The effect of sustainability indicators on financial performance: A research on the companies included in the BIST sustainability index

In the sustainability reports of the index companies published by the Borsa Istanbul (BIST) Sustainability Index in 2020, important information is provided to investors and stakeholders about the performance of companies. In this context, the main purpose of the thesis study is to determine whether the social and environmental sustainability statements of companies that publish sustainability reports have an impact on their financial performance. Information on social and environmental sustainability in the sustainability reports of 33 manufacturing companies included in the BIST Sustainability Index between 2016-2021 was searched. In this study, profitability ratios used in financial performance analyzes of companies were used as dependent variables. In the study, social and environmental sustainability variables were determined as independent variables. As a result of the analysis made in this study, it has been determined that the relationship between social sustainability and environmental sustainability and asset profitability is significant.