ENVIRONMENTAL ACCOUNTING, ESG REPORTING AND DIGITALIZATION: IMPACT ON COST REDUCTION AND SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT (USING THE EXAMPLE OF KAZAKHSTAN)

Unofficial AI-generated summary based on the public title and abstract. Not an official translation.

🔬研究者:Offers empirical evidence on ESG-cost linkages with threshold and mediation effects, useful for sustainability accounting scholars.

🏢実務担当者:Provides justification for ESG investments as a cost-reduction strategy, especially when combined with digitalization.

🏛政策担当者:Suggests that promoting ESG and digitalization can enhance corporate efficiency, relevant for sustainable development policies.

This study is devoted to the analysis of the relationship between environmental accounting, the environmental audit system and ESG reporting in the context of improving the efficiency and sustainable development of enterprises in the Republic of Kazakhstan. With the strengthening of the global environmental agenda and the transition to a green economy, the integration of environmental and managerial factors into the corporate governance system is becoming particularly important, especially for emerging markets. The empirical base of the study is based on panel data on 50 enterprises of key sectors of the economy of Kazakhstan for the period 2020-2025. Fixed-effect panel regression models supplemented by nonlinear specifications, mediation and interactive analysis, as well as a system of diagnostic tests were used as methodological tools. The share of environmental and logistical costs is considered as a dependent variable, and the key explanatory factors are the ESG index, the environmental audit index, the level of digitalization, and control variables. The results of the study show that the introduction of ESG practices and the development of an environmental audit system have a statistically significant impact on cost reduction. It was found that an increase in the ESG index by 0.1 is accompanied by a decrease in costs by an average of 0.34 percentage points. Nonlinear effects and the effect of the threshold value of ESG ≈ 0.5 have been identified, after which the effectiveness of sustainable practices increases significantly. It has also been established that digitalization is a key mediation factor that enhances the influence of ESG, and the interaction of ESG and digital technologies forms a pronounced synergetic effect. The results obtained confirm that ESG should be considered not as an additional burden, but as a strategic tool for increasing business efficiency and sustainability.

• crossref https://doi.org/10.32014/2026.2518-1467.1174first seen 2026-05-14 23:51:04