Bridging ESG and Financial Performance: A Balanced Scorecard and AHP Approach to Strategic Assessment

Aligning environmental, social, and governance (ESG) objectives with financial performance remains a critical challenge for organizations committed to responsible and transparent operations. This study presents a structured approach to integrating ESG and financial key performance indicators (KPIs) using the balanced scorecard (BSC) and the analytic hierarchy process (AHP). The BSC provides a comprehensive framework, anchored in stakeholder, resource‐based, legitimacy, agency and triple‐bottom‐line perspectives, that connects ESG metrics with financial outcomes across four strategic perspectives: financial, customer, internal business processes (IBP), and learning & growth (L&G). The AHP complements this by enabling the prioritization and weighting of KPIs through expert input and stakeholder preferences, offering a transparent and data‐driven method for decision‐making. Together, these tools support a clear strategic alignment between sustainability goals and business performance, identifying key areas where ESG efforts deliver measurable value. This integrated approach contributes to the field of sustainability assessment and policy modelling by offering a replicable, stakeholder‐focused framework for performance management. It enables organizations to make informed decisions that advance ESG commitments while maintaining financial accountability.