Author(s): Priyanka Aggarwal, Archana Singh and Deepali Malhotra
Sustainable finance refers to the integration of environmental, social, and governance (ESG) factors into decision-making processes, with the aim of promoting sustainable development and addressing long-term societal and environmental challenges. As regulatory demands and investor preferences drive ESG considerations to the forefront of the agenda, the phrase “sustainable finance” is becoming increasingly important. The present research work aims to undertake a comprehensive evaluation of 147 papers (2005-2022) in the field of sustainable finance and ESG. A three-step technique has been adopted for the purpose of conducting the systematic review of 147 publications. This methodology consists of the Scientific Procedures and Rationales for Systematic Literature Reviews (SPAR-4-SLR) protocol, bibliometric analysis, and sentiment analysis. The bibliometric study reveals that the number of academic papers published on the topic of "ESG and Sustainable Finance" is increasing at an exponential rate. China is the major contributor, with the highest number of articles. Word Cloud analysis using Biblioshiny revealed that the most commonly used keywords are “sustainable finance,” “ESG investing,” “esg,” “climate change,” and “climate finance.” Thematic analysis using Biblioshiny revealed that “conscious capitalism” and “sustainable finance education” are the most under-represented areas in the underlying field. Furthermore, keyword co-occurrence analysis using VOSviewer helped in identifying emerging themes and clusters, namely, “Corporate Social Responsibility/ESG and Corporate Sustainability,” “Innovation in sustainable finance,” “Sustainable Finance Policies” and “Climate Finance.” Sentiment analysis traced positive sentiments in the field. This literature review contributes to a better knowledge of the current state of research and piques the interest of sustainable finance and ESG academics. The research offers a comprehensive framework of "Barriers, Mitigation Strategies, and Opportunities" related with the implementation of Sustainable Finance and ESG. This study's findings will be an invaluable resource for future researchers, managers, and legislators.