The global ESG trend and adaptation opportunities in the emerging hydrogen economy: A corporate governance perspective

Abstract

The development of the hydrogen economy (HE) has become the main direction of climate-focused economic progress. Although the gap between the potential impact of energy companies and their actual willingness or ability needs to be bridged by corporate governance and economic policy, these dynamics are underrepresented in the literature. As environmental, social, and corporate governance (ESG) considerations could foster adaptation and developing hydrogen technologies, the goal of this systematic literature review is to explore the specific environmental and energy aspects of ESG and the adaptation opportunities which could contribute to HE development. Findings suggest that ESG as a new institution in the economy might be in line with national and international policies, but corporate efforts at improving environmental performance could be further oriented directly or indirectly toward hydrogen technologies, for example, through cost reduction initiatives, favourable taxation, or specific requirements for sustainability reporting. On the corporate level, external and internal change drivers could lead to strategic and governance adaptation measures in line with HE development policy. The study contributes to the literature through the intersection analysis of the global ESG trend and the development policy of the HE, which has been overlooked to date, especially from a corporate governance perspective.