Social and Environmental Accounting and Sustainable Finance

Dear Colleagues,

This Special Issue focuses on the relationship between social and environmental accounting (SEA) and sustainable finance. The purpose of this Special Issue is to motivate research that links these two areas and presents evidence of their interconnections and of their relationship with the United Nations Agenda 2030 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). Papers that answer research questions applied to companies in the private and public sector and companies in the non-profit sector are welcome to be submitted for publication in this Special Issue.

Sustainable Finance comprises any financial service or product that incorporates Sustainability criteria in its characteristics; specifically, with the inclusion of Environmental, Social, or Corporate Governance (ESG) factors in the business models or decisions of private, public, or third sector organizations (Non-Governmental Organizations). The introduction of ESG factors in the decisions of companies and investors, together with the economic–financial factor, seeks to contribute to reduce financial risks (for example, those associated with polluting industries), preserving the market and enhancing financial return and business development and markets.

Sustainable Finance thus aims to contribute to Sustainable Development, financing, for example, society's needs for innovation, conservation, and infrastructure, and promoting an efficient economy in the use of resources, minimizing negative impacts on the Environment (for example, favoring low carbon emissions) and in Society (for example, at the level of local communities). At the same time, Sustainable Finance aims to contribute to the stability of financial markets, through the consideration of social, environmental, and corporate governance risks associated with the activities of agents in those markets. Sustainable Development alerts us to the need to include environmental and social impacts in the way economic and financial return is generated.

In 2015, the United Nations established 17 SDGs to promote Sustainable Development. The SDGs are part of a global model of corporate governance that focuses on individuals, human rights, responding to social inequalities, and central issues such as peace, security, and climate change. The reference to the inclusive, balanced, and sustainable use of financial resources runs through the SDGs. The recent European Commission sustainable finance strategy—which will contribute to the objectives of the European green deal investment plan, in particular creating an enabling framework for private investors and the public sector to facilitate sustainable investments—enhances the need for academia to provide answers and contribute with appropriate solutions to the objectives defined for this strategy.

There is already a vast literature on the issue of social and environmental accounting and its relationship with sustainable development; however, the articulation with sustainable finance remains a little-explored domain. In addition, research on the relationship between SEA, sustainable finance, and the SDGs is important to achieve the desired sustainable economic development.

Dr. Ana Fialho
Dr. Graça Maria do Carmo Azevedo
Dr. Teresa Eugénio
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

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Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2400 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.