Benchmarking the initiatives of ESG research leaders

The term "Environmental, Social, and Governance" (ESG) has become fundamental for companies seeking to align their operations with a positive and sustainable impact. However, the spread of ESG is not equal worldwide. Therefore, the most advanced countries in ESG can be benchmarked for policies and practices that can accelerate the implementation of sustainable strategies in others. This work aims to identify ESG initiatives in the three countries with the highest h-Index (China, the United States, and Italy) that contribute to Sustainable Development (SD), investigating their articles, authors, and universities. For this purpose, Scopus was used to survey the h-Index and other data, combining a Bibliographic Study of the articles with Secondary Data Analysis of other papers. The progress made by these countries in expanding and strengthening ESG practices is significant and diverse. Together, they are shaping the global ESG landscape, driving more sustainable corporate practices. The results of this work shed light on the studies carried out in these nations, showing the advancement of ESG driven by financial markets, their contributions to SD, and the relevant role of universities in this regard.