Artificial Intelligence for ESG Reporting: A Knowledge Management Perspective

Abstract

Artificial Intelligence (AI) is even more transforming the generation, validation, and circulation of sustainability-related knowledge within and across organizations. Although a growing body of research recognizes this transformation, its specific contributions to the robustness and reliability of Sustainability Accounting and Reporting (SAR) remain theoretically underexplored and empirically fragmented across disciplines. This paper addresses this gap through a systematic literature review and inductive content analysis, identifying nine empirically grounded categories of positive AI impact on SAR. By mapping these contributions onto the SECI Model of Knowledge Creation, the study conceptualizes AI not merely as a technical instrument, but as an enabling knowledge-creation infrastructure capable of reconfiguring sustainability disclosures and strengthening ESG information integrity. The findings show how AI enhances the organizational processes of knowledge conversion—socialization, externalization, combination, and internalization—thereby improving the consistency, traceability, and robustness of sustainability disclosures. The proposed framework further illustrates how AI can support compliance with leading ESG reporting standards, such as the Global Reporting Initiative Standards and the Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive (CSRD) including the European Sustainability Reporting Standards (ESRS). By integrating insights from sustainability accounting, information systems, and knowledge management, the paper advances the theoretical understanding of AI-enabled knowledge governance in sustainability reporting and outlines directions for future research.