Preponderant criteria for the definition of corporate sustainability based on Brazilian sustainable companies

This research paper identifies and quantifies the main criteria that define Corporate Sustainability (CS) based on data from large Brazilian companies participating in B3 (Brasil, Balsa, Balcao), the Brazilian stock exchange. The data is derived from the 2015/2016 Corporate Sustainability Index (ISE) report. Initially, we applied Principal Component Analysis (PCA) on a sample comprised of sixty companies. Then, we organized and classified the scores for each criterion. Doing so, we are able to create a list of eighteen preponderant CS criteria, with respective components and dimensions. This list can be used as a reference for academic or practitioner studies. Notwithstanding, the main contribution of the present research is to unveil the inefficiency with which the social dimension is managed on CS issues. This gap related to the difficulties of assess and valuate social actions invites new studies on the way these aspects are being addressed on corporate level. (C) 2018 Published by Elsevier Ltd.