IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/gam/jsusta/v17y2025i20p9103-d1771039.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Sustainability in Action: Macro-Level Evidence from Europe (2008–2023) on ESG, Green Employment, and SDG-Aligned Economic Performance

Author

Listed:
  • Isabel Figuerola-Ferretti

    (Center for Low Carbon Hydrogen Studies and Quantitative Finance Group, Faculty of Economic and Business Sciences (ICADE), Finance Department, Comillas Pontifical University, 28015 Madrid, Spain)

  • Sara Lumbreras

    (Institute for Research in Technology IIT, ICAI Universidad Pontificia Comillas, 28015 Madrid, Spain)

  • Paraskevas Paraskevas

    (Economics Department, Faculty of Economic and Business Sciences (ICADE), Comillas Pontifical University, 28015 Madrid, Spain)

  • Ioannis Paraskevopoulos

    (Economics Department, Faculty of Economic and Business Sciences (ICADE), Comillas Pontifical University, 28015 Madrid, Spain)

Abstract

During the past two decades, researchers and professionals have increasingly explored the financial and macroeconomic implications of sustainable business practices, particularly through the lens of environmental, social, and governance (ESG) metrics. This review synthesizes evidence from financial economics and sectoral labor analysis to assess the impact of ESG performance and green employment on corporate financial performance (CFP) and broader economic growth. Using a discounted cash-flow framework and sectoral panel data from European economies (2008–2023), the findings reveal that robust ESG practices improve operating profits, reduce financial risk and support higher dividend distributions, while green jobs contribute significantly to Gross Value Added (GVA) and Gross Domestic Product (GDP), with each additional green job adding approximately EUR 101.920 to GVA and EUR 135.000 to GDP, in annual terms. Sectoral impacts are especially pronounced in construction, energy, and financial services, with annual contributions ranging from EUR 10.4 to EUR 11.1 million in GVA and EUR 13.7 to EUR 14.8 million in GDP. These results underscore the dual role of ESG as a financial indicator and strategic sustainability tool, advancing key United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), including SDG 8 (Decent Work and Economic Growth), SDG 12 (Responsible Consumption and Production), SDG 13 (Climate Action), and SDG 17 (Partnerships for the Goals). The integration of green employment metrics into national productivity frameworks and corporate ESG strategies offers practical guidance to policymakers, investors, and cross-sector partners committed to sustainable development.

Suggested Citation

  • Isabel Figuerola-Ferretti & Sara Lumbreras & Paraskevas Paraskevas & Ioannis Paraskevopoulos, 2025. "Sustainability in Action: Macro-Level Evidence from Europe (2008–2023) on ESG, Green Employment, and SDG-Aligned Economic Performance," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 17(20), pages 1-54, October.
    • Handle: RePEc:gam:jsusta:v:17:y:2025:i:20:p:9103-:d:1771039
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/17/20/9103/pdf
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/17/20/9103/
    Download Restriction: no
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Robert G. Eccles & Ioannis Ioannou & George Serafeim, 2025. "Erratum to “The Impact of Corporate Sustainability on Organizational Processes and Performance”," Management Science, INFORMS, vol. 71(4), pages 3634-3634, April.
    2. Ian W. R. Martin & Christian Wagner, 2019. "What Is the Expected Return on a Stock?," Journal of Finance, American Finance Association, vol. 74(4), pages 1887-1929, August.
    3. Olga Hawn & Ioannis Ioannou, 2016. "Mind the gap: The interplay between external and internal actions in the case of corporate social responsibility," Strategic Management Journal, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 37(13), pages 2569-2588, December.
    4. Roland Bénabou & Jean Tirole, 2010. "Individual and Corporate Social Responsibility," Economica, London School of Economics and Political Science, vol. 77(305), pages 1-19, January.
    5. Bolton, Patrick & Kacperczyk, Marcin, 2021. "Do investors care about carbon risk?," Journal of Financial Economics, Elsevier, vol. 142(2), pages 517-549.
    6. Wang, Fanyi & Ma, Wanying & Mirza, Nawazish & Altuntaş, Mehmet, 2023. "Green financing, financial uncertainty, geopolitical risk, and oil prices volatility," Resources Policy, Elsevier, vol. 83(C).
    7. Pástor, Ľuboš & Stambaugh, Robert F. & Taylor, Lucian A., 2021. "Sustainable investing in equilibrium," Journal of Financial Economics, Elsevier, vol. 142(2), pages 550-571.
    8. Tao Bing & Meng Li, 2019. "Does CSR Signal the Firm Value? Evidence from China," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 11(15), pages 1-22, August.
    9. Amir Amel-Zadeh & George Serafeim, 2018. "Why and How Investors Use ESG Information: Evidence from a Global Survey," Financial Analysts Journal, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 74(3), pages 87-103, July.
    10. Beat Reber & Agnes Gold & Stefan Gold, 2022. "ESG Disclosure and Idiosyncratic Risk in Initial Public Offerings," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 179(3), pages 867-886, September.
    11. Pástor, Ľuboš & Stambaugh, Robert F. & Taylor, Lucian A., 2022. "Dissecting green returns," Journal of Financial Economics, Elsevier, vol. 146(2), pages 403-424.
    12. Lajili Jarjir, Souad & Nasreddine, Aya & Desban, Marc, 2022. "Corporate social responsibility as a common risk factor," Global Finance Journal, Elsevier, vol. 52(C).
    13. Kim, Yongtae & Li, Haidan & Li, Siqi, 2014. "Corporate social responsibility and stock price crash risk," Journal of Banking & Finance, Elsevier, vol. 43(C), pages 1-13.
    14. Buchanan, Bonnie & Cao, Cathy Xuying & Chen, Chongyang, 2018. "Corporate social responsibility, firm value, and influential institutional ownership," Journal of Corporate Finance, Elsevier, vol. 52(C), pages 73-95.
    15. Herremans, Irene M. & Akathaporn, Parporn & McInnes, Morris, 1993. "An investigation of corporate social responsibility reputation and economic performance," Accounting, Organizations and Society, Elsevier, vol. 18(7-8), pages 587-604.
    16. Ramón Bermejo Climent & Isabel Figuerola-Ferretti Garrigues & Ioannis Paraskevopoulos & Alvaro Santos, 2021. "ESG Disclosure and Portfolio Performance," Risks, MDPI, vol. 9(10), pages 1-14, September.
    17. Hong, Harrison & Kacperczyk, Marcin, 2009. "The price of sin: The effects of social norms on markets," Journal of Financial Economics, Elsevier, vol. 93(1), pages 15-36, July.
    18. Alan Gregory & Rajesh Tharyan & Julie Whittaker, 2014. "Corporate Social Responsibility and Firm Value: Disaggregating the Effects on Cash Flow, Risk and Growth," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 124(4), pages 633-657, November.
    19. Harrison Hong & Jeffrey D. Kubik & Jose A. Scheinkman, 2012. "Financial Constraints on Corporate Goodness," NBER Working Papers 18476, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    20. Ga-Young Jang & Hyoung-Goo Kang & Ju-Yeong Lee & Kyounghun Bae, 2020. "ESG Scores and the Credit Market," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(8), pages 1-13, April.
    21. Fama, Eugene F & French, Kenneth R, 1992. "The Cross-Section of Expected Stock Returns," Journal of Finance, American Finance Association, vol. 47(2), pages 427-465, June.
    22. Darren D. Lee & Robert W. Faff, 2009. "Corporate Sustainability Performance and Idiosyncratic Risk: A Global Perspective," The Financial Review, Eastern Finance Association, vol. 44(2), pages 213-237, May.
    23. Halbritter, Gerhard & Dorfleitner, Gregor, 2015. "The wages of social responsibility — where are they? A critical review of ESG investing," Review of Financial Economics, Elsevier, vol. 26(C), pages 25-35.
    24. Hemendra Gupta & Rashmi Chaudhary, 2023. "An Analysis of Volatility and Risk-Adjusted Returns of ESG Indices in Developed and Emerging Economies," Risks, MDPI, vol. 11(10), pages 1-18, October.
    25. Yujin Kim & Su-In Kim, 2022. "Environmental Risk and Credit Ratings, and the Moderating Effect of Market Competition," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 19(9), pages 1-17, April.
    26. Carhart, Mark M, 1997. "On Persistence in Mutual Fund Performance," Journal of Finance, American Finance Association, vol. 52(1), pages 57-82, March.
    27. Mustafa Hakan Eratalay & Ariana Paola Cortés Ángel, 2022. "The Impact of ESG Ratings on the Systemic Risk of European Blue-Chip Firms," JRFM, MDPI, vol. 15(4), pages 1-41, March.
    28. Xiong, Wei, 2001. "Convergence trading with wealth effects: an amplification mechanism in financial markets," Journal of Financial Economics, Elsevier, vol. 62(2), pages 247-292, November.
    29. Anton Lisin & Andrei Kushnir & Alexey G. Koryakov & Natalia Fomenko & Tatyana Shchukina, 2022. "Financial Stability in Companies with High ESG Scores: Evidence from North America Using the Ohlson O-Score," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(1), pages 1-13, January.
    30. Mohamad Iruwan Ghuslan & Romlah Jaffar & Norman Mohd Saleh & Mohd Hasimi Yaacob, 2021. "Corporate Governance and Corporate Reputation: The Role of Environmental and Social Reporting Quality," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(18), pages 1-24, September.
    31. Fama, Eugene F. & French, Kenneth R., 1993. "Common risk factors in the returns on stocks and bonds," Journal of Financial Economics, Elsevier, vol. 33(1), pages 3-56, February.
    32. Cornett, Marcia Millon & Erhemjamts, Otgontsetseg & Tehranian, Hassan, 2016. "Greed or good deeds: An examination of the relation between corporate social responsibility and the financial performance of U.S. commercial banks around the financial crisis," Journal of Banking & Finance, Elsevier, vol. 70(C), pages 137-159.
    33. Hoje Jo & Haejung Na, 2012. "Does CSR Reduce Firm Risk? Evidence from Controversial Industry Sectors," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 110(4), pages 441-456, November.
    34. Amir Gholami & John Sands & Syed Shams, 2022. "Corporates’ sustainability disclosures impact on cost of capital and idiosyncratic risk," Meditari Accountancy Research, Emerald Group Publishing Limited, vol. 31(4), pages 861-886, April.
    35. Gerhard Halbritter & Gregor Dorfleitner, 2015. "The wages of social responsibility — where are they? A critical review of ESG investing," Review of Financial Economics, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 26(1), pages 25-35, September.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Gillan, Stuart L. & Koch, Andrew & Starks, Laura T., 2021. "Firms and social responsibility: A review of ESG and CSR research in corporate finance," Journal of Corporate Finance, Elsevier, vol. 66(C).
    2. Bai, Min & Ho, Ly, 2022. "Corporate social performance and firm debt levels: Impacts of the covid-19 pandemic and institutional environments," Finance Research Letters, Elsevier, vol. 47(PB).
    3. Venturini, Alessio, 2022. "Climate change, risk factors and stock returns: A review of the literature," International Review of Financial Analysis, Elsevier, vol. 79(C).
    4. Fan, Kwok Yuen & Shen, Jianfu & Hui, Eddie C.M. & Cheng, Louis T.W., 2024. "ESG components and equity returns: Evidence from real estate investment trusts," International Review of Financial Analysis, Elsevier, vol. 96(PB).
    5. Hans B. Christensen & Luzi Hail & Christian Leuz, 2021. "Mandatory CSR and sustainability reporting: economic analysis and literature review," Review of Accounting Studies, Springer, vol. 26(3), pages 1176-1248, September.
    6. Prodosh Eugene Simlai, 2025. "Non-Pecuniary Risk, ESG Ratings, and Expected Stock Returns," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 17(16), pages 1-24, August.
    7. Rudkin, Wanling & Cai, Charlie X. & Zhou, You, 2025. "Can we enhance investment with ESG?," International Review of Financial Analysis, Elsevier, vol. 97(C).
    8. Chava, Sudheer & Kim, Jeong Ho (John) & Lee, Jaemin, 2025. "Risk, return, and environmental and social ratings," Journal of Corporate Finance, Elsevier, vol. 92(C).
    9. Ciciretti, Rocco & Dalò, Ambrogio & Dam, Lammertjan, 2023. "The contributions of betas versus characteristics to the ESG premium," Journal of Empirical Finance, Elsevier, vol. 71(C), pages 104-124.
    10. Lars Hornuf & Gül Yüksel, 2022. "The Performance of Socially Responsible Investments: A Meta-Analysis," CESifo Working Paper Series 9724, CESifo.
    11. Drobetz, Wolfgang & El Ghoul, Sadok & Guedhami, Omrane & Hackmann, Jan P. & Momtaz, Paul P., 2024. "Entrepreneurial finance and sustainability: Do institutional investors impact the ESG performance of SMEs?," Journal of Business Venturing Insights, Elsevier, vol. 22(C).
    12. Li, Huijing & Clancey-Shang, Danjue & Fu, Chengbo & Li, Tianze, 2025. "Does the world need more traditional energy? A comparative analysis of ESG activities, free cash flow, and capital market implications," International Review of Financial Analysis, Elsevier, vol. 99(C).
    13. Monia Magnani & Massimo Guidolin & Ian Berk, 2024. "Strong vs. stable: the impact of ESG ratings momentum and their volatility on the cost of equity capital," Journal of Asset Management, Palgrave Macmillan, vol. 25(7), pages 666-699, December.
    14. Megumi Suto & Hitoshi Takehara, 2020. "Corporate social responsibility intensity, management earnings forecast accuracy, and investor trust: Evidence from Japan," Corporate Social Responsibility and Environmental Management, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 27(6), pages 3047-3059, November.
    15. Avramov, Doron & Cheng, Si & Lioui, Abraham & Tarelli, Andrea, 2022. "Sustainable investing with ESG rating uncertainty," Journal of Financial Economics, Elsevier, vol. 145(2), pages 642-664.
    16. Quaye, Enoch & Tunaru, Diana & Tunaru, Radu, 2024. "Green-adjusted share prices: A comparison between standard investors and investors with green preferences," Journal of Financial Stability, Elsevier, vol. 74(C).
    17. Staněk Gyönyör, Lucie & Horváth, Matúš & Stašek, Daniel & Stachoň, Martin, 2025. "The role of ESG factor in stock clustering based on risk-return-liquidity dimensions," The North American Journal of Economics and Finance, Elsevier, vol. 76(C).
    18. Luo, Di, 2022. "ESG, liquidity, and stock returns," Journal of International Financial Markets, Institutions and Money, Elsevier, vol. 78(C).
    19. Ho, Thang, 2022. "Climate change news sensitivity and mutual fund performance," International Review of Financial Analysis, Elsevier, vol. 83(C).
    20. Amos Sodjahin & Claudia Champagne & Frank Coggins & Roland Gillet, 2017. "Leading or lagging indicators of risk? The informational content of extra-financial performance scores," Journal of Asset Management, Palgrave Macmillan, vol. 18(5), pages 347-370, September.

    More about this item

    Keywords

    ;
    ;
    ;
    ;
    ;
    ;

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:gam:jsusta:v:17:y:2025:i:20:p:9103-:d:1771039. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: MDPI Indexing Manager (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://www.mdpi.com .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.