Comparing Sustainability Practices of Large US Corporations: Domestic vs. International Operations
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.33423/jabe.v26i5.7294Keywords:
business, economics, sustainability practice, US corporations, domestic operation, international operation, ESG criteriaAbstract
Large US corporations are leading the way in reshaping business practices despite the absence of a national consensus regarding sustainability policies. This study highlights the commitment of some large US corporations to environmental, social, and corporate governance criteria and their widely employed sustainability practices compared with other global corporations. A survey of Fortune 500 corporations was conducted to identify their commitment to the nine major sustainability practices across domestic and international operations. Our findings indicate that several of the surveyed corporations exhibited significant adoption of these practices both domestically and internationally. Both hypotheses were rejected in favor of alternate hypotheses.
References
Allen, C., Metternicht, G., & Wiedmann, T. (2018). Initial progress in implementing the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs): A review of evidence from countries. Sustainability Science, 13(5), 1453–1467. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11625-018-0572-3
Bersalli, G., Menanteau, P., & El-Methni, J. (2020). Renewable energy policy effectiveness: A panel data analysis across Europe and Latin America. Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, 133. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.rser.2020.110351
Clean Energy States Alliance. (2024). Retrieved from https://www.cesa.org/projects/100-clean-energy-collaborative/guide/table-of-100-clean-energy-states/
Corporate Knights. (2023). The Global 100 List: How the world’s most sustainable corporations are driving green transition? Retrieved from https://www.corporateknights.com/rankings/global-100-rankings/2023-global-100-rankings/2023-global-100-most-sustainable-companies/
Corporate Knights. (2024). The Global 100 List: How the world’s most sustainable corporations are driving green transition? Retrieved from https://www.corporateknights.com/rankings/global-100-rankings/2024-global-100-rankings/the-20th-annual-global-100/
Deringer, F. (2005). A legal framework for the integration of environmental, social, and governance issues into institutional investing. Asset Management Working Group of the UN Environmental Program Finance Initiative.
Dogan, E., Mohammed, K.S., Khan, Z., & Binsaeed, R.H. (2024). Analyzing the nexus between environmental sustainability and clean energy for the USA. Environmental Science and Pollution Research International, 31(19), 27789–27803. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11356-024-32765-5
EPA. (2024). Green Power Partnership Fortune 500 power partners list. Retrieved from https://www.epa.gov/greenpower/green-power-partnership-fortune-500r-partners-list
Ford. (2024). Helping build a better world: Integrated sustainability and financial report 2023. Retrieved from https://corporate.ford.com/content/dam/corporate/us/en-us/documents/reports/2023-integrated-sustainability-and-financial-report.pdf
Fortune 500. (2024). Fortune 500. Retrieved from https://fortune.com/ranking/fortune500/search/
Hashmi, M.A., Damanhouri, A., & Rana, D. (2015). Evaluation of sustainability practices in the United States and large corporations. Journal of Business Ethics, 127(3), 673–681. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10551-014-2056-4
Kleimann, D., Poitiers, N., Sapir, A., Tagliapietra, S., Véron, N., Veugelers, R., & Zettelmeyer, J. (2023). Green tech race? The US inflation reduction act and the EU net zero industry act. World Economy, 46(12), 3420–3434. https://doi.org/10.1111/twec.13469
Lu, Y., Khan, Z.A., Alvarez-Alvarado, M.S., Zhang, Y., Huang, Z., & Imran, M. (2020). A critical review of sustainable energy policies for the promotion of renewable energy sources. Sustainability, 12(12). https://doi.org/10.3390/su12125078
Miller, Z. (2023). Nearly half of the Fortune 500 companies engaged in major climate initiative. Retrieved from https://www.dgardiner.com/fortune-500-climate-initiatives-2023/#:~:text=There%20are%20now%20239%20Fortune,are%20in%20the%20Fortune%20100
Mulholland, P. (2023). 25 states bring suits against ESG regulations. Plansponsor. Retrieved from https://www.plansponsor.com/25-states-bring-suit-against-esg-regulation/
Prasad, N. (2023). 3M leading the way in sustainability. IUP Journal of Supply Chain Management, 20(3).
PRI. (2005). What are the principles for responsible investment? Retrieved from https://www.unpri.org/about-us/what-are-the-principles-for-responsible-investment
Sklansky, J. (2023). The work of retirement. International Review of Social History, 68(2), 301–323. https://doi.org/10.1017/S0020859023000196
Szabo, S., & Webster, J. (2021). Perceived greenwashing: The effects of green marketing on environmental and product perceptions. Journal of Business Ethics, 171(4), 719–739. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10551-020-04461-0
Target Corporation. (2024). Target forward: Our sustainability strategy. Retrieved from https://corporate.target.com/sustainability-governance/strategy-target-forward
The Home Depot. (2024). Protecting the climate. Retrieved from https://corporate.homedepot.com/page/protecting-climate
Top 100 ESG companies. (2024). Retrieved from https://www.esgbook.com/insights/esg-insights/esg-book-top-100/
UnitedHealth Group. (2024). Sustainability and UHG. Retrieved from https://www.unitedhealthgroup.com/sustainability/sustainability-at-uhg.html
Valero. (2024). Biodiversity. Retrieved from https://www.valero.com/responsibility/biodiversity
Vogel, D. (2005). The market for virtue: The potential and limits of corporate social responsibility. Brookings Institution Press.
Walmart. (2024). Environment, social, & governance reporting. Retrieved from https://corporate.walmart.com/purpose/esgreport
Whittingham, K.L., Earle, A.G., Leyva-delaHiz, D.I., & Argiolas, A. (2023). The impact of the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals on corporate sustainability reporting. BRQ Business Research Quarterly, 26(1), 45–61. https://doi.org/10.1177/23409444221085585
World Bank Group. (2022). World Bank relaunches sovereign ESG Data Portal.
World Bank. (2017). Who cares wins: Connecting financial markets to a changing world. Retrieved from https://documents.worldbank.org/en/publication/documents-reports/documentdetail/280911488968799581/who-cares-wins-connecting-financial-markets-to-a-changing-world