Measurement of corporate sustainability performance in energy sector: A comparative analysis

Energy is one of the most strategic production factors of countries and constitutes one of the most important engines of development. Energy, which has an important place among the basic needs, also brings some unfavorable conditions. Due to the increasing energy production and consumption over time, reserves decrease and vital problems that pose a threat to the future of humanity such as environmental pollution arise. At this point, a sustainable energy sector in which abalance is ensured between the production and consumption of energy is a key point for nature and humanity and provides a competitive advantage to countries in this sector which has a fierce competition. This study aimed to develop a conceptual framework for sustainability performance evaluation consisting of three dimensions. Based on this framework, it was aimed to evaluate the corporate sustainability performance of 30 energy companies that operate in the Asian-European regions and prepare reportsby considering the Global Reporting Initiative (GRI) guidelines with MCDM methods. While the Entropy method was employed to determine the criteria weights, Proximity Indexed Value (PIV), Range of Value (ROV), Grey Relational Analysis (GRA) and Measurement Alternatives and Ranking according to Compromise Solution (MARCOS) methods were used to rank the alternatives. Copeland's method was applied in order to obtain a single rational ranking among the rankings obtained by four different methods. With the proposed integrated MCDM approach, the corporate sustainability performances of energy companies were evaluated, and it was concluded that the proposed model is an effective tool which can be used in corporate sustainability performance evaluation. It is believed that the findings obtained as a result of the application will contribute to the development of the energy sector.