The Sustainable Development Goals as drivers for Corporate Responsibility and Sustainable Investment?

Inhaltsverzeichnis (Table of Contents)

• I. Introduction
• II. Corporate Responsibility
• A. Theoretical Foundations
• 1. Governance Ethics
• 2. Stakeholder Governance
• B. Operationalization
• 1. Governance Structures
• 2. Management Activities
• 3. Reporting Frameworks
• C. Standards
• III. Sustainable Investment
• A. Conceptual Foundations
• 1. Double Dividend
• 2. Fiduciary Duty
• B. Operationalization
• C. Standards
• IV. The 2030 Agenda: The Sustainable Development Goals
• A. Economic Implications
• 1. The Role of Business
• 2. The Role of Finance
• B. The Role of Standards
• V. Critical Reflections
• A. Corporate Responsibility
• B. Sustainable Investment
• C. The 2030 Agenda: The Sustainable Development Goals
• VI. The Sustainable Development Goals in the Interface between Corporate Responsibility and Sustainable Investment
• A. Interdependencies and Interfaces
• B. Derivation of Hypotheses
• 1. Opportunities
• 2. Risks
• 3. Prospects
• VII. Analysis
• A. Methodology
• 1. Qualitative Research
• 2. Expert Interviews
• 3. Data Collection and Analysis
• B. Discussion
• 1. H1: Economic Opportunities
• 2. H2: International Standards and Consistency of Language
• 3. H3: Undermining of Integrative Approaches and Symbolic Use
• 4. H4: New and more Substantial Forms of CR and SI
• C. Results and Implications
• D. Limitations and Further Research

Zielsetzung und Themenschwerpunkte (Objectives and Key Themes)

This Master's thesis examines the integration of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) into corporate governance structures, management activities, and reporting frameworks, as well as investment strategies, ratings, and products. The research explores the opportunities, risks, and prospects of the SDGs driving corporate responsibility and sustainable investment. The study draws on theoretical foundations and critical reflections of corporate responsibility and sustainable investment, testing four hypotheses through expert interviews.

• The role of the SDGs in shaping corporate responsibility and sustainable investment.
• The opportunities and challenges of integrating the SDGs into business operations and investment decisions.
• The impact of the SDGs on governance structures, management practices, and reporting frameworks.
• The role of international standards and consistency of language in promoting the effective implementation of the SDGs.
• The potential for the SDGs to foster new and more substantial forms of corporate responsibility and sustainable investment.

Zusammenfassung der Kapitel (Chapter Summaries)

The thesis begins by introducing the concept of corporate responsibility, exploring its theoretical foundations, operationalization, and standards. It then delves into sustainable investment, examining its conceptual foundations, operationalization, and standards. Chapter IV focuses on the 2030 Agenda and the Sustainable Development Goals, highlighting their economic implications for business and finance. Chapter V presents critical reflections on corporate responsibility, sustainable investment, and the 2030 Agenda. Chapter VI examines the interdependencies and interfaces between corporate responsibility and sustainable investment in relation to the SDGs, outlining four hypotheses derived from the research. Chapter VII analyzes the research methodology, discusses the findings from the expert interviews, and presents the results and implications of the study. Finally, the thesis concludes with a summary of the main findings, limitations, and avenues for further research.

Schlüsselwörter (Keywords)

The main keywords of this work include Sustainable Development Goals, Corporate Responsibility, Sustainable Investment, international standards, substantial impact, and symbolic impact. The thesis focuses on the intersection of these concepts, analyzing the potential of the SDGs to drive changes in corporate behavior and investment practices.