CSR in Times of Crisis According to ESG Indicators in Europe: Analysis of the Impact of COVID-19

We live in a globalised world, characterised in recent times by events that have led to crises of international and global scope, in which companies have played a leading role. These circumstances have created a unique opportunity to study how Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) varies as companies adapt to this new environment. A key example of this is the situation resulting from the COVID-19 pandemic. This health crisis has obliged companies to adopt new management guidelines to adapt to the difficult conditions of this setting and be able to survive in this “new normal”. Thus, it will be interesting to know whether the impact of this global health crisis, which hit countries differently, has affected companies’ environmental, social and governance (ESG) indicators. Using a large sample of companies from European Union(EU) countries, the results confirm that corporate engagement in CSR increased during the pandemic (2020-2022) compared to the previous period (2017-2019). Additionally, the results of this study confirm that the intensity of the impact of this crisis improves the companies’ ESG indicators. From a practical standpoint, it is possible to establish certain political and management implications based on our findings and use them to plan possible strategies for potential future crises.