Fenntarthatóság, teljesítmény és kockázat a vasúti árufuvarozásban
What Drives Capital Imports and Exports in the Countries of the European Union?

Summary/Abstract: In recent years, Corporate Social Responsibility(CSR) and Environmental, Social, and Governance(ESG) initiatives have become increasingly central to business strategy and stakeholder decision-making. This study examines the influence of corporate sustainability performance, as measured by ESG risk ratings, on both financial and risk-related indicators within the freight industry. Using a sample of 30 traded freight companies selected by market capitalization, we evaluate financial performance through both accounting-based indicators (Sales, ROS) and market-based metrics (EPS). Corporate sustainability performance was expressed by Sustainalytics ESG Risk Ratings and their dimensions. In line with previous research, we find that environmental and governance performance correlate positively with EPS, suggesting that the market recognizes non-financial value drivers (Bai et al.,2024; Mahmut et al., 2023; Jha & Rangarajan,2020). In contrast, the social dimension negatively affects market-based financial performance and has an insignificant impact on accounting-based indicators. We also assess the relationship between ESG performance and various corporate risk metrics, including Degree of Operating Leverage (DOL),Degree of Financial Leverage (DFL), Value-at Risk (VaR), Conditional Value-at-Risk (CVaR),and semivariance. The correlation and multivariate regression (OLS) analyses reveal that higher ESG risk scores are linked to weaker profitability and increased exposure to financial risk. These findings highlight the material relevance of ESG risk - not just as an ethical issue, but as a factor with tangible financial implications in the freight sector.

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