements with communities that look at project impacts merely in terms of the reputational, operational, legal, and financial costs they represent to them. Human Rights Impact Assessments recognise that human rights conditions evolve and that companies need to consult with affected rights-holders throughout the project cycle to renew community consent on a regular basis. Indigenous peoples are also taking matters into their own hands by conducting Community-Controlled Impact Assessments or community consultations to move consent-based processes to the centre of negotiations with companies. By comparing local experiences of corporate-indigenous engagement in Canada, Guatemala, and Peru, we aim to determine if and how companies currently contribute to the implementation of FPIC in order to suggest a way forward towards greater corporate commitment to FPIC.Funding for open access charge: CRUE-Universitat Jaume

The Effect of Environmental, Social and Governance Consistency on Economic Results

This study aims to explore how environmental, social and governance (ESG) consistency impacts the firm performance, specifically, the relationship between ESG performance and economic performance (EP). This study posits that the company’s commitment and effectiveness towards the creation of consistent competitive advantage in environmental, social and governance dimensions constitutes an intangible value that leads improvements in corporate performance. This work uses a panel dataset for listed firms of the EU-15 countries during the period 2002 to 2011 and applies Generalized method of moments (GMM) estimator system in order to address the potential unobserved heterogeneity and dynamic endogeneity. The main results reveal that the global effect of ESG performance on EP for those firms that present interdimensional consistency is greater than the rest, except for higher levels of ESG performance.The authors wish acknowledge the financial support received from P1•1B2013-31 and P1•1B2013-48 projects through the Universitat Jaume I, and the Sustainability and Corporate Social Responsibility Master Degree (UJI–UNED). The authors thank the anonymous reviewers for their insightful comments and suggestions

Top executive pay in Spanish banking system

This study examines consistency between compensation systems and corporate performance. The main purpose is to analyse how the performance has affected the short-term executive pay in Spanish banking system during the period 2004–2008. The main results reveal that pay-performance sensitivity is asymmetrical regarding the sign of the variation of the performance, since the pay-performance sensitivity is greater when the variation of the results is positive than when the variation of the results is negative. This finding is consistent with the managerial power theory and calls into question the role of the pay-performance incentives to align interest of executives and shareholders

Age Diversity: An Empirical Study in the Board of Directors

This study aims to explore how board age diversity affects corporate performance. This study develops three hypotheses built on the perspective of the upper echelons and Harrison and Klein's (2007 Harrison, D. and K. Klein. “What's the Difference? Diversity Constructs as Separation, Variety, or Disparity in Organizations.” Academy of Management Review 32, no. 4 (2007): 1199–1228.[CrossRef], [Web of Science ®], [Google Scholar]) diversity typology. Focusing on age diversity and using a board of directors as a unit of analysis, this study empirically tests the effects of each type of age diversity on corporate performance in a sample of European listed firms for the year 2009. This study advances the understanding of board behavior and its relationships with corporate results, and presents a new approach to study age diversity from an integrated point of view.The authors wish acknowledge the financial support received from projects P1•1B2010-13 and P1•1B2010- 04 through the Universitat Jaume I and Master’s Degree in Sustainability and Social Corporate Responsibility

Microfinance Institutions Fostering Sustainable Development by Region

In the last few years, considerable attention has been paid to microfinance as a relevant participant in the formal financial system, whose target audience is people who are otherwise at risk of financial exclusion. In parallel, sustainability and the promotion of Sustainable Development (SD) are imposed as the theoretical frame when facing any study. This, connected with cultural and organizational dimensions theories, are the analytical framework for the analysis of the relationship between the context of performance in which Microfinance Institutions (MFIs) operate and their activity in promoting sustainability. A holistic approach is necessary to make operational these concepts; for that reason, financial, environmental, social and governance dimensions (FESG), and the balance among them, have to be considered. The main objective of the paper is to explore to what extent MFIs are fostering SD, and how this promotion is performed by region. For the analysis, two different sources of information have been studied: sectoral academic literature that focuses on the different sustainability dimensions, and MIX Market sustainability data obtained from the MFIs. A keyword analysis of the selected papers has been executed to be conscious of the most investigated aspects by region; on the data provided by the institutions, a Kruskal-Wallis H test has been performed to learn what the main Sustainability Indicators (SIs) are that are reported affirmatively. To obtain comprehensive research, a comparative study of the results offers the convergences, divergences and gaps of information in each of the regions. The findings show significant differences depending on the region, and confirm that operationalization should be adjusted at the regional context of the MFIs. The paper, with the inherent limitations due to data quality, also offers recommendations for the better promotion of sustainability in each of the regions

Rating the Raters: Evaluating how ESG Rating Agencies Integrate Sustainability Principles

Environmental, social, and governance (ESG) rating agencies, acting as relevant financial market actors, should take a stand on working towards achieving a more sustainable development. In this context, the objective of this paper is, on the one hand, to understand how criteria used by ESG rating agencies in their assessment processes have evolved over the last ten years and, on the other hand, to analyze whether ESG rating agencies are contributing to fostering sustainable development by the inclusion of sustainability principles into their assessment processes and practices according to the ESG criteria. This research is based on a comparative descriptive analysis of the public information provided by the most representative ESG rating and information provider agencies in the financial market in two periods: 2008 and 2018. The findings show that ESG rating agencies have integrated new criteria into their assessment models to measure corporate performance more accurately and robustly in order to respond to new global challenges. However, a deep analysis of the criteria also shows that ESG rating agencies do not fully integrate sustainability principles into the corporate sustainability assessment process

Stakeholder engagement in sustainability reporting in higher education An analysis of key internal stakeholders' expectations

Purpose The purpose of this study is to improve the understanding of stakeholder engagement in the context of sustainability reporting (SR) for higher education institutions (HEIs), together with the materiality principle and stakeholder expectations. Design/methodology/approach This research uses an exploratory approach based on content analysis, a case study and descriptive and inferential statistics. Findings Three key findings come out of this research. First, the results indicate that HEIs use diverse criteria for grouping stakeholders and that stakeholder engagement is a heterogeneous process. Second, the expectations of internal stakeholders align with the material aspects of SR. Finally, among internal stakeholders, students and academics disagree on the prioritisation of some sustainability aspects, with non-academic staff adopting an intermediate position. Practical implications This analysis improves our knowledge of stakeholder engagement in HEIs. It helps to identify the relevant impacts of stakeholder engagement, enhances the quality of reporting and encourages a real dialogue with stakeholders. Originality/value The study examines stakeholder engagement and how the materiality principle is adopted by HEIs through SR. Furthermore, it compares these results with stakeholder expectations, considering the discrepancies between stakeholders. The results open the way to future research to explore the potential conflicts and collaborations between and within stakeholders to advance towards more sustainable institutions in the higher education sector

Sustainability rating agencies as a driver of socially responsible investment

El conjunto de actores de los mercados financieros a nivel mundial están demandando de forma creciente que la información financiera de las empresas se vea integrada con información de carácter ambiental, social y de gobierno corporativo. Las agencias de calificación de la sostenibilidad surgen en los mercados como oferentes de dicha información, desarrollado sus propias herramientas de medición y evaluación de los criterios financieros, ambientales y de gobernanza (FASG). El objetivo de este artículo es poner de manifiesto la función impulsora y modeladora que están realizando estas agencias en el análisis de la sostenibilidad corporativa, sus metodologías de evaluación y los criterios que utilizan, constatando que están potenciando el desarrollo de la inversión socialmente responsable (o inversión sostenible, o inversión con criterios ASG), y de las finanzas sostenibles, tanto por ofertar bases de datos de criterios FASG, como por la elaboración de índices bursátiles de sostenibilidad que sirven de benchmarking para los fondos de inversión con criterios de sostenibilidad. Sin embargo, por ahora, este impulso no está impactando en la innovación hacia modelos de negocios sostenibles.The financial market actors worldwide are increasingly demanding that the financial information of companies should be integrated with information of an environmental, social and corporate governance nature. The sustainability rating agencies emerge in the markets as providers of such information, developing their own tools for measuring and evaluating the financial, environmental and governance criteria (FESG). The objective of this paper is to highlight the function that these sustainability agencies are fulfilling, their evaluation methodologies and the criteria they use, confirming that they are promoting the development of socially responsible investment (or sustainable investment, or ESG investment). Both for their offer of databases of FESG criteria, and for the elaboration of sustainable indexes that serve as benchmarking for investment funds with sustainability criteria. However, they are not influencing innovation towards sustainable business models