Understanding Sustainable Finance Through Its Key Dimensions: A Systematic Literature Review

Sustainable finance has become a central mechanism for aligning financial systems with sustainable development objectives by integrating environmental, social, and governance (ESG) considerations into financial decision-making. Despite its growing importance, the literature remains fragmented, with diverse conceptualizations, frameworks, and classifications that hinder the development of a coherent understanding of the field. This study addresses this gap by conducting a systematic literature review to identify, synthesize, and analyze the key dimensions of sustainable finance and their interrelationships. Following the PRISMA 2020 guidelines, the review examines academic publications indexed in Web of Science, Scopus, and Google Scholar between 2000 and 2026. The analysis focuses on how sustainable finance has been conceptualized across different scholarly traditions and investigates the evolution of its principal dimensions. The findings reveal that sustainable finance can be understood as a multidimensional construct comprising six interconnected dimensions: environmental, social, governance, economic and financial sustainability, institutional and regulatory, and strategic and innovation dimensions. These dimensions collectively contribute to sustainable development, financial performance, risk mitigation, and long-term value creation. The study advances the literature by proposing an integrated conceptual framework that synthesizes the multidimensional nature of sustainable finance and identifies emerging themes and future research directions. The findings provide valuable insights for researchers, practitioners, and policymakers seeking to advance sustainable finance theory and practice.