Multidimensional Model for Social Tagging of Environmental Investment Costs (STEIC)

Environmental (green) investments that promote environmental sustainability are often seen as the dominant tool for achieving sustainability goals. Environmental and social sustainability are linked. However, the lack of integration of social criteria in the evaluation process of these green investments limits the understanding of their impact by society. The idea of Social Tagging of Green Investments (STEIC) may appear as a promising method to overcome this shortcoming. This approach combines the environmental and social aspects of sustainability, creating a holistic framework for social evaluation of green investments. In this way, social tagging has the potential to increase transparency, accountability, trust of investors and the public, as well as be useful for the assessment of the activities of enterprises in the direction of sustainability. The present article proposes a multidimensional model of social tagging (STEIC) based on a structural equation model (SEM) that integrates observable and latent variables of social and environmental impact. It includes analysis through regression methods that assess the correlation between environmental performance and social impact, as well as the concept of social return on investment (SROI). This methodology allows for a more accurate assessment of the overall impact of environmental investments and their economic dimension.