Digital Transformation and Convergence toward the 2030 Agenda’s Sustainability Development Goals: Evidence from Italian Listed Firms

Abstract

The United Nations 2030 Agenda has emphasized the potential of digital technology to enhance sustainability performance, assuming that digital transformation can enable firms’ convergence toward the Sustainable Development Goals. Despite this, the literature is unclear regarding whether there is a positive relationship between digitalization and sustainability, as the effects of digital transformation are controversial. The main goal of this study was to assess the hypothesis that digital technology contributes to the achievement of Sustainable Development Goals within the UN 2030 Agenda. To test this hypothesis, a textual analysis was performed to assess Italian firms’ digitalization efforts; the obtained results were then related to the selected firms’ ESG scores using a regression analysis. The analysis focused on Italian FTSE MIB listed firms for the period 2016–2019. The findings show a positive relation between digitalization and Sustainable Development Goals, highlighting the relevance of digital technology in implementing the sustainability agenda.

Multi-Energy Concern as an Example of the Implementation of Agenda 2030: Poland as a Case Study

“…This fact fully confirms that the strengthened multi-energy concern can contribute to the implementation of activities carried out in light of the 2030 Agenda. Thus, it can be considered that the scale of M and A transactions in the sector, which take place in the energy sector are due to signed agreements and are the result of actions carried out in light of the 2030 Agenda [7][8][9][10][11][12].…”

“…In the context of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, adopting the EU Renewable Energy Directive and the European Green Deal, the European Union aims for the extremely ambitious goal to become climate neutral by 2050 [7][8][9][10][11][12].…”

“…On 14 December 2020, another tax agreement of the capital group for the years 2021-2023 was registered [48]. Source: author's study based on: [7,10].…”

“…Energies 2022, 15, 1669 2 of 22 The aim of the article is to try to answer the question of whether the multi-energy concern created in Poland is the result of activities carried out in the light of the 2030 Agenda [7][8][9][10][11][12]. The effect of merging the entities is capital concentration.…”

How digital transformation improves corporate environmental management: A review and research agenda

“…Moreover, DT is a strong partial mediator between CSR attributes and CSR authenticity (Liu and Jung, 2021). In addition, Camodeca and Almici (2021) found that digital technologies significantly improve ESG and help companies to achieve Sustainability Development Goals. In terms of supply chain, the use of big data analytics by firms can positively moderate the relationship between sustainable supply chain management and organizational performance (Zhu et al, 2022).…”