Utilização das práticas ESG para fins de legitimação organizacional

Abstract

This study aims to analyze how companies use ESG practices to legitimize their organizations in society. The adoption of these measures by companies is a response to the growing demand from society and stakeholders for more sustainable actions. However, many companies end up leaving these measures only on paper, thus losing their effectiveness. To this end, a qualitative study was conducted based on the analysis of the ESG proposals presented in the sustainability reports of twenty companies from different segments, in order to understand how they use these practices to obtain legitimacy in society. The results obtained demonstrated that there is a high degree of congruence between the actions adopted by companies and the segment in which they operate, that these practices are strongly targeted at the external public and address themes that are highly popular in society, highlighting the idea that companies can use ESG for truly sustainable actions, but also as a tool to promote themselves in society.