Flækjur við mælanleika Ufs-þátta

Olaf Sigurjonsson, Stefan Wendt

Research output: Chapter in Book/Report/Conference proceedingBook chapterResearchpeer-review

Abstract

The call from stakeholders for corporate social responsibility has led to at-tempts to develop measurability of such activities. Legislators in Europe and Iceland have followed suit and implemented regulations that require listed companies and institutional investors to present the results of op-erations and investments in relation to social responsibility. Regulators demand such information together with financial data. In step with this development, several software companies have emerged which gather, analyze and publish information on corporate social responsibility. This ma-terial has often been called ESG data and stands for environmental and so-cial aspects as well as governance. The problem is that there are no clearly defined criteria for the methodology for collecting, analyzing and publish-ing data on corporate social responsibility, neither in Iceland nor abroad. There is little agreement between the rating agencies or between other market participants on what methodology to apply. Furthermore, trans-parency is low, because the methodology used is usually not made public, which also makes it difficult to compare the results of different approaches. This chapter sheds light on the development of ESG data with an emphasis on how different methodologies have emerged. Special emphasis is placed on Icelandic conditions, where the goal is to understand the problem that different stakeholders face. A preliminary survey was conducted among stakeholders, and the results build a foundation for further research which can point out ways to reduce the inconsistency of ESG information and increase trust in this data.
Original languageIcelandic
Title of host publicationRannsóknir í viðskiptafræði II
EditorsGylfi Dalmann, Runolfur Smari Steinthorsson, Thorhallur Gudlaugsson
Place of PublicationReykjavík
PublisherUniversity of Iceland Press
Publication date2021
Pages289-307
ISBN (Print)9789935232731
Publication statusPublished - 2021

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