지속가능경영보고서의 유사도와 ESG 등급

[Purpose]We analyze the relationship similarity of sustainability reports for the current and previous years and ESG ratings. We empirically analyze whether the higher the evaluation of the previous year’s ESG activities, the higher the similarity between the current year’s sustainability report and the previous year’s sustainability report. [Methodology]From 2013 to 2022, among 257 companies listed on KOSPI market that registered their sustainability reports on the KRX ESG portal, and received ESG ratings were set as samples. We analyze whether the higher the company’s ESG rating, the higher the similarity between the current and previous year’s sustainability reports. [Findings]The results show that when a company’s environmental and social activities are highly evaluated, the current year’s sustainability report refers more to the previous year’s sustainability report. On the other hand, when a company’s governance activities were evaluated highly, the similarity between the current year’s sustainability report and the previous year’s sustainability report was found to be low. [Policy Implications]This study has a contribution in the current situation where mandatory disclosure of sustainability reports is being promoted, while existing studies were conducted on financial statement notes or MD&A.