Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) reporting has become an essential requirement in energy projects, driven by regulatory mandates, stakeholder expectations, and global sustainability goals. However, traditional ESG compliance processes are often fragmented, manual, and prone to inefficiencies and inaccuracies. This paper reviews the integration of blockchain technology and smart compliance management systems in automating ESG reporting for energy projects. It examines how distributed ledger technology ensures data integrity, transparency, and real-time tracking of ESG metrics while facilitating regulatory compliance and auditability. The review also explores the role of smart contracts in enforcing policy rules, minimizing human error, and enhancing trust among stakeholders. Furthermore, it evaluates current implementations, challenges, and future directions in applying blockchain-enabled automation in ESG reporting. The study concludes by identifying gaps in existing frameworks and suggesting a roadmap for the development of scalable, interoperable, and AI-integrated compliance ecosystems that can adapt to evolving ESG standards.
Okojie et al. (2023) studied this question.