Justifying green finance to stakeholders through CSR reporting: Evidence from the oil and gas industry
Lättilä, Maria (2025)
2025
Kauppatieteiden maisteriohjelma - Master's Programme in Business Studies
Johtamisen ja talouden tiedekunta - Faculty of Management and Business
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Hyväksymispäivämäärä
2025-06-02
Julkaisun pysyvä osoite on
https://urn.fi/URN:NBN:fi:tuni-202505286329
https://urn.fi/URN:NBN:fi:tuni-202505286329
Tiivistelmä
This study investigates the role of green finance within the oil and gas industry by analyzing corporate public disclosures concerning green financing. The purpose of this study is to deepen knowledge about the content of green finance reporting in this sector, with particular attention to the justifications companies provide for utilizing such financing.
Given the sector’s continued dominance in global fuel production, the oil and gas industry is subject to significant scrutiny regarding its environmental impact. To address stakeholder demand for increased corporate responsibility and reduced emissions, companies have begun adopting green finance instruments, such as green bonds and green loans, in their financing strategies. Green finance is a relatively new tool created to boost the energy transition and to allow sustainable economic growth by attempting to make investment in sustainable technologies more viable. However, the implementation of such financing has faced challenges, primarily due to intricate reporting frameworks and prevailing skepticism about the credibility of sustainability efforts within the industry.
Although CSR research generally recognizes that companies have an equal responsibility toward all their stakeholders, stakeholder theory encompasses differing views on which stakeholders hold primary importance and who the companies should prioritize in their communication. Drawing on this, the study utilizes insights from stakeholder theory to assess the scope of green finance reporting.
The research has been conducted as an interpretive qualitative study, employing thematic analysis as its methodological approach. The data for this study comprises green finance reporting of three companies, two of which are based in the EU and one in the U.S., allowing a comparative perspective on green finance reporting across these markets.
The thesis identified six overarching themes in the companies’ reporting, including the use of specific reporting standards and the resulting structural similarities, as well as a strong emphasis on energy transition, emissions reduction objectives, and the integration of sustainability as a core element of corporate strategy. The study found green finance reporting to be predominantly targeted toward financial stakeholders, particularly investors and shareholders, although other stakeholder groups, such as customers and environmental interests, were also acknowledged. The reporting was found to be structurally and linguistically comparable, largely due to the use of similar reporting standards. However, comparing quantitative data, such as emissions figures, was challenging due to differences in calculation methodologies used by EU and U.S. companies.
Given the sector’s continued dominance in global fuel production, the oil and gas industry is subject to significant scrutiny regarding its environmental impact. To address stakeholder demand for increased corporate responsibility and reduced emissions, companies have begun adopting green finance instruments, such as green bonds and green loans, in their financing strategies. Green finance is a relatively new tool created to boost the energy transition and to allow sustainable economic growth by attempting to make investment in sustainable technologies more viable. However, the implementation of such financing has faced challenges, primarily due to intricate reporting frameworks and prevailing skepticism about the credibility of sustainability efforts within the industry.
Although CSR research generally recognizes that companies have an equal responsibility toward all their stakeholders, stakeholder theory encompasses differing views on which stakeholders hold primary importance and who the companies should prioritize in their communication. Drawing on this, the study utilizes insights from stakeholder theory to assess the scope of green finance reporting.
The research has been conducted as an interpretive qualitative study, employing thematic analysis as its methodological approach. The data for this study comprises green finance reporting of three companies, two of which are based in the EU and one in the U.S., allowing a comparative perspective on green finance reporting across these markets.
The thesis identified six overarching themes in the companies’ reporting, including the use of specific reporting standards and the resulting structural similarities, as well as a strong emphasis on energy transition, emissions reduction objectives, and the integration of sustainability as a core element of corporate strategy. The study found green finance reporting to be predominantly targeted toward financial stakeholders, particularly investors and shareholders, although other stakeholder groups, such as customers and environmental interests, were also acknowledged. The reporting was found to be structurally and linguistically comparable, largely due to the use of similar reporting standards. However, comparing quantitative data, such as emissions figures, was challenging due to differences in calculation methodologies used by EU and U.S. companies.