ESG in China: A review of practice and research, and future research avenues

This paper reviews the practice and research on environmental, social and governance (ESG) in China. It finds that (1) under China’s top-down framework, ESG practices have grown substantially in ESG disclosure, ESG rating and ESG investing; and (2) ESG research has focused on corporate ESG disclosure and performance as well as ESG investing. Although the topics of the ESG studies reviewed in this paper are similar to those of ESG research in other countries, China’s ESG research enriches international ESG research by showing two distinct characteristics, namely, the country’s unique institutional context and the dominance of quantitative research methods. Future research can investigate ESG standards development and the impact of traditional Chinese ethics, modernization and internationalization on ESG in China.