From CSR to ESG: Evolving Frameworks for Ethical Governanceand Environmental Accountability in Multinational Enterprises

This paper investigates the shift from Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) to ESG (environmental, social, and governance) frameworks with a focus on their importance in the ethical oversight and environmental responsibility of international corporations. With global investors becoming more sensitive to systemic environmental and governance issues, traditional CSR models have relied upon are obsolete in favor of more integrated and measurable ESG standards. This paper analyzes the evolution corporate governance should undergo to shift from compliance and reputation wash to include safe systems, ecodependences, human rights obligations, and true sustainability. It also emphasizes the gap on credible governance metrics and the dangers of greenwashing when ESG is superficially applied. This study transforms ‘E’ and ‘G’ of ESG from mere operational imperatives into strategic investment requirements arguing that ESG can be used as a transformative framework aimed at long-term resilience, trust among stakeholders, and ethical leadership. The study highlights that real structural accountability combined with real-time environmental accountability for multinational corporations along with symbolic to systemic change defines meaningful integration of ESG principles.