Abstract This chapter examines environmental sustainability and digital accountability in South Africaâs mining sector, a domain marked by the tension between economic development and enduring ecological and social harm. Through a conceptual and reflective approach, this chapter adopts a multi-theoretical lens, drawing on institutional theory, stakeholder theory, legitimacy theory, economic theory and ecological modernisation theory to explore how social and environmental accounting (SEA) practices are shaped by regulatory frameworks, power dynamics, corporate disclosure strategies and technological innovation. Further, by using illustrative case examples, the analysis reveals a persistent gap between South Africaâs progressive environmental, social and governance (ESG) policies and their uneven implementation. Also, it shows that institutional and legitimacy pressures often drive symbolic compliance, while stakeholder engagement processes remain exclusionary. At the same time, emerging digital ESG tools, such as artificial intelligence (AI) monitoring, blockchain traceability and renewable energy systems, offer new possibilities for reform, though access and uptake remain unequal across firms and communities. This chapter presents a critical synthesis of theory and practice, highlighting the risks of techno-performative sustainability and proposing a more inclusive, participatory and justice-oriented approach to SEA in the Global South. Recommendations are offered across short, medium and long-term horizons, and future research directions are outlined to support empirical validation, comparative learning and deeper engagement with marginalised voices. This chapter contributes to both SEA literature and the practical reimagining of sustainability governance in resource-intensive economies.
The urgency of climate change has increased the need for effective mechanisms to reduce emissions and mobilize climate finance. Carbon markets provide a market-based approach through trading carbon credits from verified projects, but they face issues such as low transparency, double counting, weak monitoring, and lack of trust. This chapter examines how blockchain technology can address these challenges by improving transparency, traceability, and efficiency in carbon trading systems. Based on a conceptual review and global case studies, it highlights how blockchain enhances tracking, verification, and trading of carbon credits. The findings suggest that blockchain strengthens monitoring and reporting, reduces fraud risks, and improves accountability. It also enables more accessible and efficient carbon markets with broader stakeholder participation. The chapter concludes that blockchain-enabled carbon markets can enhance credibility and support the transition to a low-carbon economy.
Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) reporting has become an important mechanism for organisations to communicate their environmental, social, and governance commitments to stakeholders. Although recent regulatory initiatives have sought to improve the consistency and reliability of CSR disclosures, concerns regarding transparency, data integrity, and reporting of credibility remain. In response to these challenges, blockchain technology has gained attention as a potential tool for strengthening CSR reporting practices. This study explores the role of blockchain in CSR reporting through a systematic review of 21 publications covering blockchain technology, smart contracts, and non-fungible tokens (NFTs). Drawing evidence from academic, technical, and industry sources, the review examines how these technologies can support greater transparency, accountability, and stakeholder trust while highlighting current implementation challenges and research gaps. The findings suggest that CSR reports can be recorded and verified as NFTs on a blockchain network, offering a secure and traceable approach to reporting. Unlike conventional NFTs used for digital assets, CSR-related NFTs possess distinctive characteristics, including non-transferability and the need for regulatory oversight during their creation and validation. This study contributes to the emerging literature by proposing a blockchain-based CSR reporting architecture that integrates smart contracts and NFT standards while recognising the roles of companies, verifiers, and regulatory authorities. The proposed framework also advances understanding of the practical and conceptual considerations associated with CSR-focused NFTs, providing a foundation for future research and implementation.
Muhammad Irwan Ariffin, Noor Hazrin Hany Mohamad Hanif
The transition to decentralized renewable energy systems has gained significant attention, particularly through peer-to-peer (P2P) energy trading models that enable direct energy transactions between participants. While these systems offer technological and economic benefits, challenges persist in terms of social equity, technological accessibility, and ethical considerations. This chapter adopts a qualitative methodology based on a comprehensive literature review and meta-analysis and uniquely integrates Islamic finance principles, such as fairness, transparency, and risk-sharing, into the evaluation of P2P energy trading models. Through a review of pricing determination techniques and Islamic financial frameworks, a conceptual model is proposed to align decentralized energy markets with ethical financial practices. The findings offer policy insights for regulators and stakeholders, particularly in Muslim-majority regions, to develop inclusive and socially responsible energy trading systems that balance economic growth, environmental sustainability, and ethical values.
This study investigates the impact of sustainability-related uncertainty (SRU)âcaptured via the Sustainability-related Uncertainty Index in equal-weighted (ESGUI_EQ) and GDP-weighted (ESGUI_GDP) formsâon the volatility of green financial assets, focusing on decentralized finance (DeFi) protocols and Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG)-focused Exchange-Traded Funds (ETFs). Employing a fuzzy logic framework, complemented by 3D surface visualization, Rule Viewer analysis, diagnostic validation, and Granger causality tests, the study uncovers non-linear, asymmetric, and time-varying responses of these assets to sustainability ambiguity. Empirical results reveal a structural divergence: DeFi protocols amplify volatility due to fragmented governance, speculative investor behavior, and sensitivity to policy-driven signals, often exhibiting bidirectional predictive feedback with SRU, whereas ESG ETFs maintain stability through diversification, regulatory oversight, and rigorous ESG screening, primarily absorbing sustainability shocks. These findings extend sustainable finance theory by integrating governance, technology, and policy dimensions, and illustrate the value of fuzzy logic combined with Granger causality in modeling complex, ambiguous markets. From a practical standpoint, the study provides actionable guidance for investors, fund managers, and policymakers, emphasizing the importance of technology-informed governance, standardized ESG disclosures, regulatory sandboxes, and continuous monitoring of SRU.
This study investigates the relationship between public attention to the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and cryptocurrency demand, specifically for Bitcoin (BTC) and Cardano (ADA). Given the environmental concerns associated with Proof-of-Work (PoW) and the sustainability benefits of Proof-of-Stake (PoS), we hypothesize that increased SDG attention leads to higher demand for green cryptocurrencies like Cardano and lower demand for non-green cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin. Using Ordinary Least Squares (OLS) regression and supervised machine learning algorithms, we analyze weekly cryptocurrency returns and Google Trends data from 2020 to 2025. The findings suggest that SDG attention has a statistically significant but weak negative impact on Bitcoin returns, while no significant effect is observed for Cardano. Machine learning models fail to predict cryptocurrency demand effectively. These results indicate that sustainability awareness alone is not a primary driver of cryptocurrency investment behavior.
Stephen Bishibura Erick, Bonamax Mbasa, Kulwa Mangâana
This study conducts a comprehensive bibliometric analysis of scholarly research on green economy and sustainable finance from 2014 to 2024. Drawing upon a dataset of 692 peer-reviewed publications indexed in Scopus and analysed using the Bibliometrix R package, the study maps the fieldâs intellectual landscape, thematic development, and collaborative networks. The findings reveal a consistent increase in scientific output, with a pronounced surge in publications after 2018. This growth trend aligns with global policy milestones such as the Paris Agreement, the European Union [EU] Sustainable Finance Action Plan, and the proliferation of Environmental, Social, and Governance [ESG] integration and green bonds. China emerges as the most productive country, while institutions such as Jiangsu University, the Southwestern University of Finance and Economics, and the Lebanese American University lead in publication volume and collaboration intensity. Keyword co-occurrence and thematic mapping identify dominant themes related to green finance, environmental sustainability, ESG frameworks, and renewable energy, alongside emerging topics like climate risk disclosure and transition finance. Conceptual and co-word network analyses further reveal the interdisciplinary integration of finance, economics, policy, and environmental science. The study also demonstrates the growing decentralization of institutional influence and the rise of both NorthâSouth and SouthâSouth collaborations. These findings offer valuable insights into the evolving structure of research in sustainable finance and inform future academic inquiry and policy development.
This paper introduces CarbonLedgerProof (CLP), a novel cryptographic traceability algorithm designed to connect asset-level emissions data with financial statement estimates for enhanced Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) assurance and impairment testing. The proposed CLP algorithm bridges the gap between carbon emissions reporting and the financial implications of environmental risks, ensuring transparency and traceability across asset portfolios. By integrating blockchain technology and zero-knowledge proofs (ZKPs), CLP offers a secure and efficient way to validate emissions data against financial estimates, addressing challenges in ESG data integrity and providing an automated framework for impairment testing in the context of sustainability. In comparison to existing algorithms such as GreenLedger, CarbonProof, ESG-Chain, and a Traditional Audit (TradAudit) baseline. CLP demonstrates superior performance in terms of scalability, data integrity, and computational efficiency. Through an extensive experimental evaluation, we showcase CLP's ability to significantly reduce verification time and enhance the accuracy of ESG assurance processes. The results indicate that CLP outperforms traditional methods in integrating emissions data into financial systems, offering an innovative approach for real-time emissions monitoring and risk assessment. This paper concludes by proposing CLP as a transformative tool for corporate ESG reporting, with practical implications for financial institutions, auditors, and regulators seeking to streamline the integration of carbon data into decision-making frameworks.
Nurgul Bakytbekovna Aiupova, Md Tota Miah, Krisztina Taralik
ABSTRACT Blockchain technology has emerged as a potential disruptor in nonâfinancial reporting practices for firms to publicly report their social and environmental impact with its promise of immutability and decentralization. In this context, this study employs a bibliometric analysis to explore the scientific advancements of blockchain applications in CSR reporting from 2015 to 2025. VOSviewer and Biblioshiny in Rstudio applications were employed to perform the required analysis. Drawing data from Scopus and Web of Science (153 articles), the results reveal a significant shift in focus from traditional corporate social responsibility (CSR) reporting mechanisms toward technologyâenabled sustainability reporting. The thematic analysis presents five significant areas for further exploration, including corporate governance and sustainability strategy, technologyâdriven sustainable finance, CSR reporting and credibility, ESG performance and digital innovation, and blockchain for accountability and responsibility. The proposed conceptual framework suggests integration of technologyâorganizationâenvironment (TOE) elements when introducing new technology within the organization. Future researchers can empirically test the framework's antecedents to assess the socioâeconomic context of different types of nonâfinancial reporting.
Purpose This study investigates the impact of transitioning from the proof-of-work (PoW) to the proof-of-stake (PoS) consensus protocol on the relationship between cryptocurrency volatility and energy shocks. Design/methodology/approach We exploit the random nature of the transition to the PoS consensus algorithm as a quasi-natural experiment. We analyze this issue for the volatility processes of four digital currencies with high market capitalization using GARCH models. Findings Our cross-sectional findings suggest that after the transition to the PoS consensus protocol, cryptocurrency volatility becomes significantly less responsive to energy market shocks. Originality/value The findings of this study advocate for the migration from the energy-intensive PoW consensus protocol to the more environmentally sustainable PoS protocol. Moreover, this study advances the literature on green finance by documenting a strong case for cryptocurrency stakeholders to switch to the PoS protocol.
Jerusa Alberton, Marcelo CabĂșs Klötzle, Marcelo Guedes Pecly, Carlos de Lamare Bastian-Pinto
This paper examines whether the release of ESG ratings for blockchains and tokens influences investor behavior in cryptocurrency markets. In October 2021, Green Crypto Research (GCR) published the first systematic ESG ratings for digital assets, addressing growing institutional demand for sustainability information. Building on Ammann et al. (2018), who documented increased flows into high-ESG mutual funds after Morningstarâs ESG rating release, we use an Event Study methodology to analyze abnormal trading volumes before and after the GCR announcement. We find no significant increase in trading activity for highly rated blockchains or tokens, providing no evidence that investors reallocated funds toward higher-rated cryptocurrencies. These findings are relevant for investors evaluating ESG integration in digital assets, for policymakers considering sustainability disclosure in crypto markets, and for researchers studying the intersection between ESG and emerging financial technologies.
We examine how capital allocation responds to the technological abatement of a major environmental externality in cryptocurrency markets. Exploiting 34 million account-level trades around Ethereum's The Merge, a quasi-natural experiment that reduced the asset's carbon footprint by over 99.9%, we examine the presence of environmentally conscious (green) investors. To disentangle environmental concerns from general yield-seeking or reactions to altered protocol tokenomics, we identify these investors ex-ante by their revealed preference to divest when public attention to global warming escalated during a pre-event quiet period. Results show that these sophisticated green investors apply a significant brown discount pre-Merge, purchasing less Ether than their peers. Interestingly, this gap closed entirely post-Merge, indicating the rational removal of an environmental penalty rather than a market-wide pursuit of new staking yields. A decomposition of returns reveals that green investors earned superior financial gains relative to the non-green peers pre-Merge. However, the advantage vanished thereafter, indicating that the trading activeness reflects the sophisticated pricing of environmental transition risk rather than pure altruism. Overall, we argue that technological abatement can reshape capital flows and thus serve as a powerful complement to environmental regulation.
Anne S. Tsui, Farzam Boroomand, Arjen van Witteloostuijn, Wilfred Mijnhardt
This paper maps how management scholarship has taken up the United Nations' Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) across the past two decades with a particular focus on how Management and Organization Review (MOR) compares to 18 flagship journals in accounting finance management marketing and operations. Building on a 55âyear 18âjournal dataset the authors zero in on 2005â2024âthe decade before and after the SDGs' 2015 launchâand add MOR as a 19th journal to assess whether Chinese management research has been especially receptive to SDGâoriented work. Methodologically the team uses an ensemble of three AI systemsâa keyword / semantic model from Rotterdam School of Management OpenAI GPTâ4. 1 and Claude Sonnet 3. 7âto score each article abstract against all 17 SDGs. Articles are tagged to a goal when at least two models concur (âmajority ruleâ) allowing multiâlabel assignment. Interâmodel agreement is high (most pairwise correlations > 0. 90) and the resulting SDG ratioâthe share of a journal's output mapped to at least one SDGâserves as a transparent scalable indicator of a journal's socialâvalue orientation. Across the 20âyear window SDG engagement rises markedly after 2015. In the 18 journals the SDG ratio climbs from a preâ2015 baseline of 9% to 31% in 2015â2024. MOR exhibits both higher levels and stronger growth 28. 4% of its 2005â2014 papers are SDGâlinked jumping to 43. 3% postâ2015âabout 14 percentage points above the contemporaneous 18âjournal average. Aggregated over 2005â2024 36. 7% of MOR's 365 articles map to at least one SDG compared with 26. 4% of the 24,508 articles in the comparison set indicating a consistently stronger SDG orientation at MOR. Topic coverage is uneven but broadly aligned across journals. Four goals dominate in both MOR and the 18 journals SDG08 (Decent Work and Economic Growth) SDG09 (Industry Innovation & Infrastructure) SDG10 (Reduced Inequality) and SDG16 (Peace Justice & Strong Institutions). MOR also shows attention on SDG12 (Responsible Consumption & Production) clearing the 1% threshold there whereas the 18âjournal group surpasses MOR on SDG03 (Good Health & WellâBeing) and SDG05 (Gender Equality). Several ecologyâfocused goals (e. g. SDG 13â15) remain comparatively underrepresented overall underscoring opportunities to bind environmental stewardship more tightly to mainstream management theories of strategy organizing and innovation. The findings illuminate the agendaâsetting power of editorial policy. MOR's missionâto advance theory from and about China while cultivating humanistic stakeholderâoriented inquiryâappears to institutionalize stronger incentives for socially consequential work through topic selection special issues and review criteria. This suggests that journals can accelerate the field's pivot toward responsible research without sacrificing rigor echoing the Responsible Research in Business and Management (RRBM) movement's dual mandate of credibility and usefulness. The paper also positions the SDG ratio as a complementary metric to citationsâone that foregrounds societal relevance. While an SDG tag is not proof of realâworld impact systematic SDG mapping offers a common language for scholars editors and funders to monitor progress identify blind spots (notably climate and biodiversity) and align resources and evaluations with global development priorities. Methodologically the study endorses AI ensemble triangulation as a reliable scalable approach for largeâcorpus content analysis with the caveat that multiâmodel checks and transparency are essential. In sum management research has shiftedâunevenly but decisivelyâtoward societal stewardship since 2015. MOR stands out as a field leader demonstrating how editorial stewardship can galvanize SDGârelevant scholarship. The road ahead is clear deepen coverage of neglected ecological and equity goals maintain methodological pluralism and use SDGâaligned incentives to translate rigorous scholarship into knowledge that advances the common good.
Ylva Baeckström, Akanksha Jalan, Roman Matkovskyy, Julia Roloff
Abstract Individual investors dominate the rapidly growing US$2.73 trillion cryptocurrency market. Cryptocurrencies are highly controversial because of their real and expected ethical and environmental impacts. Surveying 1500 individual investors in Denmark, Finland, and Sweden, we reveal that beliefs about the ethical, sustainability, and environmental implications of cryptocurrencies influence current and intended ownership. While future participation intentions are predicated on currently owning cryptocurrencies, this relationship is moderated by investorsâ ethical and sustainability perceptions. Cryptocurrency knowledge and education significantly moderate the relationship between belief and intended ownership. Furthermore, we identify notable gender differences: ethical beliefs more strongly mediate future holding intentions among men, while sustainability perceptions have a greater mediating effect among women. In line with dual-process theory concepts, previous cryptocurrency trading experience and knowledge further reinforce this relationship. Our research has broad relevance to stakeholders, including policy makers, particularly in light of the current debate about Fintechâs role in fostering financial inclusion and the dubious ethical, sustainable, and environmental position of cryptocurrency mining and trading.
The effect of competitive pressure on ESG may diverge. On the one hand, when competitive pressure increases, firms have incentives to increase moral capital by fulfilling ESG to hedge against risks, on the other hand, the decline in firm performance due to competition may weaken firms' ability to fulfill ESG. Research on this issue has important theoretical and practical significance. Based on data from Chinese listed companies from 2010 to 2022, we used business similarity as a proxy for competitive pressure and find it significantly improves corporate ESG performance, i.e., the risk hedging effect of ESG dominates. Corporate financing constraints negatively moderate this effect. The ability of firms to transfer risk increases as their business becomes more decentralized, which in turn weakens this effect. Conversely, when firms have more concentrated sales, their ability to transfer risk diminishes, amplifying this effect. Our study explores the measure of competitive pressure and business similarity, also expands the research on the impact of business characteristics on the non-economic consequences of firms and ESG motivations.
This research proposes a secure, modular, and scalable blockchain-based framework for real-time ESG performance reporting in sustainable finance by integrating event-driven smart contract automation, decentralized oracle networks, and cryptographic audit layers. Built on permissioned Ethereum infrastructure, the system ingests off-chain sustainability metricsâsuch as CO2intensity, energy mix ratios, and labor safety KPIsâvia Chainlink oracles and secures them using SHA-3 hashing and IPFS-backed anchoring. Evaluation across key ESG domains consistently yielded 100% audit traceability, with average transaction finality of 2.3 seconds and automated compliance accuracy reaching 99.4%. Compared to centralized and semi-automated ESG infrastructures, the proposed system achieved up to 5.7% higher data integrity while reducing manual audit intervention by over 60%. By enabling programmable policy enforcement, high-frequency data validation, and verifiable reporting trails, the architecture significantly advances automation, transparency, and trust in ESG disclosure. Unlike legacy systems prone to lag and unverifiable metrics, this framework supports jurisdiction-agnostic deployment and real-time ESG assurance aligned with evolving global regulatory mandates.
Leonardo Henrique Lima de Pilla, Alketa Peci, Rodrigo de Oliveira Leite
ABSTRACT Corporatization in the public sector entails decentralizing the provision of public goods and services to more autonomous entities, including state-owned enterprises (SOEs). Research indicates that the decision to corporatize is driven, among other factors, by the pursuit of financial sustainability in public organizations. A continuing debate revolves around whether the political ideology of incumbents is linked to the creation of SOEs. However, limited attention has been given to understanding if incumbentsâ ideology shapes SOEsâ financial performance and, hence, financial sustainability. This is concerning because SOEs operate beyond political cycles, facing pressures from ideologically different governments over time. Herein, we investigate whether the incumbentsâ ideologies shape SOEsâ financial performance. We hypothesize that the more right leaning the incumbent, the greater the SOEsâ financial performance. However, given that incumbentsâ decisions are influenced by their political partiesâ behaviors, the effects of ideology may be contingent on these factors. Thus, we investigate whether the association of incumbentsâ ideology with SOEsâ financial performance is weaker when incumbentsâ political parties display non-policy behaviors (e.g., by prioritizing electoral outcomes or office occupation). We analyze a 2019â2022 panel of 317 SOEs controlled by 27 subnational governments in Brazil with both FGLS and instrumental variable regression approaches. The data comprising 1,116 SOE-year observations confirm our hypotheses. Our research contributes to scholarship on the drivers of public organizationsâ financial performance and sheds light on the role of political contingencies, such as incumbentsâ ideology and party predominant behaviors regarding SOEsâ financial performanceâa commonly overlooked gap in current research.
Abstract This study investigates whether corporate social responsibility (CSR) serves as a financial tool to mask corporate financialization. Using data from publicly listed nonâfinancial firms from 2008 to 2020 in China, we analyze the effects and mechanisms of CSR on corporate financialization. The results show that CSR, particularly those targeting stakeholders such as investors, customers, and the community, is positively associated with corporate financialization, suggesting that CSR acts as a financial tool that supports, rather than curtails, financialization. Employing the BâZ threeâstep method, we find that financing constraints partially mediate the effect of CSR on financialization, implying that CSR activities can ease financing constraints, thus providing funds for financial investments. This supports the view that enterprises' allocation of financial assets may be driven more by profitâseeking motives than precautionary liquidity management. Further analysis reveals that the financial tool hypothesis is primarily reflected in the stage where financing constraints impact financing and is particularly pronounced in nonâstateâowned enterprises, firms with decentralized ownership structures, and those led by management teams prioritizing shortâterm returns. This research offers a reference for studying the dualâedged implications of CSR in global corporate practices.
This study presents a bibliometric analysis of sustainable finance research using data exclusively from the WoS and Scopus database and visualization via VOSviewer. The aim is to map the intellectual landscape, identify thematic clusters, and explore global collaboration patterns within this rapidly evolving field. Keyword co-occurrence analysis highlights "sustainable finance" as the central theme, surrounded by related concepts such as ESG, green finance, green bonds, and sustainable development goals. Temporal and density visualizations reveal a shift in focus from traditional sustainability issues to emerging topics like greenwashing, decentralized finance, and fintech. Author and country collaboration maps uncover influential scholars and strong regional networks, particularly among institutions in the United Kingdom, India, Germany, and Italy. While the field shows high growth and thematic diversity, it also displays gaps in methodological variety, geographic inclusion, and institutional integration. The findings contribute to a comprehensive understanding of sustainable finance research trends and provide directions for future interdisciplinary inquiry.