ESG and Sustainability Issues as a Concern for Leaders – Push and Pull Factors: The Case of Kuwait

This paper is based on recent research on the factors that prevent publicly traded companies in the Gulf State of Kuwait from taking an interest in Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG), and especially sustainability issues. The paper examines the practice of sustainability reporting (or lack o...

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Bibliographic Details
Published inEffective Executive Vol. 26; no. 1; pp. 26 - 33
Main Authors Alsaif, Khaled Hamdan, Jones, Stephanie
Format Journal Article
LanguageEnglish
Published Hyderabad IUP Publications 01.03.2023
Subjects
Boards of directors
Customer satisfaction
Employees
Environmental governance
Focus groups
Institutional investments
Interviews
Materiality
Multiculturalism & pluralism
Private sector
Publishing
Stakeholders
Sustainability reporting
Sustainable practices
Kuwait
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Summary:This paper is based on recent research on the factors that prevent publicly traded companies in the Gulf State of Kuwait from taking an interest in Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG), and especially sustainability issues. The paper examines the practice of sustainability reporting (or lack of it) by public companies. Seen in the context of the stakeholders involved and push and pull factors, and barriers impacting this practice, the study reveals the pivotal role of each company's leaders and managers. If there was interest at the top, it was likely that ESG issues were considered, but if leaders and managers could not see the value, then the concern for sustainability was given a low priority. More transparency among the Kuwaiti publicly-listed companies is widely seen as required to support this Middle-Eastern country in achieving its national development plan which calls for the creation of a robust and vibrant private sector and fostering an environment that attracts foreign direct investments. The lack of conviction among corporate leaders has been identified as the major hurdle to adoption of sustainability reporting by companies.
ISSN:0972-5172