Goodwill architecture in sustainable development concept and ESG agenda

The need to preserve the environment for future generations determines the importance of scientific research in the field of sustainable development. The concept of sustainable development, formulated by the UN in 1987, the sustainable development goals, formulated by 2015, determined the main parameters of the economic development of countries, regions, and companies. Formation of the ESG agenda (Environmental, Social, and Corporate Governance) made companies report specifically on sustainable development and invest in ESG, which suggests special preferences for investors to companies that comply with the principles of sustainable development; all this has resulted in new benchmarks in building and maintaining the reputation of companies. Goodwill characterizes the level of the company's reputation, it is known to business appraisers, but financial statements reflect it only under certain circumstances. Various types of goodwill are discussed (zoological, colored, external/internal), but the existing classifications of goodwill do not imply its functional varieties. In the context of the implementation of the ESG agenda, a new content of goodwill is also expected, it is necessary to identify new components of goodwill for their operational assessment and management. The purpose of this study is to substantiate the new content, new components of goodwill in the context of sustainable development and the implementation of the ESG agenda. In the course of the study, the main provisions of the concept of sustainable development and the ESG agenda, the theory of enterprise management, the theory of estimating the value of goodwill, intangible assets, set out in the works of famous Russian and foreign scientists were used. We analyzed the goals and objectives of sustainable development and the implementation of the ESG agenda; on the basis of a comparative analysis of definitions, the concepts of "brand", "image", "reputation", "business reputation", "goodwill" were differentiated. It was revealed that sustainability reporting currently determines the value of the company's business reputation, the value of goodwill. It is determined that only goodwill can testify to the successful business reputation of the company, can be evaluated and measured, and, accordingly, managed. As the main scientific result, we developed a new goodwill architecture called "House of ESG-goodwill" in the context of sustainable development and the implementation of the ESG agenda, which included basic types of goodwill (environmental goodwill, social goodwill and managerial goodwill), as well as digital goodwill and innovative goodwill "penetrating through the basic components of goodwill". The definition of a new composition, the content of goodwill will make it possible to more clearly define the goals and objectives of sustainable development, evaluate the components of goodwill and manage them. Directions for further research: development of principles for the formation of basic and "penetrating" types of goodwill in the context of sustainable development and the implementation of the ESG agenda, the formation of methods for differentiating types of goodwill and their evaluation.