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Does sustainability activities performance matter during financial crises? Investigating the case of COVID-19

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  • Yoo, Sunbin
  • Keeley, Alexander Ryota
  • Managi, Shunsuke
Abstract
As a market for sustainability investing is growing rapidly, understanding the impact of environmental, social, and governance (ESG) activities on firms’ financial performance is becoming increasingly important. In this study, we examine the effect of ESG performance on stock returns and volatility during the financial crisis resulting from the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic. To quantify the impact, we use company-level daily ESG score data and United Nations Global Compact (GC) score data. In our dataset, ESG scores indicate ESG performance that is deemed important to financial materiality, and the GC score indicates the firm reputation for following UN rules. Our results indicate that during the pandemic, an increase in the ESG score, especially the E score component, is related to higher returns and lower volatility. Conversely, increasing GC scores is correlated with lower stock returns and higher volatility. In addition, we find that firms in lower return groups benefit more than other firms. Focusing on energy sector impacts, we show that although the non-energy sector benefits more than the energy sector from increasing E scores, energy sector firms can still reduce their stock price volatility by increasing these scores. Our study offers significant implications for ESG investment strategies during financial crises.

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  • Yoo, Sunbin & Keeley, Alexander Ryota & Managi, Shunsuke, 2021. "Does sustainability activities performance matter during financial crises? Investigating the case of COVID-19," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 155(C).
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:enepol:v:155:y:2021:i:c:s0301421521002007
    DOI: 10.1016/j.enpol.2021.112330
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    Cited by:

    1. Kudryashov, Alexander, 2023. "ESG Transformation: A Roadmap for Russia’s Sustainable Development /– Tallinn : OPEN EUROPEAN ACADEMY OF PUBLIC SCIENCES OÜ, 2023," OSF Preprints 6j8ux, Center for Open Science.
    2. He, Chengying & Wen, Zhang & Huang, Ke & Ji, Xiaoqin, 2022. "Sudden shock and stock market network structure characteristics: A comparison of past crisis events," Technological Forecasting and Social Change, Elsevier, vol. 180(C).
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    4. Remo-Diez, Nieves & Mendaña-Cuervo, Cristina & Arenas-Parra, Mar, 2023. "Exploring the asymmetric impact of sustainability reporting on financial performance in the utilities sector: A longitudinal comparative analysis," Utilities Policy, Elsevier, vol. 84(C).
    5. Gen‐Fu Feng & Han Long & Hai‐Jie Wang & Chun‐Ping Chang, 2022. "Environmental, social and governance, corporate social responsibility, and stock returns: What are the short‐ and long‐Run relationships?," Corporate Social Responsibility and Environmental Management, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 29(5), pages 1884-1895, September.
    6. Piñeiro-Chousa, Juan & López-Cabarcos, M. Ángeles & Pérez-Pico, Ada M. & Caby, Jérôme, 2023. "The influence of Twitch and sustainability on the stock returns of video game companies: Before and after COVID-19," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 157(C).
    7. Kenichi Yoshida & Kenichi Kurita & Shunsuke Managi, 2023. "Stakeholder engagement as a sustainable development strategy: Managerial entrenchment for cross‐shareholdings," Corporate Social Responsibility and Environmental Management, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 30(1), pages 402-418, January.
    8. Agnieszka Janik & Adam Ryszko, 2023. "Sustainability Reporting during the Crisis—What Was Disclosed by Companies in Response to the COVID-19 Pandemic Based on Evidence from Poland," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 15(17), pages 1-54, August.
    9. Lin, Xiang & Bali Swain, Ranjula, 2024. "Performance of negatively screened sustainable investments during crisis," International Review of Economics & Finance, Elsevier, vol. 93(PA), pages 1226-1247.
    10. Giuseppe Maria Bifulco & Riccardo Savio & Maria Federica Izzo & Riccardo Tiscini, 2023. "Stopping or Continuing to Follow Best Practices in Terms of ESG during the COVID-19 Pandemic? An Exploratory Study of European Listed Companies," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 15(3), pages 1-16, January.
    11. Fanar Shwedeh & Ahmad Aburayya & Raghad Alfaisal & Ayotunde Adetola Adelaja & Gbemisola Ogbolu & Abid Aldhuhoori & Said Salloum, 2022. "SMEs’ Innovativeness and Technology Adoption as Downsizing Strategies during COVID-19: The Moderating Role of Financial Sustainability in the Tourism Industry Using Structural Equation Modelling," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(23), pages 1-18, December.
    12. Ferdy F. F. Nuus & Petra C. M. Neessen & Cosmina L. Voinea & Marjolein C. J. Caniëls, 2022. "Sustainable Innovation in the Financial Sector during the Corona Crisis: How Discontinuity Affects Sustainable Innovation, Sustainable Entrepreneurial Orientation, and Absorptive Capacity," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(11), pages 1-15, May.
    13. Hamzeh F. Assous, 2022. "Saudi Green Banks and Stock Return Volatility: GLE Algorithm and Neural Network Models," Economies, MDPI, vol. 10(10), pages 1-18, October.
    14. Rendani Mavis Matakanye & Huibrecht Margaretha van der Poll & Binganidzo Muchara, 2021. "Do Companies in Different Industries Respond Differently to Stakeholders’ Pressures When Prioritising Environmental, Social and Governance Sustainability Performance?," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(21), pages 1-22, October.
    15. Bakry, Walid & Mallik, Girijasankar & Nghiem, Xuan-Hoa & Sinha, Avik & Vo, Xuan Vinh, 2023. "Is green finance really “green”? Examining the long-run relationship between green finance, renewable energy and environmental performance in developing countries," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 208(C), pages 341-355.
    16. Zhao, Jing & Cui, Luansong & Liu, Weiguo & Zhang, Qiwen, 2023. "Extreme risk spillover effects of international oil prices on the Chinese stock market: A GARCH-EVT-Copula-CoVaR approach," Resources Policy, Elsevier, vol. 86(PB).
    17. M. Ángeles López‐Cabarcos & Helena Santos‐Rodrigues & Lara Quiñoá‐Piñeiro & Juan Piñeiro‐Chousa, 2023. "How to explain stock returns of utility companies from an environmental, social and corporate governance perspective," Corporate Social Responsibility and Environmental Management, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 30(5), pages 2278-2291, September.
    18. Riccardo Savio & Edoardo D’Andrassi & Francesca Ventimiglia, 2023. "A Systematic Literature Review on ESG during the COVID-19 Pandemic," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 15(3), pages 1-17, January.
    19. Yoshida, Kenichi & Iino, Yoshiaki & Managi, Shunsuke, 2022. "Do Japanese keiretsu promote better CSR activities?," Economic Analysis and Policy, Elsevier, vol. 76(C), pages 452-475.
    20. Haibo Sun & Tonghuan Bai & Youqing Fan & Zhonglu Liu, 2024. "Environmental, social, and governance performance and enterprise sustainable green innovation: Evidence from China," Corporate Social Responsibility and Environmental Management, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 31(4), pages 3633-3650, July.
    21. Jill Atkins & Federica Doni & Andrea Gasperini & Sonia Artuso & Ilaria Torre & Lorena Sorrentino, 2023. "Exploring the Effectiveness of Sustainability Measurement: Which ESG Metrics Will Survive COVID-19?," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 185(3), pages 629-646, July.

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