ESG-Principles of public and corporate governance

Abstract

Currently, the term ESG (Environment, Social, Governance) is commonly found in scientific papers though the term was introduced in 2004. Before that, many studies were devoted to the issues of sustainable development, where, among others, the social, economic, and environmental factors influencing the development, including the regional economy, were considered and are still being analyzed. The concept of sustainable development became widely recognized even earlier – in 1987.

Currently the principles of sustainability were transformed into environmental, social and corporate governance (ESG). What is the reason for the renewal of the term? Following the trend? or have the business structures really shifted to environmental protection and social responsibility towards society? Is it possible to apply ESG principles to both public and corporate governance? The authors give answers to those questions in the article.

Its first part is about the sustainable development essence in public administration and in particular, about the features of the regional economy. Authors propose a clarification of the concept of sustainable development of the regional economy.

The second part of the paper is about ESG principles in business, and the activities of business structures to match their performance with the challenges of the “green” agenda.