The impact of ESG reporting on the financial performance of Russian public companies

There is a growing interest in non-financial reporting of public companies, which includes environmental, social and governance (ESG) factors. The paper studies how the degree of ESG disclosure affects corporate performance in Russia. Methodologically, the study relies on the concept of corporate sustainability and stakeholders, according to which ESG reporting increases investors and customers' confidence in the company and thereby contributes to the growth of profit-based indicators. Among the research methods applied are descriptive, correlation and regression analysis of the relationship between ESG disclosure and return on assets (ROA), equity (ROE) and capital (ROC) of public companies. The sample includes 50 Russian companies whose shares were traded on the Moscow Exchange between 2010 and 2019. The research demonstrates that ESG reporting has a statistically significant positive impact on the financial performance of the companies under review. The degree of this influence is different according to the enterprise's industry, size and debt level. Moreover, even in similar companies the impact depends on the level of ESG disclosure. The obtained results are of interest primarily to lenders, since the study focuses on financial profit-based indicators, while investors, in addition to traditional analysis, also use value analysis.