Applied IT & Engineering

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Applied IT & Engineering

Volume 1 Number 1 2023

Article Contents

RESEARCH ARTICLE   (Open Access)
Contents Vol 1 (1)

Integrating Artificial Intelligence into Sustainability and ESG Accounting: Enhancing Environmental and Social Performance

Muslima Jahan Diba1*

+ Author Affiliations

Applied IT & Engineering 1 (1) 1-8 https://doi.org/10.25163/engineering.1110490

Submitted: 01 May 2023 Revised: 03 July 2023  Published: 10 July 2023 

Abstract

Background: Artificial intelligence (AI) is increasingly applied in sustainability and Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) accounting to enhance environmental and social performance. Traditional ESG reporting systems depend on manual operations which lead to operational inefficiencies and slow reporting and produce unreliable measurement results.

Methods: A cross-sectional survey of 310 U.S. based professionals, including ESG analysts, sustainability managers, and accountants, collected demographic data, AI adoption levels, organizational challenges, and recommended strategies for ESG enhancement. The research used descriptive statistics and χ² tests at p ≤ 0.05 and Pearson correlation to identify relationships between strategic approaches and ESG performance results.

Results: The primary conclusion is that training & skill development of employees (r = 1.00, p < 0.001, 85 respondents) is the most significant predictor of AI-based performance for ESG, followed by investment in AI systems (r = 0.92, p < 0.001, 90 respondents), and data governance & standardization (r = 0.85, p < 0.001, 75 respondents), while support from leadership (r = 0.19, p = 0.08, χ² = 2.45, 20 respondents) is of limited significance.

Conclusion: The findings from the Pearson correlation analysis indicated that employee training and skill development displayed strong positive correlations with the ESG outcomes and investment in AI systems, and the data governance and standardization. The findings provide suggests that continuous monitoring displays a statistically significant relationship with the outcome variable and support does not display any noteworthy association.

Keywords: Artificial Intelligence, AI Adoption, Sustainability Performance, Sustainable Development Goals, Corporate Governance

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