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Sustainability has for long time been widely discussed, and in addition the opportunities and influence that the financial industry has. The concept sustainability is also a concept without a generally accepted definition. With the vague definition and the financial industry’s responsibilities for climate issues as background, this study aims to investigate how Swedish fund managers choose to implement sustainability issues, also called ESG-factors, and how fund managers are affected by the everchanging social norms that abound in society. With the use of previous research alongside a qualitative study based on interviews with active Swedish fund managers, the following questions are answered: How do Swedish fund managers implement ESG-factors in investment decisions and how are fund managers affected by social norms linked to sustainability in investment decisions.   After analyzing the empirical result, several themes have been identified under which the study’s respondents were placed. The study finds that the most common strategies among Swedish fund managers are a mixture of negative screening and active ownership. Furthermore, the study shows that the impact of social norms has on fund managers varies. The variation can be caused by differences in experience, emotions, and prejudice. The study shows that social norms affect companies' code of conduct and thus affect fund managers indirectly, while some fund managers consider ruling norms to a greater extent and are thus directly affected.

Syfte: Hållbarhet blir mer och mer betydelsefullt i vår värld och investerare vill satsa på hållbara företag där pengarna arbetar för goda syften. Ett sätt att mäta hållbarhet är ESG-betyg, där företagen av värderingsföretag bedöms utifrån kriterier inom miljö, social hållbarhet och ägarstyrning. Utsläpp av växthusgaser och koldioxidutsläpp ses som relevanta mått att mäta hållbarhet med kopplat till miljö-delen av ESG-betyget. Ett problem som diskuteras är ESG-betygens tillförlitlighet. Forskning visar att större företag får högre ESG-betyg trots att de inte alltid har en bättre hållbarhetsprestation. Detta fenomen menar vi även kan appliceras på företagens verksamhetsålder. Syftet med denna studie är att förklara sambandet mellan företags verksamhetsålder och deras nivå av hållbarhet mätt genom ESG-betyg och koldioxidutsläpp. Metod: Denna kvantitativa tvärsnittsstudie kommer utifrån positivismen att bedrivas med ett deduktivt synsätt. Utifrån positivismen kommer studien även utgå ifrån objektivismen, de variabler och mått som är kopplade till i studien använda begrepp. Urvalet består av 4 277 globala företag med inrapporterade hållbarhetsrapporter år 2022 och sekundärdatat är inhämtat från databasen Thomson Reuters Eikon. Dataanalyserna gjordes i statistikprogrammet SPSS. Resultat & Slutsats: Studien visar på ett signifikant negativt samband mellan verksamhetsålder och ESG-betyg, äldre företag tenderar alltså ha ett sämre ESG-betyg. Studien visar även på ett signifikant positivt samband mellan verksamhetsålder och koldioxidutsläpp. Yngre företag tenderar alltså enligt denna studie att släppa ut mindre koldioxid i förhållande till sin storlek. Examensarbetets bidrag: Hållbara investeringar är viktigare än någonsin och ESG-betyg är ett sätt att mäta företags hållbarhet. Det är därför relevant att öka kunskapen kring vad som påverkar dessa betyg, och hur tillförlitliga de kan anses vara. Denna studie bidrar med kunskap kring huruvida verksamhetsåldern påverkar ESG-betyget och om detta stämmer överens med företagens faktiska hållbarhetsprestationer i form av koldioxidutsläpp. Förslag till fortsatt forskning: Förslag till vidare forskning skulle kunna vara att göra en mer omfattande studie som innefattar flera år där man kan studera företagens utveckling. Ett annat förslag är att studera varje del i ESG-betyget mer ingående för att undersöka om det finns skillnader mellan de olika delarna. / Aim: Sustainability is becoming more and more important in our world and investors want to invest in sustainable companies where the money works for good purposes. One way to measure sustainability is ESG ratings, where the companies are assessed by valuation companies based on criteria within the environment, social sustainability and governance. Emissions of greenhouse gases and carbon dioxide emissions are seen as relevant metrics to measure sustainability linked to the environmental part of the ESG rating. One problem that is discussed is the reliability of ESG ratings. Research shows that larger companies receive higher ESG ratings even though they do not always have a better sustainability performance. We believe this phenomenon can also be applied to the business age. The purpose of this study is to explain the relationship between companies' business age and their level of sustainability, measured by ESG ratings and level of carbon dioxide emissions.  Method: Based on the positivistic research philosophy, this quantitative cross-sectional study is conducted with a deductive approach. The study is also conducted with the objectivism philosophy and the variables and measures used in the study. The selection consists of 4 277 global companies with reported sustainability reports in 2022 and the secondary data is obtained from the Thomson Reuters Eikon database. The data analyzes were done in the statistical program SPSS.  Result & Conclusions: The study shows a significant negative correlation between the age of the business and ESG rating. Older companies tend to have a lower ESG rating. The study also shows a significant positive correlation between business age and carbon dioxide emissions. Younger companies tend, according to this study, to emit less carbon dioxide in relation to their size.  Contribution of the thesis: Sustainable investments are highly relevant today and ESG ratings are a way to measure companies’ sustainability. It is therefore relevant to learn more about what affects these grades. This study does this by increasing the knowledge about how the age of the business affects ESG ratings and whether it is consistent with the companies' actual sustainability performance.  Suggestion for future research: Suggestions for further research could be to do a more extensive study that includes several years where you can study the development of the companies. Another suggestion is to study each part of the ESG rating in more detail to investigate whether there are differences between the various parts.

The society has higher demands on both companies and their financiers to adopt more sustainable approaches, of which banks as one of the main financiers of companies can promote this transition. The study examines how banks evaluate sustainability from an environmental, social and governance aspect (ESG) in the credit assessment process for companies, as well as how it affects the granting of credit. The purpose of the study is to describe how banks evaluate sustainability based on the ESG-aspects, and to analyze how companies' sustainability work is important in lending. The theoretical framework consists of previous research in the following five areas: Information asymmetry, ESG, greenwashing, lending and credit assessment. Previous research and theory have been collected to analyze the study's empiricism, where bank officials have been interviewed to inform about banks' sustainability evaluation based on the ESG factors in lending. The study is qualitative with an abductive approach, where the data collection has taken place through semi-structured interviews. The result shows that banks' analyzes within sustainability often include questions that cover certain areas of the ESG factors in order to identify possible risks that may affect companies' repayment, or banks' reputation. However, many banks lack analyzes that specialize in ESG, as well as deeper examination within each sustainability factor. This gives room for development in the area. The results also indicate that sustainability risks can, to some extent, influence banks to refuse credit.

This thesis investigates how ESG ratings for Nordic companies vary between two ESG providers, and how the risk and expected return differs between two highly rated ESG portfolios according to the two providers. In doing so, we aim to contribute to research on the topic of ESG divergence as it is of great importance for investors that this subject is studied further. To achieve the purpose of this thesis, secondary data was gathered in terms of ESG ratings from two chosen providers, S&P Global and Refinitiv. Based on the collected data, a Spearman correlation analysis was performed as well as statistical investigations in Excel in order to examine the rating divergence between the two providers. Additionally, efficient frontier values of the two provider dependent portfolios were calculated using R Studio. The results found suggests that there is an evident ESG rating divergence amongst all companies examined, regardless of origin and industry. Furthermore, it was concluded that Refinitiv consistently rated companies higher than S&P Global. The comparison between the two provider dependent portfolios illustrates that relying on ESG ratings from different providers will result in different portfolio composition. In turn, this has an impact on investors seeking to implement ESG as a part of their investment strategy. The results indicate that the composition differences affects portfolio performance. This led to the conclusion that it is of great importance for investors to be aware of the existing divergence in order to make accurate investment decisions.

The study examines the link between the Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) performance of a company and its cost of debt, measured as credit spreads between corresponding corporate and risk-free government bonds, in Nordic countries between 2020 and 2022. No previous studies look at ESG effects on bond spreads in the Nordic markets, although their stakeholder-oriented nature could make them attentive to ESG issues. Additionally, public and regulatory attention to carbon dioxide suggest a value for companies in decreasing emissions. In line with previous studies on ESG top-level and individual pillar performance, Refinitiv ESG scores are used as proxies for ESG performance in the two initial regressions, and an additional regression is run where a measure of carbon intensity is substituted for environmental pillar performance. Although there is a risk of reverse causality inherent in this field, the findings in this study indicate that ESG top-level performance reduces cost of debt, while carbon intensity increases it. Notably, social pillar scores and carbon intensity, but not environmental pillar scores, have significant effects on spreads.

Problemformulering: Hur påverkar kvinnors styrelserepresentation i börsnoterade företags hållbarhetsarbete och ansvarstagande?  Syfte: Syftet med studien är att förklara ifall det finns ett samband mellan kvinnors representation i styrelser och ESG. Genom en ökad förståelse av styrelsers sammansättning ska studien utöka befintligt empiriskt underlag kring påverkan av kvinnors styrelserepresentation på deras agerande i hållbarhetsarbete och ansvarstagande. Metod: Studien har genomförts med en deduktiv forskningsansats och kvantitativ metod. Data har insamlats för 498 börsnoterade företag, i Norden, om deras ESG-score samt styrelseinformation. Vidare har statistiska analyser genomförts i SPSS och ligger till grund för studiens resultat.  Slutsats: Studiens visar att börsnoterade företag i Norden påverkas positivt av att inkludera minst tre styrelserepresentanter som är kvinnor i styrelsen samt att beakta kvinnors medelålder för att öka påverkan på hållbarhetsarbete och ansvarstagande. Företagen bör lägga mindre energi på resurser i hänsyn till vem som driver ledarskapet inom styrelser, även andelen kvinnor samt sammansättningen över tid är av mindre betydelse.

Emerging ESG studies have established a negative equilibrium correlation between ESG factors and stock returns in an economy predominately influenced by investors with nonpecuniary preference over high ESG credentials. However, little research has delved into a potential systematic liquidity risk phenomenon associated with aggregate trading activities of ESG-motivated investors who share a common nonzero ESG preference component in their utility function. Focusing on the carbon footprint metric of ESG factors, this thesis aims to investigate the potential existence of an ESG-specific component in liquidity commonality among equities listed on Nasdaq Stockholm, with a key assumption being that the average investor active on the Swedish equity market is cognizant of emission data and willing to forgo financial returns for positive externalities. Using a calibrated portfolio sorting technique and a set of time series regression models, the thesis uncovers novel evidence of liquidity synchronicity among ESG-unfavorable stocks. Additionally, the results indicate that liquidity dynamics of ESG frontrunners tend to be reflective of firm level characteristics. These findings remain robust even after controlling for market-wide driving forces, industry effects, and nonsynchronous liquidity co-movements etc. Investors prioritizing climate efforts may have tilted their capital away from emission laggards which give rise to a “flight to climate” effect on stock liquidity synchronicity among brown equities. Their resultant constrained investor base may lead to simultaneous liquidity oscillation as observed. Notwithstanding, the thesis does not measure explicit mechanisms through which ESG factors impact stock liquidity commonality, leaving this as a topic for future research.

Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to gain a holistic understanding of Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) related narratives applied in OMXS30 firms’ annual reports. The understanding contributes to the existing literature by highlighting which main narrative strategies firms’ use to gain and maintain legitimacy, and whether or not the legitimacy gained and maintained from the narratives are in line with the firms’ ESG performance. Research questions: How do Swedish OMXS30 firms employ narratives in their annual reports as a means of legitimizing their ESG performance? How are the annual report narratives of OMXS30 firms related to their true ESG performance? Methodology and method: An inductive qualitative exploratory study was carried out to gain understanding of the most common ESG related disclosure narratives used by OMXS30 firms. To highlight how the narrative strategies are used to gain legitimacy, a thematic analysis of three OMXS30 firms’ annual reports for fiscal year 2022 was conducted. Discrepancies and similarities among the sample firms’ narratives was contrasted to the firms’ Refinitiv ESG score, which is used as a yardstick of ESG performance.The sample was based on the conceptually driven approach, where the authors of thisstudy assessed that data from firms with a high ESG score deviation compared to each other was the best base for further exploration. Conclusion: Our conclusion shows that there is no generalizable stringent alignment between firms’ ESG related narratives and their true ESG performance across the ESG score spectrum. This is shown by the many similarities in ESG related narratives between the firms, despite their highly deviating Refinitiv ESG scores. Furthermore, our study shows that narratives employed as a means of legitimizing ESG efforts are exclusively related to the Environmental and Social pillar of the ESG framework. Our main finding shows that the lowest rated firm narrative deviates from their ESG performance, by applying a narrative in line with the highest rated firm in terms of frequently addressed disclosure topics as well as applied linguistics.

The awareness of ESG (environmental, governance, social) has risen significantly during the last decade. The construction and real estate industry represents 21 % of the negative climate emissions in Sweden, highlighting the crucial role of property owners in achieving a climate-neutral society. Social sustainability and governance has also been emphasized as key factors for companies, driven by the transparency that arises with the EU-taxonomy. This master thesis investigates the relationship between ESG and property values, examining the impact of environmental certifications on property premiums and identifying the incentives driving sustainable measures in the Swedish real estate market. To investigate the key questions of the study we performed a literature review, data collection, 23 semi-structured interviews with real estate companies, industry associations, real estate advisors and banks. The data analysis includes property values as the dependent variable and investigating the relationship between six variables connected to ESG including environmental certifications, energy consumption, walk score, criminal rate, executive compensation and women on the board. The results of this study reveal the complexity and challenges in establishing a clear correlation between commercial property values and ESG factors. Although energy performance is believed to have a significant impact on property values due to lower property operating costs, which becomes further evident with higher energy prices, the direct link between ESG factors and property values remains elusive. Environmental certifications can offer various benefits, including improved financing opportunities, reduced energy expenses, and higher rental rates. However, the uniqueness of each property complicates direct comparisons and the consistent determination of whether environmental certifications consistently command a premium. Sustainable measures in the real estate market are primarily driven by risk reduction including proactive enhancements to meet regulatory demands, leading to lower yield requirements. / Medvetenheten om ESG har ökat markant under det senaste decenniet. Bygg- och fastighetssektorn står för 21% av klimatutsläppen i Sverige, vilket lyfter fram fastighetsägarnas avgörande roll för att uppnå ett klimatneutralt samhälle. Social hållbarhet och styrning har också lyfts fram som relevanta faktorer för ett framgångsrikt företag, som bland annat drivs av den transparens som EU taxonomin har bidragit till. Denna masteruppsats undersöker sambandet mellan ESG och fastighetsvärden, om och hur det finns något samband mellan miljöcertifieringar och fastighetspremier på transaktionsmarknaden och incitamenten som driver hållbara åtgärder på den svenska fastighetsmarknaden. För att undersöka frågeställningarna genomfördes en litteraturundersökning, datainsamling, 23 st semistrukturerade intervjuer med fastighetsbolag, branschorganisationer, fastighetsrådgivare och banker. Dataanalysen inkluderar fastighetsvärde som beroende variabel, där vi undersöker sambandet mellan sex oberoende variabler kopplade till ESG, vilka var miljöcertifieringar, energiförbrukning, walk score, criminal rate, ersättning till chefer och kvinnor i styrelsen. Resultaten av denna studie visar på komplexiteten och utmaningarna i en tydlig korrelation mellan fastighetsvärden och ESG-faktorer. Medan energiprestanda tros ha en betydande inverkan på fastighetsvärden på grund av lägre driftskostnader av fastigheten, som blir ytterligare påtagligt med högre energipriser, är den direkta kopplingen mellan ESG-faktorer och fastighetsvärden fortfarande tvetydig. Miljöcertifieringar kan erbjuda en rad olika fördelar, inklusive förbättrade finansieringsmöjligheter, minskade energikostnader och högre hyresnivåer. Det unika med varje fastighet komplicerar direkta jämförelser och den konsekventa bedömningen om miljöcertifieringar bidrar till en försäljningpremie.Hållbara åtgärder på fastighetsmarknaden drivs främst av riskminimering, vilket inkluderar proaktiva förbättringar för att möta eventuella framtida regulatoriska krav, som leder till lägre avkastningskrav.