Corporate Sustainability Becomes Measurable

A few years ago, Hanna Silvola had recently been appointed to a permanent position as Assistant Professor of Accounting at Hanken School of Economics. She wanted to do something new, something that accounting research had not traditionally focused on.

“In 2018, I spent six months as a visiting researcher at the University of New South Wales in Sydney. I have always been curious to find out what others are doing. While there, I joined a third-year undergraduate course in accounting. I was surprised to discover that they were also calculating greenhouse gas emissions. I became inspired by this and thought that greenhouse gas emissions should also be incorporated into accounting in Finland.”

The following year, the young assistant professor decided to establish a research group that would focus on measuring and analysing responsible business using ESG data. Financial support was needed to make this possible.

Research must be ahead of its time

Hanna Silvola thanks the Foundation for Economic Education for believing in the pioneering nature of the research and for awarding a three-year grant that enabled nearly ten doctoral researchers and postdoctoral researchers to focus on collecting data on corporate sustainability and the impact of that data on investment decisions.

The consequences have been far-reaching.

In 2024, the EU’s CSRD reporting began, requiring companies to report on sustainability related to the environment, social responsibility and governance as part of their annual reports. For large listed companies in the EU, reporting is a statutory requirement.

“By the time EU regulation began to become topical, we had already collected a great deal of data and understanding on the subject. This expertise has also been of significant benefit beyond academia, both in business and in society more broadly. Among other things, I have provided expert statements in the development of national legislation and trained auditors to take sustainability reporting into account in their own work,” Silvola says.

Words are not enough — numbers are needed

The Foundation for Economic Education has been the most important funder of Silvola’s research career.

“Grants have played an enormous role throughout my research career. It has been like winning the lottery to have been able, already at a young age, to visit leading institutions around the world as a visiting researcher. I have learned a great deal and brought that knowledge back to Finland. If our research group’s work had had to be carried out using only the university’s own resources, it would not have happened either.”

With the support of this funding, the research group collected an impressive amount of numerical data on how sustainably or responsibly companies actually operate. The topic was also examined from the perspective of investors: how investors can make use of the data collected and make more responsible decisions.

“We study Finnish companies, which means that the results benefit business, as well as investors and legislators, for example.”

An established field generates new knowledge

Funding of 200,000 euros achieved a great deal, including doctoral dissertations, books related to the subject and scientific articles. The new discipline also gained an established position in Hanken’s educational offering.

“Many young researchers struggle to find their place in academia after completing their doctoral dissertation. It is wonderful that all the researchers who were part of our internationally diverse research group have established themselves on an academic career path. It is important to gain international experience abroad, but internationalisation at home is also valuable.”

Change is inevitable, and the field of research evolves along with it. Researchers must be aware of what is also happening beyond academia.

“New research questions emerge from dialogue with business experts,” Hanna Silvola points out.