<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?>
<!DOCTYPE root>
<article xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink" xmlns:xsi="http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema-instance" xmlns:ali="http://www.niso.org/schemas/ali/1.0/" article-type="research-article" dtd-version="1.2" xml:lang="en"><front><journal-meta><journal-id journal-id-type="publisher-id">BRICS+: Current Agenda</journal-id><journal-title-group><journal-title xml:lang="en">BRICS+: Current Agenda</journal-title><trans-title-group xml:lang="ru"><trans-title>БРИКС+: актуальная повестка</trans-title></trans-title-group></journal-title-group></journal-meta><article-meta><article-id pub-id-type="publisher-id">51063</article-id><article-categories><subj-group subj-group-type="toc-heading"><subject>WORLD ECONOMY</subject></subj-group><subj-group subj-group-type="article-type"><subject>Research Article</subject></subj-group></article-categories><title-group><article-title xml:lang="en">Assessing ESG Commitment in BRICS Companies</article-title><trans-title-group xml:lang="ru"><trans-title>Оценка приверженности компаний стран БРИКС принципам ESG</trans-title></trans-title-group></title-group><contrib-group><contrib contrib-type="author"><contrib-id contrib-id-type="orcid">https://orcid.org/0000-0003-3485-5595</contrib-id><name-alternatives><name xml:lang="en"><surname>Ratner</surname><given-names>Svetlana V.</given-names></name><name xml:lang="ru"><surname>Ратнер</surname><given-names>Светлана Валерьевна</given-names></name></name-alternatives><bio xml:lang="en"><p>Grand PhD in Economics, Professor at the Department of Economics and Mathematical Modeling</p></bio><bio xml:lang="ru"><p>доктор экономических наук, профессор кафедры экономико-математического моделирования</p></bio><email>ratner-sv@rudn.ru</email><xref ref-type="aff" rid="aff1"/></contrib><contrib contrib-type="author"><contrib-id contrib-id-type="orcid">https://orcid.org/0009-0003-5390-7327</contrib-id><name-alternatives><name xml:lang="en"><surname>Arutiunian</surname><given-names>Marat V.</given-names></name><name xml:lang="ru"><surname>Арутюнян</surname><given-names>Марат Ваграмович</given-names></name></name-alternatives><bio xml:lang="en"><p>Postgraduate Student at the Department of Economic and Mathematical Modeling</p></bio><bio xml:lang="ru"><p>аспирант кафедры экономико-математического моделирования</p></bio><email>1082258070@pfur.ru</email><xref ref-type="aff" rid="aff1"/></contrib></contrib-group><aff-alternatives id="aff1"><aff><institution xml:lang="en">RUDN University</institution></aff><aff><institution xml:lang="ru">Российский университет дружбы народов</institution></aff></aff-alternatives><pub-date date-type="pub" iso-8601-date="2026-07-07" publication-format="electronic"><day>07</day><month>07</month><year>2026</year></pub-date><volume>1</volume><issue>2</issue><issue-title xml:lang="en">VOL 1, NO2 (2025)</issue-title><issue-title xml:lang="ru">ТОМ 1, №2 (2025)</issue-title><fpage>178</fpage><lpage>191</lpage><history><date date-type="received" iso-8601-date="2026-07-07"><day>07</day><month>07</month><year>2026</year></date></history><permissions><copyright-statement xml:lang="en">Copyright ©; 2026, Ratner S.V., Arutiunian M.V.</copyright-statement><copyright-statement xml:lang="ru">Copyright ©; 2026, Ратнер С.В., Арутюнян М.В.</copyright-statement><copyright-year>2026</copyright-year><copyright-holder xml:lang="en">Ratner S.V., Arutiunian M.V.</copyright-holder><copyright-holder xml:lang="ru">Ратнер С.В., Арутюнян М.В.</copyright-holder><ali:free_to_read xmlns:ali="http://www.niso.org/schemas/ali/1.0/"/><license><ali:license_ref xmlns:ali="http://www.niso.org/schemas/ali/1.0/">https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0</ali:license_ref></license></permissions><self-uri xlink:href="https://bricsplus-j.ru/BRICSplusJournal/article/view/51063">https://bricsplus-j.ru/BRICSplusJournal/article/view/51063</self-uri><abstract xml:lang="en"><p>While Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) principles are globally recognized, their implementation within the BRICS bloc is uniquely complex due to diverse socio-economic contexts, varied institutional environments, and the largely discretionary nature of ESG reporting. Existing research points to substantial disparities in ESG performance among these nations, yet a systematic comparative analysis remains underexplored. This study aims to quantitatively assess and compare the level and nature of ESG commitment within leading companies across the BRICS nations to illuminate these distinct national priorities. The study employs a term frequency (TF) methodology to analyze non-financial corporate reports from the top 10 publicly listed companies in each BRICS country, selected by market capitalization and other financial indicators. A specialized ESG dictionary was developed based on Bloomberg’s rating methodology and categorized into four pillars: Environmental (E), Social (S), Governance (G), and Methodological (M). A Python script was used to calculate the frequency of these terms, providing a quantitative measure of disclosure focus. The analysis revealed significant heterogeneity in ESG reporting priorities across the bloc. Russian companies demonstrated the highest frequency of Environmental and Social terms. Chinese companies showed the strongest focus on Governance terminology. Brazilian companies led in the usage of Methodological and analytical terms. Overall ESG engagement, measured by total term frequency, was highest in China, followed by Brazil, with South Africa showing the lowest levels of disclosure.</p></abstract><trans-abstract xml:lang="ru"><p>Реализация принципов экологии, социальной ответственности и управления (ESG) в странах БРИКС представляет сложность из-за разнообразия социально-экономических и институциональных сред, а также преимущественно дискреционного характера отчетности. Систематический сравнительный анализ национальных приоритетов ESG в рамках блока остается недостаточно изученным. Исследование направлено на количественную оценку и сравнение уровня и характера приверженности ESG в ведущих компаниях стран БРИКС для выявления этих отличительных национальных приоритетов. Применяется методология частоты использования термино (Term Frequency, TF) для анализа нефинансовых корпоративных отчетов 10 ведущих публичных компаний в каждой стране, отобранных по рыночной стоимости. Специализированный ESG-словарь был разработан на основе рейтингов Bloomberg и категоризирован по четырем направлениям: экологическое (E), социальное (S), корпоративное управление (G) и методологическое (M). Для расчета частоты терминов и количественной оценки фокуса раскрытия информации использовался скрипт на Python. Анализ выявил значительную неоднородность в приоритетах ESG-отчетности. Российские компании продемонстрировали наибольшую частоту использования экологических и социальных терминов, китайские - управленческих, а бразильские - методологических и аналитических. Общая вовлеченность в ESG была самой высокой в Китае, за которым следует Бразилия, в то время как Южная Африка показала самый низкий уровень раскрытия информации. Исследование подчеркивает специфику подходов к ESG в странах БРИКС.</p></trans-abstract><kwd-group xml:lang="en"><kwd>ESG</kwd><kwd>ESG</kwd><kwd>BRICS</kwd><kwd>term frequency</kwd><kwd>environment pillar</kwd><kwd>social pillar</kwd><kwd>governance pillar</kwd><kwd>methodology pillar</kwd></kwd-group><kwd-group xml:lang="ru"><kwd>БРИКС</kwd><kwd>анализ частоты терминов</kwd><kwd>экологическая ответственность</kwd><kwd>социальная ответственность</kwd><kwd>качество управления</kwd><kwd>методология</kwd></kwd-group><funding-group/></article-meta><fn-group/></front><body></body><back><ref-list><ref id="B1"><label>1.</label><mixed-citation>Veltri S., Bruni, M.E., Iazzolino, G., Morea, D., &amp; Baldissarro, G. (2023). Do ESG factors improve utilities corporate efficiency and reduce the risk perceived by credit lending institutions? An empirical analysis. *Utilities Policy*, 81, 101520. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jup.2023.101520</mixed-citation></ref><ref id="B2"><label>2.</label><mixed-citation>Pedersen, L.H., Fitzgibbons, S., &amp; Pomorski, L. (2021). Responsible investing: the ESG-efficient frontier. *Journal of Financial Economics*, 142(2), 572–597. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jfineco.2020.11.001</mixed-citation></ref><ref id="B3"><label>3.</label><mixed-citation>Ali, S., Al-Nassar, N.S., Sindhu, M.I., &amp; Naveed, M. (2025). Sustainable synergy: static and dynamic nexus between ESG and BRICS equity markets. *Research in International Business and Finance*, 74, 102698. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ribaf.2024.102698</mixed-citation></ref><ref id="B4"><label>4.</label><mixed-citation>Cherian, S., &amp; Seranmadevi, R. (2025). Does ESG integration enhance financial performance in emerging economies? A systematic review of BRICS. *Achieving Sustainable Business through AI, Technology Education and Computer Science*, 383–395. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-70855-8_33</mixed-citation></ref><ref id="B5"><label>5.</label><mixed-citation>Mazzioni, S., Soschinski, C.K., Leite, M., Dal Magro, C.B., &amp; Raimundini Sanches, S.L. (2024). ESG performance in emerging economies. *Macro Management &amp; Public Policies*, 6(1), 21–35. https://doi.org/10.30564/mmpp.v6i1.6202</mixed-citation></ref><ref id="B6"><label>6.</label><mixed-citation>Hieu, V.M., &amp; Hai, N.T. (2022). The role of environmental, social, and governance responsibilities and economic development on achieving the SDGs: evidence from BRICS countries. *Economic Research = Ekonomska Istraživanja*, 36(1), 1338–1360. https://doi.org/10.1080/1331677X.2022.2086598</mixed-citation></ref><ref id="B7"><label>7.</label><mixed-citation>Dobrowolski, Z., Drozdowski, G., Janjua, L.R., Panait, M., &amp; Szołtysek, J. (2025). Econometric analysis of BRICS countries' activities in 1990–2022: seeking evidence of sustainability. *Energies*, 18(3), 656. https://doi.org/10.3390/en18030656</mixed-citation></ref><ref id="B8"><label>8.</label><mixed-citation>Yu, C., Farooq, O., Alam, M., &amp; Dai, J. (2024). How does environmental, social, and governance (ESG) performance determine investment mix? New empirical evidence from BRICS. *Borsa Istanbul Review*, 24(3), 520–529. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.bir.2024.02.007</mixed-citation></ref><ref id="B9"><label>9.</label><mixed-citation>Jaiswal, J.K., Pandey, D.K., &amp; Kumar, B. (2024). Green and sustainable finance research in BRICS countries: review and research agenda. *Development and Sustainability in Economics and Finance*, 1(1), 100008. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.dsef.2024.100008 EDN: WARUUI</mixed-citation></ref><ref id="B10"><label>10.</label><mixed-citation>Algarhi, A.S., &amp; Karimazondo, M.P. (2024). The impact of ESG on economic growth: evidence from BRICS+ countries. *Theoretical Economics Letters*, 14(4), 1478–1487. https://doi.org/10.4236/tel.2024.144071</mixed-citation></ref><ref id="B11"><label>11.</label><mixed-citation>Jiang, C., Li, X., Xu, Q., &amp; Liu, J. (2024). Does environmental protection tax impact corporate ESG greenwashing? A quasi-natural experiment in China. *Economic Analysis and Policy*, 84, 774–786. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.eap.2024.09.029</mixed-citation></ref><ref id="B12"><label>12.</label><mixed-citation>Azam, N., &amp; Yao, J.T. (2012). Comparison of term frequency and document frequency based feature selection metrics in text categorization. *Expert Systems with Applications*, 39(5), 4760–4768. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.eswa.2011.09.160</mixed-citation></ref><ref id="B13"><label>13.</label><mixed-citation>Louche, C., Delautre, G., &amp; Balvedi Pimentel, G. (2023). Assessing companies' decent work practices: an analysis of ESG rating methodologies. *International Labour Review*, 162(1), 69–97. https://doi.org/10.1111/ilr.12370</mixed-citation></ref><ref id="B14"><label>14.</label><mixed-citation>Lusk, E., &amp; Wells, M. (2021). Bloomberg's ESG Governance ISS QualityScore [GQS™]: Vetting results of a taxonomic sorting trial. *International Journal of Scientific and Management Research*, 4(5), 97–105. https://doi.org/10.37502/IJSMR.2021.4505</mixed-citation></ref><ref id="B15"><label>15.</label><mixed-citation>Shen, H., Lin, H., Han, W., &amp; Wu, H. (2023). ESG in China: a review of practice and research, and future research avenues. *China Journal of Accounting Research*, 16(4), 100325.</mixed-citation></ref><ref id="B16"><label>16.</label><mixed-citation>Alekseev, P.V. (2022). Trends and perspectives of the implementation of the ESG principles in the Russian economy. *Review of Business and Economics Studies*, 10(3), 26–32.</mixed-citation></ref><ref id="B17"><label>17.</label><mixed-citation>Tolkachev, I., Kotov, A., Chelukhina, N., Asyaeva, E., &amp; Perepelitsa, D. (2023). Green economy and ESG in Russia: project evaluation criteria, risk analysis and management methods. *Journal of Law and Sustainable Development*, 11(1), e0265. https://doi.org/10.37497/sdgs.v11i1.265</mixed-citation></ref><ref id="B18"><label>18.</label><mixed-citation>Possebon, E., Cippiciani, F.A., Savoia, J., &amp; de Mariz, F. (2024). ESG scores and performance in Brazilian public companies. *Sustainability*, 16(13), 5650. https://doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.5350099</mixed-citation></ref><ref id="B19"><label>19.</label><mixed-citation>De Souza, L.M. (2023). Integration of ESG factors into financial regulations in Brazil: an overview. *Revista do CEJUR/TJSC: Prestação Jurisdicional*, 11, e0407. https://doi.org/10.37497/revistacejur.v11i00.407</mixed-citation></ref><ref id="B20"><label>20.</label><mixed-citation>Chininga, E., Alhassan, A.L., &amp; Zeka, B. (2024). ESG ratings and corporate financial performance in South Africa. *Journal of Accounting in Emerging Economies*, 14(3), 692–713. https://doi.org/10.1108/JAEE-03-2023-0072</mixed-citation></ref><ref id="B21"><label>21.</label><mixed-citation>Nyakurukwa, K., &amp; Seetharam, Y. (2023). Investor reaction to ESG news sentiment: evidence from South Africa. *EconomiA*, 24(1), 68–85. https://doi.org/10.1108/ECON-09-2022-0126</mixed-citation></ref></ref-list></back></article>
