An Assessment of the Roles of the Government, Regulators, and Investors in ESG Implementation in South Africa: A Scoping Review

The purpose of this study was to detect from the literature the roles of the Government, investors, and regulators in ESG implementation in South Africa from 2002 to 2022. ESG implementation in South Africa ensures sustainable business practices are adopted by firms operating within the country. The study used a scoping review methodology, with only articles in the English language being considered. A pilot search was carried out to identify key search phrases to be included in the search strategy. A total of 208 articles were identified and only 34 articles were eligible for the study. The results show an increase in ESG implementation by institutional investors, although investor activism is still low in South Africa. The South African Government actively enacted laws and regulations that supported ESG implementation after the global financial crisis of 2007–8. However, in recent years, there has been a lack of hard laws to support the non-legislative ESG rules that dominate ESG reporting. The study shows that the South African Government should improve its ESG laws for effective ESG adoption and avoid relying on the JSE, which enforces the King Code as a mandatory listing requirement to monitor ESG implementation. Training, capacity building, and active Government participation are critical for effective ESG implementation in South Africa.