How are socially responsible investment (SRI) indices and environment, social and governance (ESG) criteria derived? This article reviews the social construction theory and examines how the existing literature addresses and offers insights that can assist in answering the question. The article argues that social construction theory offers crucial insights into the development of ESG criteria in SRI indices and normative corporate sustainability practices. An examination of the development of ESG issues and SRI indices ESG criteria from 1990s onwards has been presented.
