As the concept of sustainable development takes root in the hearts of the people, many investment institutions around the world have listed ESG scores as one of the important indicators for investment decisions. The scale of ESG investments continues to expand, and the standards for ESG scores are constantly improving. Therefore, ESG investing is becoming more and more popular and has become a hot investment theme. It is against this background that this article analyzes the relationship between stock returns and volatility in China's A-share market and ESG ratings, explores the impact of ESG ratings on listed companies and investors, and promotes academic research in the field of ESG in China. It also provides suggestions for the development of ESG ratings in China's A-share market, providing a new perspective for related research in the field of ESG and corporate performance.

Kang Zha. The Impact of ESG Score on Stock Performance. Academic Journal of Business & Management (2024), Vol. 6, Issue 1: 252-259. https://doi.org/10.25236/AJBM.2024.060137.

[1] Geng, Y., Sarkis, J. & Bleischwitz, R. (2019). How to globalize the circular economy. Nature, 565, 153-155.

[2] Ju, B., Shi, X. & Mei, Y. (2022). The current state and prospects of China’s environmental, social, and governance policies. Frontiers in Environmental Science, 10, 999145.

[3] Lamont, M. (2012). Toward a comparative sociology of valuation and evaluation. Annual review of sociology, 38, 201-221.

[4] Eccles, N. & Viviers, S. (2011). The origins and meanings of names describing investment practices that integrate a consideration of ESG issues in the academic literature. Journal of business ethics, 104, 389-402.

[5] Kurtz, L. (2011). The long-term performance of a social investment universe. The Journal of Investing, 20, 95-102.

[6] Bauer, R., & Hann, D. (2010). Corporate environmental management and credit risk. Available at SSRN 1660470.

[7] El Ghoul, S., Guedhami, O., Kwok, C. C. & Mishra, D. R. (2011). Does corporate social responsibility affect the cost of capital? Journal of banking & finance, 35, 2388-2406.

[8] Gregory, A., Tharyan, R. & Whittaker, J. (2014). Corporate social responsibility and firm value: Disaggregating the effects on cash flow, risk and growth. Journal of business ethics, 124, 633-657.

[9] Stellner, C., Klein, C. & Zwergel, B. (2015). Corporate social responsibility and Eurozone corporate bonds: The moderating role of country sustainability. Journal of Banking & Finance, 59, 538-549

[10] Giese, G., Lee, L.-E., Melas, D., Nagy, Z. & Nishikawa, L. (2019). Foundations of ESG investing: How ESG affects equity valuation, risk, and performance. The Journal of Portfolio Management, 45, 69-83.

[11] LIU, L. (2021). A Study on the Effectiveness of China Bond Market ESG Investment Practice. Bond Monthly, October.