Global Financial Sustainability: Integrating ESG Criteria into Cross-Border Investments
Global Financial Sustainability: Integrating ESG Criteria into Cross-Border Investments

Author(s): Mihaela-Liliana Göndör
Subject(s): Economy, Supranational / Global Economy, Financial Markets, Green Transformation
Published by: Университет за национално и световно стопанство (УНСС)
Keywords: financial sustainability; ethical investment; ESG criteria
Summary/Abstract: This paper examines how ESG criteria (Environmental, Social, Governance) are reshaping cross-border investments and contributing to the emergence of global financial sustainability. In a context marked by geopolitical instability, climate pressures, and rising ethical expectations, ESG is evolving into a new language of capital – one that transcends return metrics and redefines the responsibilities of international investors. The analysis begins with the theoretical foundations of financial sustainability and ESG, addresses the challenges of standard harmonisation across jurisdictions, and moves toward practice through ten strategically selected case studies, including sovereign wealth funds, investments in emerging markets, and reporting technologies. Using a qualitative-comparative approach, the paper explores how ESG integration strengthens global financial sustainability and facilitates responsible cross-border investment, transforming capital from a purely economic instrument into a civic actor. The final section offers an ethical reflection: can profit be sustainable? Can capital act civically? The findings confirm the hypothesis that ESG is becoming the new grammar of global capital, connecting investors, institutions, and states around shared goals of sustainability, transparency, and accountability. ESG is thus presented not only as a financial tool, but as a form of global economic justice capable of recalibrating trust among markets, states, and citizens.

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