Business sustainability has advanced from branding and greenwashing to strategic imperative and impact investing in sustainable finance in the past decade. It is defined in this book as a process of focusing on the achievement of all five dimensions of sustainability performance namely economic, governance, social, ethical and environmental (EGSEE) in creating shared value for all stakeholders. Integrated reporting on both financial elements of economic sustainability performance (ESP) and non-financial elements encompassing governance, social, ethical, and environmental (GSEE) dimensions of sustainability performance has been demanded by investors, required and/or encouraged by regulators and performed by business organizations worldwide. Global business organizations report their integrated financial ESP and non-financial (GSEE) sustainability performance in creating shared value for all stakeholders from shareholders to customers, employees, suppliers, creditors, environmental agencies and organizations, government and society.

This book specifically focuses on business sustainability in Asia, for several reasons. First, sustainability activities in Asia have significantly grown in the past decade as business organizations in the region have faced greater pressure from regulators to engage in sustainability and corporate social responsibility (CSR) programs. Second, this trend is expected to continue as Asian countries in general and Mainland China in particular step up alliances with European countries to take a leading role in CSR and environmental initiatives through addressing product quality and safety, and tackling climate change. Third, the recent decision of the United States to exit the 2015 Paris Agreement is expected to encourage other countries (e.g., Mainland China, India, Singapore) to accelerate the pace by providing leadership in sustainability initiatives. Finally, the achievement of sustainable economic growth, prosperity and performance has been observed in Asia and is expected to continue in the foreseeable future.

A number of professional organizations, including the Global Reporting Initiative (GRI), the International Integrated Reporting Council (IIRC), the Sustainability Accounting Standards Board (SASB), and the Corporate Reporting Dialogue (CRD), have issued numerous sustainability reporting and assurance guidelines to assist business organizations in disclosing their economic and GSEE sustainability performance to all stakeholders. Sustainability performance information can be disclosed on a voluntary basis or on a mandatory basis. In Hong Kong, there are listing standards that require listed companies to comply with ESG requirements in annual reports commencing in the 2016 fiscal year. Large European companies (more than 6,000 employees) are now required to disclose their environmental, social and diversity activities for the 2017 financial year and onwards. The Delaware Certification of Adoption of Transparency and Sustainability Standards Act was signed into law on June 27, 2018; this represents Delaware's initiative to support sustainability practices by enabling Delaware-governed entities to disclose their commitment to CSR and sustainability.

Global business organizations have issued integrated sustainability reports on all or some of the five EGSEE dimensions of sustainability performance in the past decade. Theoretically, companies that effectively manage their business sustainability by improving EGSEE performance conduct their business more effectively and ethically, enhance their reputation, fulfill their social responsibility and environmental commitments, and thus contribute to their bottom-line financial economic sustainability performance. However, ESP and GSEE sustainability performance disclosures supplement each other and are not mutually exclusive. The relative importance of EGSEE sustainability performance with respect to each other and their integrated contribution to the overall firm value maximization is affected by whether EGSEE are viewed as complementary or conflicting factors in the context of sustainability theories. Sustainability performance dimensions (EGSEE) can be seen as complementary because firms must be financially sustainable in the long term to be able to perform well in the other areas of governance, social, ethical and environmental activities. This book offers guidance to organizations for proper measurement, recognition and reporting of all five EGSEE dimensions of sustainability performance. Sustainability integrated reporting refers to the continuous process of promoting, measuring, recognizing, reporting and auditing sustainability performance in the five areas of EGSEE. Traditionally, organizations have reported their financial performance on economic transactions. Given the growing global attention to corporate sustainability and the major economies in developing nations, this book examines the emergence of corporate sustainability in Asia, particularly in Hong Kong and Mainland China.

In this book, five primary themes will present a framework for the five dimensions (EGSEE) of business sustainability performance. First, business sustainability is driven by and built on the stakeholder theory, which is the theoretical basis for creating shared value for all stakeholders. Second, the main goal and objective for business organizations is to maximize firm value by improving financial and non-financial dimensions (EGSEE) of sustainability performance. The third theme focuses on the time horizon of balancing short-, medium-, and long-term performance, with a keen emphasis on long-term sustainable performance. The fourth theme is the multi-dimensional nature of sustainability performance in all EGSEE areas, which are interrelated. The final theme of the book is its focus on and relevance to Asia because sustainability initiatives and activities in Asia have significantly grown in the past decade and are expected to continue to grow in the future. The relative importance of the dimensions with respect to each other and their contribution to the firm's overall long-term value maximization is affected by whether these EGSEE dimensions are viewed as competing, conflicting or complementing.

We hope you will find this book a valuable resource in understanding and promoting business sustainability worldwide and particularly in Asia. This book will be of interest to anyone who is involved with business sustainability, CSR and corporate governance, the financial reporting process, investment decisions, legal and financial advising, audit functions and business sustainability education. Specifically, corporations, business executives, board members, internal and external auditors, accountants, lawmakers, regulators, standard-setters, users of financial statements (investors, creditors, and pensioners), investor activists, business academics and other professionals (attorneys, financial analysts and bankers) will benefit from this book. Business sustainability performance dimensions, principles, mechanisms and functions as well as sustainability compliance, integrated reporting and assurance presented in this book are applicable to organizations of all types and sizes. Profit-oriented enterprises, non-governmental organizations, state-owned enterprises and not-for-profit and governmental entities can benefit from our discussions. We hope you will find this book useful and valuable in achieving your personal and professional goals.

Zabihollah Rezaee
Judy Tsui
Peter Cheng
Gaoguang Zhou
3/06/2019