“G” and ESG Strategy Integration and Disclosure: Exploring the Governance-Related Factors That Influence Companies' Decision-Making

Abstract

Integrating environmental and social considerations into business strategies is critical to progress toward achieving sustainable development. The paper utilizes a sample comprising 364 companies listed on the Warsaw Stock Exchange (WSE) to identify the relationship between companies' corporate governance mechanisms and their environmental, social, and governance (ESG)-related strategic and reporting decisions. The timeframe of the study takes into account a key moment characterized by significant changes to the WSE's corporate governance code of best practice. According to the study findings, companies are more likely to integrate social issues into business strategies than they are to integrate environmental concerns. The logit regression results suggest a significant positive relationship between the implementation of both a diversity policy on corporate governance bodies and remuneration mechanisms and the decision to integrate environmental and social issues into a company's business strategy and ESG strategy disclosure. In contrast, the implementation of effective internal management systems is significantly associated only with the decision to integrate social issues into a company's business strategy.