Abstract

Official statistics play a crucial role in effective socio-economic policy-making. The adoption of policies related to the sustainable development has led to an adjustment and adaptation process for official statistics. The Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and Environmental, Social, and Corporate Governance (ESG) are interconnected frameworks that address similar aspects of sustainable development and responsible business conduct. The relationship between the SDGs and business is significant, and there is a growing recognition that businesses play a crucial role in achieving sustainable development. Both frameworks, SDGs and ESG, share common goals and overlap in focus areas, however at different levels of aggregation. While SDGs cover a wide range of social, economic, and environmental issues, aiming to address global challenges, ESG are criteria used by businesses and other stakeholders to evaluate a company's impact on society and the environment. As more and more companies try to align their strategies and operations with the SDGs to contribute to global sustainability efforts, ESG guides businesses in adopting responsible practices.

Investors and stakeholders increasingly evaluate companies based on their ESG performance, which can influence investment decisions and corporate reputation. This overlap, where on one hand, companies are encouraged to report on their contributions to the SDGs through reporting that helps to demonstrate their commitment to sustainable development, and on the other hand, companies disclose ESG information in their reports, enabling investors and stakeholders to assess their impact on the environment and society, forms possible opportunity for official statistics, to deepening the scope of statistical production in the area of sustainable development.

The purpose of this study is to identify challenges and opportunities for official statistics when considering jointly both the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) practices of enterprises. The analysis conducted revealed many areas where official statistics and sustainable development of enterprises and ESG practices intersect and require mutual functioning or synergy. This includes the necessity of transparent communication and standardized reporting of data with comparability and interoperability. Identifying these challenges is a crucial step towards developing good practices and effective tools for monitoring and assessing the sustainable development and ESG practices of enterprises. This also highlights the growing importance of and opportunities for official statistics in this field.