Sustainable business and financial performance. Evidence from the UK

Abstract

Purpose: In recent years, there have been growing concerns regarding the sustainable performance of businesses. The difficulties with companies’ inefficient performance, public pressure on firms, government legislation, and environmental changes force companies to operate more sustainably. Moreover, by not performing more sustainably, companies put themselves at high risk of damaging their reputation and respectability, which subsequently impacts their financial situation. Applying sustainability strategies and becoming more sustainable means that a firm is responsible for its actions and decision in terms of envi-ronmental, economic, and social aspects. Although many scholars agree that there is a relationship between sustainability and financial performance, some propose that sustainability has an insignificant effect on a company’s financial situation is. So, the issue of sustainability and a firm’s economic situation is a topic of significant controversy. Furthermore, some authors emphasize the complexity of verifying the connec-tion between sustainability and the financial situation. For this reason, the aim of this paper is to examine the relationship between sustainability and performance within the UK market. Methodology/approach: This work uses linear regression on a sample of 100 companies listed on the FTSE100 to investigate the relationship between reported CSR and profitability. Findings: The outcome of the research highlights that for the specific year under investigation, sustainability reporting does not have an impact on perfor-mance indicators such as ROE, ROA, or profit margin. Originality/value: The article contributes to the discussion on the relationship between sustainable development and the financial results of enterprises.