Dumi escu, Dan Gab iel e al.
A icle
En i onmen al epo ing, inancial undamen als and
company alua ion: Insigh s om he indus ial sec o
Am i ea u Economic
P o ided in Coope a ion wi h:
The Bucha es Uni e si y o Economic S udies
Sugges ed Ci a ion: Dumi escu, Dan Gab iel e al. (2025) : En i onmen al epo ing, inancial
undamen als and company alua ion: Insigh s om he indus ial sec o , Am i ea u Economic,
ISSN 2247-9104, The Bucha es Uni e si y o Economic S udies, Bucha es , Vol. 27, Iss. 70, pp.
731-749,
h ps://doi.o g/10.24818/EA/2025/70/731
This Ve sion is a ailable a :
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Sus ainabili y Repo ing: Ca alys o O ganisa ional and P o essional Change
AE
Vol. 27 • No. 70 • Augus 2025 731
ENVIRONMENTAL REPORTING, FINANCIAL FUNDAMENTALS,
AND COMPANY VALUATION: INSIGHTS FROM THE INDUSTRIAL SECTOR
Dan Gab iel Dumi escu1, S e ania C is ina Cu ea2,
C is iana Ioana Coman3, Anca Gab iela Ilie4, Rena e B a u5
and Alma Pen escu6
1),2),3),4)Bucha es Uni e si y o Economic S udies, Bucha es , Romania
5),6) "Lucian Blaga" Uni e si y o Sibiu, Sibiu, Romania
Please ci e his a icle as:
Dumi escu, D.G., Cu ea, S.C., Coman, C.I., Ilie, A.G.,
B a u, R. and Pen escu, A., 2025. En i onmen al Repo ing,
Financial Fundamen als, and Company Valua ion: Insigh s
om he Indus ial Sec o . Am i ea u Economic, 27(70),
pp. 731-749.
DOI: h ps://doi.o g/10.24818/EA/2025/70/731
A icle His o y
Recei ed: 29 Ma ch 2025
Re ised: 24 Ap il 2025
Accep ed: 20 May 2025
Abs ac
The pape in es iga es he e ec o en i onmen al policies on he ma ke alua ion o
companies wi hin he Eu opean Union's Indus ial sec o , along wi h adi ional inancial
indica o s. Taking in o accoun he Co po a e Sus ainabili y Repo ing Di ec i e imposed by
he Eu opean Union au ho i ies o he mos p ominen companies, we used a comp ehensi e
da a se o 494 publicly lis ed companies o e he pe iod 2020-2023 o assess he p edic i e
impac o en i onmen al policy adop ion (EPO), en i onmen al policy quali y sco es
(EPOS), and inancial a iables (FV) on he p ice- o-book (PB) a io o lis ed companies. We
use a Random Fo es eg ession model o iden i y and ank he impo ance o a
comp ehensi e se o a iables, unde lining he idea o in es o a en ion and p io i ies. The
main indings poin o an inc ease in in es o in e es in he e ec i eness o en i onmen al
policies a he han hei simple p esence, emphasising he s a egic impo ance o in eg a ing
measu able en i onmen al ou comes in o company alua ion amewo ks. Howe e ,
adi ional inancial a iables consis en ly ou pe o m en i onmen al indica o s in explaining
ma ke alua ion.
Keywo ds: en i onmen al policies, ma ke alua ion, andom o es s, CSRD.
JEL Classi ica ion: G32, Q56, M14, C55
Co esponding au ho , S e ania C is ina Cu ea – e-mail: s e[email p o ec ed]
This is an Open Access a icle dis ibu ed unde he e ms o he C ea i e Commons
A ibu ion License, which pe mi s un es ic ed use, dis ibu ion, and ep oduc ion in any
medium, p o ided he o iginal wo k is p ope ly ci ed. © 2025 The Au ho (s).
AE
En i onmen al Repo ing, Financial Fundamen als and Company Valua ion:
Insigh s om he Indus ial Sec o
732 Am i ea u Economic
In oduc ion
Clima e change is one o he g ea es challenges o ou ime. In his con ex , companies a e
among he mos impo an playe s, as hey con ibu e signi ican ly o g eenhouse gas
emissions h ough p oduc ion, ene gy consump ion, anspo a ion, and o he ac i i ies.
Mo eo e , companies con ol as amoun s o esou ces, supply chains, and in as uc u e;
hence, hei decisions a ec he en i onmen on a la ge scale. Consequen ly, policymake s
a e inc easingly in oducing en i onmen al p o ec ion egula ions, elying on companies'
esponsibili ies o p o ec he en i onmen .
The Eu opean Commission adop ed he Co po a e Sus ainabili y Repo ing Di ec i e
(CSRD), a main egula o y amewo k aimed a enhancing and s anda dising sus ainabili y
epo ing among nea ly 50.000 Eu opean companies. This numbe includes bo h la ge
companies and lis ed small and medium en e p ises (SMEs) (Allgeie and Feldmann, 2023;
Ruohonen and Kullas, 2024). The implemen a ion o CSRD s a ed in 2023 o la ge
companies and will be ex ended o smalle companies wi h a leas 250 employees un il 2026
(San illi, 2023). Companies mus include sus ainabili y in o ma ion in speci ic managemen
epo s conside ing a se o s anda ds named as he Eu opean Sus ainabili y Repo ing
S anda ds (ESRS) (B ans, Bloembe g and Felde , 2024). G een inance policies imp o e
co po a e en i onmen al, social and go e nance (ESG) pe o mance (Wang, Elahi and
Khalid, 2022). Howe e , he e is e idence ha he implemen a ion o ESG equi emen s
could gene a e a ce ain p essu e o change business models (Ho obe e al., 2024).
Speci ically, companies need o ocus on moni o ing ac o s such as g eenhouse emissions,
pollu ion, social issues, and go e nance policies (Lamen , 2024).
The co po a e alua ion landscape has changed wi h he implemen a ion o ESG policies.
Fu he mo e, ex ensi e esea ch shows ha in es o s, bo h ins i u ional and e ail, ecalib a e
hei in es men s a egies o include mo e sus ainable cha ac e is ics o inancial asse s
(Mi za e al., 2025). In es o s and s akeholde s inc easingly sc u inise no only inancial
pe o mance bu also he sus ainabili y p ac ices o companies, speci ically in economic
sec o s wi h impo ance en i onmen al oo p in s such as indus ials (F iede, Busch and
Bassen, 2015; Said and El Bannan, 2024; Song and Rimmel, 2025). The e o e, we conside
ha he link be ween inancial and en i onmen al s a egies becomes essen ial o
comp ehensi e cap u e o he d i e s ha in luence he alua ion o companies by in es o s
o he capi al ma ke .
The pape p esen s an impo an con ibu ion o he sus ainabili y and inance li e a u e by
in eg a ing en i onmen al and inancial me ics o i m alua ion wi hin he con ex o he EU’s
CSRD egula o y amewo k. We analysed 494 EU-lis ed companies in he Indus ials sec o ,
all o which mee he CSRD equi emen s. The s udy has an in eg a i e pe spec i e, using h ee
ypes o indica o s: (i) bina y me ics on he co po a e adop ion o en i onmen al policy; (ii)
sco es e lec ing he quali y o hese policies; (iii) inancial indica o s o liquidi y, sol ency,
p o i abili y, e iciency, and ma ke isk. The use o Random Fo es eg ession o assess he
impo ance and anking o each a iable, in each yea om 2020 o 2023, p o ides a obus
pe spec i e on he link be ween en i onmen al policies and ma ke alua ion, while add essing
issues o nonlinea i y and mul icollinea i y. A key con ibu ion o he s udy lies in p o iding
empi ical e idence ha in es o s inc easingly p io i ise he e ec i eness o en i onmen al
policies – pa icula ly hose ela ed o emissions and supply chains – o e hei simple adop ion.
This inding unde sco es a shi o in es o s owa d aluing angible en i onmen al policies and
Sus ainabili y Repo ing: Ca alys o O ganisa ional and P o essional Change
AE
Vol. 27 • No. 70 • Augus 2025 733
ou comes, o e ing a mo e nuanced and in eg a i e unde s anding o how en i onmen al
s a egies in luence ma ke alua ion unde e ol ing egula o y p essu es.
The nex sec ion o he a icle p o ides an o e iew o p io esea ch, ollowed by a sec ion
ou lining he esea ch me hodology used in ou app oach. The ollowing sec ion shows and
discusses he main esul s o he s udy, and he las sec ion concludes and ou lines he
esea ch limi a ions ha may open a enues o u u e esea ch.
1. Re iew o he scien i ic li e a u e
Sus ainable de elopmen , a concep in oduced by he Wo ld Commission on En i onmen
and De elopmen in 1987, has a a che e ec on socie y's long- e m s abili y and
en i onmen , ensu ing balanced and pe pe ual imp o emen . (Belascu, 2015; Wang, Elahi
and Khalid, 2022). O e ime, sus ainabili y has made i s way in o in es o s' decisions in
inancial ma ke s. They ha e s a ed o in eg a e i , usually h ough he En i onmen al,
Social, and Go e nance (ESG) amewo k, in hei decision making (Busch e al., 2015). This
also signals a eo ien a ion o in es men s owa ds a long- e m pa adigm o sus ainable
de elopmen (Folqué, Esc ig-Olmedo and San ama ía, 2021; Shome e al., 2023).
In line wi h he global ision owa d sus ainabili y, he EU in oduced CSRD - as pa o he
Eu opean G een Deal – o os e sus ainabili y p ac ices in he inancial and co po a e sec o s
and o g an in es o s and o he s akeholde s access o anspa en in o ma ion ega ding he
company's impac , isks, and oppo uni ies associa ed wi h sus ainabili y and ESG issues.
Thus, he EU is s eng hening mechanisms o a oid an asymme ic low o in o ma ion
ela ed o sus ainabili y issues by epo ing acco ding o he ESRS (B ans, Bloembe g and
Felde , 2024; Eu opean Commission, 2025).
Al hough CSRD epo ing is a ecen EU di ec i e, he li e a u e e iew is ich in scien i ic
a icles, wi h mo e han 269 pape s published in Web o Science (WOS) con i ming an
in e es among esea che s in e alua ing, on he one hand, he impac o he new legisla ion
equi emen a he company le el and, on he o he hand, he impac o CSRD epo ing on
in es o sen imen . In his line, Ma inče ić, P imo ac and Do ić (2024) p o ide a gene al
pe spec i e on sus ainabili y epo ing h ough CSRD epo ing and i s connec ion o he
ESG concep by add essing oday's business en i onmen . Gebha d e al. (2023) examined
he challenges o implemen ing he Sus ainable Finance Disclosu e Regula ion (SFDR) o
ins i u ional in es o s and how he use o a quali a i e app oach a ec s hei decision-
making. Basile and Fe a i (2024) ein o ced he p e ious esul s by p oposing s a egies o
e ec i ely in eg a e sus ainabili y c i e ia in o he in es men p ocess.
Se e al au ho s e alua ed he impac o CSRD om he pe spec i e o epo ing
equi emen s a he egional le el, and he esul s eached he same conclusions. Fo example,
Kosi and Rela d (2024) alida ed he na u e o e o s equi ed by Ge man companies o
CSRD epo ing and concluded ha his p ocess is "a high bu den", especially o companies
wi h no expe ience in sus ainabili y epo ing. Simila ly, B ans, Bloembe g and Felde
(2024) assessed he impac o CSRD epo ing on Du ch companies and emphasised ha he
new egula ions equi e mo e con ex o p o iding in o ma ion and explaining isks. Pizzi
and Co onella (2024) iden i ied a "mime ic isomo phism" in which I alian companies end o
mimic he sus ainabili y epo ing beha iou s o o he companies. In addi ion, Ba anga and
AE
En i onmen al Repo ing, Financial Fundamen als and Company Valua ion:
Insigh s om he Indus ial Sec o
734 Am i ea u Economic
I im (2023) a i med he impac o CSRD epo ing o companies lis ed on he Bucha es
S ock Exchange.
The connec ion be ween co po a e en i onmen al and inancial pe o mance has ecei ed
signi ican a en ion in he esea ch li e a u e. Socially esponsible in es ing (SRI) is essen ial
o encou age sus ainable co po a e p ac ices and, consequen ly, o encou age easonable
p ac ices in en i onmen al policies, consume p o ec ion, and human igh s (Ho obe and
Belascu, 2012; P elipcean and Boscoianu, 2020; López Vázquez e al., 2025). F om a gene al
pe spec i e, he impac o en i onmen al p og ammes and social p ac ices has been alida ed
o he iple bo om line o en i onmen al, socie al, and economic pe o mance (Gimenez,
Sie a and Rodon, 2012). Addi ionally, o he s udies p o e ha in es o s p e e ewa ding
i ms ha indica e posi i e social beha iou (Luz, Schaue and Viehwege , 2024). F iede,
Busch and Bassen (2015) sc u inised he indings o app oxima ely 2,200 indi idual s udies
and con i med a posi i e ela ionship be ween ESG and co po a e inancial pe o mance.
Albe ini (2013) alida ed he au ho s' esul s on a smalle scale, conduc ing a me a-analysis o
52 s udies o e a 35-yea pe iod. Baks (2024) highligh s he conclusions o Amel-Zadeh and
Se a eim (2018) and sugges s ha sus ainabili y unde he CSRD epo ing egula ions equips
in es o s o be e e alua e companies' sus ainabili y pe o mance. In ou iew, a simple
assessmen o he exis ence o en i onmen al policies is o li le signi icance o in es men
decision making. The quali y, na u e, and ac ual impac o hese policies ma e , bu his has
no been explo ed in dep h o da e.
A he sec o al le el, Ho obe e al. (2024) in es iga ed he in luence o ESG sco es in he oil
and gas indus y on inancial pe o mance. They concluded ha in es o s examine
sus ainabili y discou se and esul s when de e mining a company's alue. Mo eo e , Wal he
(2018) demons a ed ha sus ainabili y e o s ha e inancial impo ance o companies in
he ene gy indus y, iden i ying se e al ends such as cus ome s' eo ien a ion owa d mo e
sus ainable al e na i es, s anded asse isk, and clima e change. By expanding he esea ch
a ea, o he au ho s alida ed h ough quan i a i e s udies he posi i e impac o g een
ma ke ing p ac ices on sus ainable pe o mance (Chen e al., 2024).
Al hough he scien i ic li e a u e is ich in s udies e alua ing he link be ween inancial
pe o mance and sus ainabili y a he company le el, he e a e s ill unexplo ed elemen s on
he impo ance gi en o en i onmen al policies compa ed o inancial a iables, a pe spec i e
ha p o ides a deep unde s anding o he ac o s ha in luence in es men decisions. Many
o he exis ing s udies add ess he exis ence o ESG policies, bu omi ine -g ained aspec s
such as quali y, impac , o how hey a e e alua ed in analogy wi h adi ional inancial
indica o s. Consequen ly, we belie e ha hese unexplo ed dimensions equi e u he
in es iga ion, analysing bo h he impac o he exis ence o en i onmen al policies and he
e alua ion o he implemen a ion execu ion and communica ion p ocess.
Taking in o accoun he exis ing li e a u e and epo ing p ac ices, he e is g owing in es o
in e es in he impac o sus ainabili y policies, pa icula ly in a eas such as gas emissions,
supply chain aceabili y, and clima e isk. In his con ex , his pape aims o explain how
in es o s e alua e companies by analysing in de ail he ela ionship be ween en i onmen al
policies and inancial indica o s. In line wi h his pe spec i e, we o mula e he ollowing
esea ch hypo heses:
Sus ainabili y Repo ing: Ca alys o O ganisa ional and P o essional Change
AE
Vol. 27 • No. 70 • Augus 2025 735
I1: En i onmen al policies a e impo an indica o s in he in es men decision-making
p ocess.
I2: The quali y o en i onmen al policies is mo e impo an han he p esence o hese policies
in he eyes o in es o s.
I3: Financial a iables domina e en i onmen al policies in explaining he company's ma ke
alua ion.
2. Resea ch me hodology
2.1. Da a used
This s udy uses a da a se o 494 companies om he indus ial sec o o he Eu opean Union
(acco ding o he TRBC Classi ica ion) collec ed om LSEG-Re ini i ha co e s he yea s
2020–2023. All companies a e lis ed on a leas one s ock exchange, and hei selec ion
conside ed he ul ilmen o wo CSRD- ela ed c i e ia, namely e enues o a leas €50
million and asse s o a leas €25 million ea ned in 2023. Also, only companies ha ecei ed
an ESG sco e g ea e han ze o in 2023 we e included in he sample. The da a se includes
ma ke and inancial in o ma ion o each company, along wi h en i onmen al me ics. The
dependen a iable is he p ice- o-book (P/B) a io, a well-known ma ke alua ion indica o ,
which compa es he s ock p ice o i s accoun ing alue. The independen a iables a e
included in h ee ca ego ies p o ided by Re ini i :
(1) En i onmen al Policies (EPO) – This ca ego y includes bina y indica o s ha indica e he
p esence o speci ic en i onmen al o sus ainabili y policies a he i m le el. These a iables
we e encoded as 1 (Yes) o 0 (No) o signi y he p esence o absence o each policy.
(2) En i onmen al Policy Sco es (EPOS) – This ca ego y includes sco es ( om 0 o 100) ha
measu e he quali y o pe o mance o he company’s en i onmen al policies and p ac ices
conside ed in he EPO. EPOS a iables cap u e he e ec i eness o en i onmen al ini ia i es
a he co po a e le el, wi h highe sco es showing imp o ed be e en i onmen al
pe o mance, allowing us o measu e he quali y o en i onmen al policies implemen ed, no
jus whe he such policies exis . The nine indica o s included in EPOS a e ma ched wi h hose
included in EPO, so ha we conside bo h i s exis ence and i s quali y o each speci ic
en i onmen al policy. The LSEG-Re ini i da abase includes mo e han nine indica o s, bu
we selec ed hose wi h a leas 100 companies o e ing da a. When da a o EPO we e no
a ailable, we en e ed ze o o EPOS. Table 1 de ails he EPO and EPOS a iables.
(3) Financial Va iables (FV) – This ca ego y includes i e inancial me ics ha in luence
company pe o mance and alua ion ha e e o liquidi y, sol ency, asse use e iciency,
p o i abili y, and sys ema ic isk – see Table 2 o de ails. These we e chosen based on p io
esea ch ha e lec ed hei ole in d i ing ma ke alua ions; see, o example, Ho obe e
al. (2024), Bon and Ha oko (2022), Jihadi e al. (2021). Fu he mo e, by inco po a ing hese
FVs, we con ol he adi ional d i e s o i m alue so ha he inc emen al ela ionship o
en i onmen al policies wi h he ma ke alue o company s ocks can be assessed.
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En i onmen al Repo ing, Financial Fundamen als and Company Valua ion:
Insigh s om he Indus ial Sec o
736 Am i ea u Economic
Table no. 1. EPO and EPOS a iables
Va iable
Signi icance
EPO
no a ion
EPOS
no a ion
En i onmen
Managemen
Team
Does he company ha e an en i onmen al managemen
eam ha pe o ms he unc ions dedica ed o
en i onmen al issues?
EMT
EMTS
En i onmen al
Ma e ials
Sou cing
Does he company ha e a policy o imp o e i s wa e
e iciency? This e e s o p ocesses, mechanisms, o
p ocedu es o imp o e wa e use in ope a ion
e icien ly.
EMS
EMSS
En i onmen al
P oduc s
Does he company epo a leas one p oduc line o
se ice ha is designed o ha e posi i e e ec s on he
en i onmen o is en i onmen ally labelled/ma ke ed?
EP
EPS
En i onmen al
Supply Chain
Managemen
Does he company use en i onmen al c i e ia (ISO
14000, ene gy consump ion, e c.) in he selec ion
p ocess o i s supplie s o sou cing pa ne s?
ESCM
ESCMS
Policy
Emissions
Does he company ha e a policy o imp o e emission
educ ion? This includes p ocesses, mechanisms, o
p og ammes in place o educe emissions om land, ai ,
o wa e om he company’s co e ac i i ies.
PE
PES
Policy Ene gy
E iciency
Does he company ha e a policy o imp o e i s ene gy
e iciency? This e e s o p ocesses, mechanisms, o
p ocedu es o imp o e ene gy use in ope a ions.
PEE
PEES
Policy
En i onmen al
Supply Chain
Does he company ha e a policy o include i s supply
chain in he company's e o s o lessen i s o e all
en i onmen al impac ?
PESC
PESCS
Policy Wa e
E iciency
Does he company ha e a policy o imp o e i s wa e
e iciency? This e e s o p ocesses, mechanisms, o
p ocedu es o imp o e wa e use in ope a ions.
PWE
PWES
Resou ce
Reduc ion
Policy
Does he company ha e a policy o educe he use o
na u al esou ces o o educe he en i onmen al impac
o i s supply chain?
RR
RRS
Sou ce: Au ho s’ wo k based on in o ma ion om LSEG-Re ini i
2.2. Resea ch me hodology
The combina ion o en i onmen al indica o s (policies and sco es) wi h inancial a iables
p o ides a ich amewo k o in es iga ing hei impo ance o in es o s when aluing
companies in he s ock ma ke . Fo p edic i e modelling, we use he Random Fo es (RF)
algo i hm as ou p ima y app oach. We choose RF eg ession because o i s obus ness and
abili y o handle di e se ypes o inpu (bina y, ca ego ical, and con inuous) wi hou equi ing
s ong assump ions abou hei ela ionships, which makes i ideal o ou mix o
en i onmen al policy a iables and inancial a ios. RF algo i hms ha e gained widesp ead
adop ion in inancial esea ch due o hei obus p edic i e capabili ies (Kumbu e e al.,
2023) in a eas such as so e eign de aul isk pa e ns (Wang e al., 2021), insol ency isk in
insu ance companies (Khalil e al., 2022), consume c edi isk assessmen (Ama nadh and
Mopa hi, 2023), s ock p ices (Sado sky, 2021), co po a e p o i abili y (Almaska i, 2022), o
in la ion p edic ion (Mi za e al., 2024). Thei abili y o handle high-dimensional ea u e
spaces while p o iding easy- o-unde s and esul s in a decision- ee amewo k has also
expanded hei applica ion ac oss di e se o ecas ing domains. Fo example, Chae (2024)
Sus ainabili y Repo ing: Ca alys o O ganisa ional and P o essional Change
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Vol. 27 • No. 70 • Augus 2025 737
employed RF o p edic Ko ean high-g ow h i ms using bo h s a egic and inancial
indica o s, Ilie e al. (2023) used hem o assess he eliance o EU coun ies on ene gy
impo s, while Yan e al. (2022) applied i o a ic acciden se e i y.
Table no. 2. Financial a iables (FV) desc ip ion
Va iable
No a ion
Desc ip ion
Liquidi y
CR
Measu es a company’s abili y o pay i s sho - e m (usually one yea )
inancial obliga ions. Calcula ed by di iding cu en asse s by cu en
liabili ies (cu en a io).
Sol ency
DE
Measu es a company’s le el o indeb edness and is an indica o o
inancial dis ess and po en ial de aul . Calcula ed as he a io be ween
o al deb and o al equi y.
P o i abili y
PROF
Measu es a company’s abili y o con ol cos s in ela ion o e enue
and u no e . Calcula ed as EBIT ma gin.
Asse s use
e iciency
TAT
Measu es managemen ’s abili y o gene a e e enues om asse s in
use. Calcula ed as he a io be ween u no e and o al asse s.
Sys ema ic
isk
BETA
Measu es he isk o a company in ela ion o ma ke isk. Calcula ed
as be a.
Sou ce: Au ho s’ wo k
Addi ionally, RF inhe en ly uses boo s ap agg ega ion (bagging) ac oss many decision ees.
Ou modelling used 100 ees, which imp o es gene alisa ion and educes o e i ing. Fo
each yea in he ime ame o ou analysis (2020-2023), we employed RF o de e mine he
ank and impo ance o EPO, EPOS and FV indica o s o PB p edic ion o all i ms included
in he sample. The a iable ank ou pu o he RF canno be used o compa e models because
i is no malised wi hin each model; he e o e, we ha e alloca ed anks o a iables om 1 o
23 ha indica e hei impo ance in p edic ing PB (1 he highes ). P edic o Impo ance
(Impo ance om now on) is, on he o he hand, mo e sui able o c oss-model impo ance,
as i akes alues be ween 0 and 1. Highe alues indica e a highe p edic i e powe o he
a iable o he dependen a iable, PB in ou case. Compa ed o ank, which only o de s
a iables, a iable impo ance quan i ies he ac ual magni ude o p edic i e powe o
indica o s, as i is calcula ed based on how much p edic ion e o inc eases when ha a iable
is pe mu ed. Con inuous a iables (EPOS and FV) we e s anda dised o ze o mean and uni
a iance, while bina y EPO a iables a e al eady on a consis en scale (0/1). Following he
me hodology es ablished in seminal wo k on RF, ou implemen a ion inco po a es bo h
boo s ap agg ega ion (bagging) and andom ea u e selec ion echniques. One- hi d o he
obse a ions we e u ilised o model aining, and he emaining da a was ese ed o
alida ion ( es ) pu poses.
3. Resul s and discussion
P elimina y analysis
The dis ibu ion o en i onmen al policies (EPO) adop ion in he indus ial sec o is shown
in Figu e 1. Ac oss almos all ypes o EPO, excep o Resou ce Reduc ion (RR) be ween
2021 and 2023, he numbe o EPO adop e s is lowe han he numbe o nonadop e s, as he
NO alues ange be ween 250 and 300, while he YES esponses all be ween 100 and 250.
This sugges s ha mos o hese companies ha e no ye implemen ed EP, al hough he
numbe o adop e s is expec ed o inc ease s eadily om 2020 o 2023 o all EPO. Mo eo e ,
AE
En i onmen al Repo ing, Financial Fundamen als and Company Valua ion:
Insigh s om he Indus ial Sec o
738 Am i ea u Economic
he e is subs an ially highe adop ion o EPO such as Resou ce Reduc ion (RR), Policy
Ene gy E iciency (PEE), Policy En i onmen al Supply Chain (PESC), o Policy Emissions
(PE) ac oss he sample, which may indica e ha hese policies we e he easies and/o he
mos s ingen o implemen han he o he s.
Figu e no. 1. Numbe o companies wi h o wi hou En i onmen al Policies
Sou ce: Au ho s’ wo k based on da a om LSEG-Re ini i
This inding is consis en wi h he b oade end obse ed in he exis ing li e a u e on ESG,
whe e policies di ec ly ela ed o cos educ ion o egula o y compliance end o ha e highe
adop ion a es (Song and Rimmel, 2025; Sengup a, 2010). Al hough his upwa d adop ion
end is posi i e, i aises ques ions abou po en ial gaps in he dep h o implemen a ion. As
no ed by Calle y (2023), companies a e likely o adop sus ainabili y policies o mee
disclosu e equi emen s a he han o unde go a p oac i e ans o ma ion o hei ope a ional
p ac ices.
Figu e 2 shows he dis ibu ion o En i onmen al Policy Sco es (EPOS) a he op and
Financial Va iables (FV) a he bo om. Each boxplo ep esen s a ype o policy and a yea ,
he boxes indica e he ange (minimum-maximum), and he whiske s show he mean squa ed
de ia ion. Squa es indica e mean alues, which gene ally all be ween 20 and 40. Thei
e olu ion shows an inc ease in EP quali y in he indus ial sec o . This obse a ion is
consis en wi h he indings o Gup a e al. (2021), who no ed inc eased in es o sc u iny o
en i onmen al policy e ec i eness. Mo eo e , s udies by F iede, Busch and Bassen (2015)
ha e demons a ed ha well-documen ed en i onmen al s a egies ha e been shown o
co ela e wi h imp o ed inancial pe o mance, he eby ein o cing he posi i e end
obse ed in EPOS alues o e ime.
The sp ead o sco es indica es signi ican a iabili y in EPOS among he 448 companies
analysed, wi h some policies displaying heigh ened a iance (EPSS, EMSS, o PWES).
Disc epancies in EPOS may gi e ise o in es o scep icism, as such inconsis encies can be
indica i e o a agmen ed sus ainabili y s a egy (F iede, Busch and Bassen, 2015).
Consequen ly, i ms aspi ing o enhance ma ke alua ion should p io i ise aligning hei
en i onmen al pe o mance mo e closely wi h s a egic objec i es, ensu ing cohe ence
be ween policies and p ac ices. P ac ical e idence sugges s ha companies in eg a ing
en i onmen al goals in o co e business s a egies o en achie e be e inancial esul s
(Flamme , 2021).
Sus ainabili y Repo ing: Ca alys o O ganisa ional and P o essional Change
AE
Vol. 27 • No. 70 • Augus 2025 745
o egula o s o s eng hen epo ing s anda ds, wi h a ocus on he ele ance and quali y o
in o ma ion in ESG epo s.
These insigh s o e p ac ical guidance o bo h co po a e leade s and policymake s. Fo
companies, in eg a ing sus ainabili y objec i es in o hei co e business s a egies can
s eng hen in es o con idence, pa icula ly when en i onmen al policies a e ied o
measu able ou comes. Fi ms ha demons a e clea links be ween sus ainabili y ini ia i es
and inancial s abili y a e likely o enhance hei ma ke posi ioning. Meanwhile, egula o s
can imp o e anspa ency and in es o us by p omo ing clea and s anda dised
sus ainabili y epo ing amewo ks, such as hose es ablished unde he CSRD.
Ou esea ch esul s we e inhe en ly limi ed by he lack o epo ing da a o all companies
in he EU indus ial sec o , as well as he ocus on en i onmen al policies, al hough CSRD
e e s o social policies as well. These a e bo h in e es ing a enues o u u e esea ch.
Fu he mo e, u he insigh s could be p o ided by examining how ESG in eg a ion di e s
be ween a ious indus ies, helping i ms ailo hei s a egies o speci ic ma ke dynamics.
Addi ionally, explo ing how in es o beha iou changes du ing economic unce ain y may
e eal addi ional insigh s in o he ela ionship be ween inancial pe o mance and
en i onmen al policies.
Acknowledgemen s
This wo k was unded by he EU’s Nex Gene a ionEU ins umen h ough he Na ional
Reco e y and Resilience Plan o Romania - Pilla III-C9-I8, managed by he Minis y o
Resea ch, Inno a ion and Digi aliza ion, wi hin he p ojec en i led „Non – Gaussian sel –
simila p ocesses: Enhancing ma hema ical ools and inancial models o cap u ing complex
ma ke dynamics”, con ac no. 760243 /28.12.2023, code CF 194/31.07.2024 ( o Dan
Gab iel Dumi escu)
P ojec inanced by Lucian Blaga Uni e si y o Sibiu h ough he esea ch g an LBUS-IRG-
2022-08 ( o Alma Pen escu).
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