Sustainability‐Focused or Unfocused CSR Committees: Which Ones Are Beneficial for Corporate Environmental Performance?

This study investigates the relationship between corporate social responsibility (CSR) committees' mandates, the characteristicsof their chairs, and corporate environmental performance. Employing the whole sample of Italian industrial firms listed onEuronext Milan, we find that only sustainability-focused CSR committees are positively associated with corporate environmen-tal performance. Moreover, specific characteristics of committee chairs in sustainability-focused CSR committees are signifi-cantly linked to corporate environmental performance. Chairs with executive roles and longer tenure are positively associatedwith corporate environmental performance. These results highlight the importance of committee structure, clarity of mandates,and the characteristics of committee chairs in shaping corporate environmental strategies, as well as offer practical and theoret-ical implications.