Identifying Investment Analysts Approach to Using Environmental Information

Buy-side analysts are active intermediaries in stock exchange market. They provide advice on buying, maintaining or selling stocks based on analyzing available information. The way in which environmental information is included in the evaluation models of the analysts has not been clearly explained. This research is a field survey and is also applicable in terms of purpose. In order to measure the importance, priority and the main cause of attention or lack of attention to any of the environmental indicators announced by the Global Reporting Initiative, a questionnaire between 64 investment managers active in investment funds under the supervision of the Tehran Stock Exchange in 1396 was distributed and their answers evaluated using one-sample and Friedman tests using SPSS software. The results of the research showed that the importance of raw material and energy indices is more important for the analysts and the main reason for paying attention to these standards is the interests of shareholders. Research findings also indicate that the analysts rank environmental indicators and higher ranking allocated to energy, raw materials, environmental regulations and water indices respectively. Information about raw materials and energy that has been considered in the context of traditional reporting and sustainability reporting, irrespective of the differences, affects the decision making of investment analysts. The voluntary nature of social responsibility reporting can lead to selective performance and reporting by companies and thus distort the goal of sustainable development.