Corporate Sustainability: First Evidence on Materiality
利用新发布的重要性分类标准，手工将各行业重要性可持续性投资映射到公司评级，发现重要性议题上评级好的公司显著跑赢评级差的，而非重要性议题则无此效应，对整合可持续因素的资产管理者有启示。
ABSTRACT Using newly available materiality classifications of sustainability topics, we develop a novel dataset by hand-mapping sustainability investments classified as material for each industry into firm-specific sustainability ratings. This allows us to present new evidence on the value implications of sustainability investments. Using both calendar-time portfolio stock return regressions and firm-level panel regressions, we find that firms with good ratings on material sustainability issues significantly outperform firms with poor ratings on these issues. In contrast, firms with good ratings on immaterial sustainability issues do not significantly outperform firms with poor ratings on the same issues. These results are confirmed when we analyze future changes in accounting performance. The results have implications for asset managers who have committed to the integration of sustainability factors in their capital allocation decisions.