Ilze Zumente, Nataļja Lāce

Proceedings of the 26th World Multi-Conference on Systemics, Cybernetics and Informatics: WMSCI 2022, Vol. I, pp. 127-132 (2022); https://doi.org/10.54808/WMSCI2022.01.127

Ilze Zumente
Faculty of Engineering Economics and Management, Riga Technical University, Riga, Latvia

Nataļja Lāce
Faculty of Engineering Economics and Management, Riga Technical University, Riga, Latvia

Cite this paper as:
Zumente, I., Lāce, N. (2022). The Impact of Regulation on the ESG Implementation – A Case Study of Latvia. In N. Callaos, N. Lace, B. Sánchez, M. Savoie (Eds.), Proceedings of the 26th World Multi-Conference on Systemics, Cybernetics and Informatics: WMSCI 2022, Vol. I, pp. 127-132. International Institute of Informatics and Cybernetics. https://doi.org/10.54808/WMSCI2022.01.127

The rise of corporate sustainability is strongly driven by regulations. With the growing body of sustainability-related laws and regulations, there is a surmounting pressure on the corporations to implement and report on their sustainability achievements. In addition, the corporations are often forced to react quickly causing the question of how comprehensive the sustainability strategies can be. This article aims to examine a new sustainability reporting regulation introduction by analyzing the case of Latvian state-owned enterprises (SOEs) in 2022. By surveying 21 SOEs exposed to a swift adaptation of sustainability reporting requirements, the study captures the results, challenges, and obstacles as experienced by the corporations.
The results of the study highlight the importance of gradual preparation, significant resource devotion and strategic management focus necessary to ensure meaningful sustainability process introduction and ESG reporting. In the case of non-unified reporting standards coupled with reporting obligations, SOEs face a risk of selective disclosure practices – a common form of greenwashing.