City Research Online

Abstract

We contribute to the empirical literature relating to the impact of Non-Executive Directors on the environmental, social and governance (ESG) performance of firms. Being detached from daily management decisions, Non-Executive Directors (NEDs) are well-positioned to supervise the effort for more sustainable business activities. Indeed, previous empirical research has confirmed that companies that share board directors exhibit superior ESG credentials. Based on individual board characteristics for all FTSE-350 companies listed from 2012 to 2022, our study makes an original contribution to this literature. We find a statistically significant relationship between ESG corporate performance and the presence on a board of NEDS that serve on the boards of other companies that have a strong ESG performance. We make this contribution by proposing and calculating a measure of NED attentiveness. From a corporate governance perspective, our findings underscore the practical influence of board capital on corporate ESG performance.

Publication Type:	Article
Additional Information:	This is the peer reviewed version of the following article: Clare, A. , Pinheiro, C. M. & Pozzolo, A. F. (2025). Does the attentiveness of NEDs to ESG issues influence corporate sustainability?. Corporate Social Responsibility and Environmental Management, which will be published in final form at onlinelibrary.wiley.com/journal/15353966. This article may be used for non-commercial purposes in accordance with Wiley Terms and Conditions for Use of Self-Archived Versions. This article may not be enhanced, enriched or otherwise transformed into a derivative work, without express permission from Wiley or by statutory rights under applicable legislation. Copyright notices must not be removed, obscured or modified. The article must be linked to Wiley’s version of record on Wiley Online Library and any embedding, framing or otherwise making available the article or pages thereof by third parties from platforms, services and websites other than Wiley Online Library must be prohibited.
Publisher Keywords:	Corporate Governance; Boards; ESG; Non-executive directors; Network Centrality
Subjects:	H Social Sciences > HG Finance
Departments:	Bayes Business School Bayes Business School > Faculty of Finance
SWORD Depositor:	Symplectic Administrator

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