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Sustainability Performance (sustainability + performance)

Distribution by Scientific Domains

Business, Economics, Finance and Accounting	75%

Selected Abstracts

Corporate Sustainability Performance and Idiosyncratic Risk: A Global Perspective

FINANCIAL REVIEW, Issue 2 2009
Darren D. Lee
G11; G30; Q56 Abstract Does investing in sustainability leaders affect portfolio performance? Analyzing two mutually exclusive leading and lagging global corporate sustainability portfolios (Dow Jones) finds that (1) leading sustainability firms do not underperform the market portfolio, and (2) their lagging counterparts outperform the market portfolio and the leading portfolio. Notably, we find leading (lagging) corporate social performance (CSP) firms exhibit significantly lower (higher) idiosyncratic risk and that idiosyncratic risk might be priced by the broader global equity market. We develop an idiosyncratic risk factor and find that its inclusion significantly reduces the apparent difference in performance between leading and lagging CSP portfolios. [source]

The determinants of corporate sustainability performance

ACCOUNTING & FINANCE, Issue 1 2010
Tracy Artiach
M14 Abstract This paper investigates the factors that drive high levels of corporate sustainability performance (CSP), as proxied by membership of the Dow Jones Sustainability World Index. Using a stakeholder framework, we examine the incentives for US firms to invest in sustainability principles and develop a number of hypotheses that relate CSP to firm-specific characteristics. Our results indicate that leading CSP firms are significantly larger, have higher levels of growth and a higher return on equity than conventional firms. Contrary to our predictions, leading CSP firms do not have greater free cash flows or lower leverage than other firms. [source]

Principles for sustainability rating of investment funds

BUSINESS STRATEGY AND THE ENVIRONMENT, Issue 1 2005
Thomas Koellner
During the last decade, the idea of sustainable investments hit the market. Investors both private and institutional started to supplement financial considerations with social and ecological ones. Meanwhile the supply of mutual funds in the ,green' investment sector increased enormously. Currently in Europe about 300 mutual funds are available that are managed according to sustainability and social responsibility. Potential investors face the difficulty of keeping track of the various funds and choosing among them based on a reliable comparative assessment. This paper outlines the basic principles and methods on which such a comparative sustainability rating is based. The method was designed to be analogous to rating of the funds financially. The sustainability rating is based on assessment of the research processes in the fund management as well as investigation of the fund portfolio in terms of composition and sustainability performance. It should support investors in their investment choices by offering them a third party view. Copyright © 2005 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd and ERP Environment. [source]