Sustainability in management is often measured through scores, ratings, and disclosure narratives that can reward symbolic progress while leaving underlying social-ecological conditions unchanged. This perspective paper offers a definition of Sustainability Management as how organizations plan, organize, lead, and control (four management functions) value creation so that it remains within ecological limits and meets social foundations over time. It specifies four premises for valid sustainability claims: norm-boundedness, multi-level integration, cross-domain integration, and systems-dynamic governance. Building on these premises, the paper develops the Limits-Levels-Domains-States (LLDS) diagnostic, which distinguishes low- from high-depth sustainability practice and clarifies what stronger sustainability management should require. The diagnostic is illustrated through three regulatory enforcement cases in manufacturing, financial services, and fashion, using 5 years of corporate disclosures preceding externally validated failures. The paper contributes an evaluative standard for sustainability management and a research agenda for testing norm-to-limit-to-state logics in ESG-sensitive sectors.

Our institutions must adapt in the face of a disastrous climate crisis, but who will make this happen? This research extends institutional theory and incorporates pro-environmental behavior literature to consider whether and how the interests and motivations of the next generations might shape existing investment institutions. Alongside theoretical discussion and related contributions, a quantitative study is undertaken to address the question: Would and how might the next generations change financial institutions through their investment preferences, and why? Hypotheses are developed in the context of university students considering how they might influence investment institutions towards mainstreaming ethical investment and divesting from fossil fuels. Survey data from a sample of university students is analyzed using a structural equation model, finding that those wanting a career related to climate change mitigation are likely to engage in institutional change. Also, feeling a responsibility to address an issue, such as climate change, motivates change-oriented behaviors. We find that ethical drivers within a learning environment influence students’ interests in investment decisions toward putting pressure on the investment industry to mainstream responsible investment practices and divest from fossil fuels. Overall, we contribute to a deeper understanding of the intergenerational potential for changing institutions.

ABSTRACT This scoping review provides an industry‐comparative synthesis of greenwashing and disclosure‐action decoupling in sustainability‐related reporting. Guided by PRISMA, it reviews 73 peer‐reviewed articles published between 2016 and 2025 and organizes them into three streams: variable‐based explanatory, report analysis, and disclosure‐action comparison studies. Integrating these streams, the review develops SEA (shaped‐enacted‐assessed) as a review‐derived analytical structure for examining how greenwashing is shaped by institutional, organizational, and market conditions; enacted through reporting tactics; and assessed through disclosure‐action comparison and proxy design. The findings show that industry context matters. External pressures may constrain or encourage symbolic reporting in certain industries, reporting tactics show sector‐linked patterns, and disclosure‐action assessment requires industry‐specific indicators. The review also identifies a policy challenge of designing rules that are stringent, clear, and enforceable enough to connect sustainability claims with verifiable implementation and calls for more industry‐sensitive empirical research, proxy design, and theory‐building.

ABSTRACT This study aims to provide a comprehensive overview of sustainable healthcare from the perspective of the management literature. Relevant publications were retrieved from the Scopus database. A total of 85 publications from 1997 to July 2024 were analyzed using the R bibliometrix package. Findings suggest this is a nascent area of study in the management literature. Scholars span the entire world. Collaboration amongst authors is important to advancing sustainable healthcare research. Six research themes are identified: sustainability, sustainable healthcare, healthcare, quality improvement, healthcare supply chain, and healthcare waste management. A significant research gap exists in the examination of social and economic pillars in sustainable healthcare. This research contributes to understanding the structure of the current landscape of sustainable healthcare and provides a strategic direction for researchers and leaders seeking to advance the management of sustainable healthcare.

This special issue, developed with the Global Risk Institute (GRI), examines how sustainable and climate finance can support Canada's low-carbon transition across public sector readiness, disclosure, financial sector integration, and sector pathways. Findings point to practical improvements: more consistent, transparent climate data; stronger monitoring of public programs; and broader use of forward-looking tools (e.g., transition plans, scenario analysis). Market evidence suggests Canadian "green" firms tend to outperform and exhibit lower volatility during periods of heightened climate-policy risk. Comparative analyses highlight jurisdictional differences and opportunities to align financial sector policy with national objectives. Sector research on maritime transport proposes a phased approach-including near-term efficiency, transitional fuels as infrastructure scales, and longer-horizon zero-carbon technologies. Overall, priorities include standardizing decision-useful data, expanding forward-looking tools, improving policy-finance coherence, and considering incentives to mobilize public and private capital toward measurable transition outcomes.

This study conducts a comparative analysis of Canadian development finance institutions (DFIs) and international multilateral development banks (MDBs). It examines the integration of environmental, social, and governance (ESG) principles into investment decisions and the alignment of impact reporting with the Sustainable Development Goals. The study conducts a detailed content analysis of the sustainability, annual, or ESG reports of selected institutions from fiscal year 2021 to fiscal year 2023, highlighting distinct thematic differences using a mixed-methods approach. Canadian DFIs prioritize social inclusion, gender equity, and Indigenous economic development, whereas MDBs focus more on climate risk, biodiversity, and green finance. Although both demonstrate collective efforts toward sustainability, Canadian DFIs are still behind on themes such as Scope 3 emissions (value-chain) disclosure, biodiversity finance, and impact measurement. The findings identify two key opportunities for Canadian DFIs: (a) to advance ESG integration by adopting international best practices, including just transition frameworks, grievance mechanisms, and impact dashboards, and (b) to improve sustainability reporting via standardized frameworks such as the Global Reporting Initiative and Task Force on Climate-Related Financial Disclosures.

This study examines the extent of banks' involvement in the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and factors influencing their participation in Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA). Previous studies have highlighted the dearth of research conducted in developing countries. The study employed an explanatory sequential mixed-methods approach across six countries underpinned by legitimacy and corporate sustainability theories. The quantitative phase involved 61 banks, utilizing content analysis, followed by a qualitative phase with 14 interviewees. The findings reveal a low depth of SDG involvement but a relatively higher breadth of engagement and awareness. Banks prioritize SDGs 13, 8, 5, 4 and 3, aligning with their core business and allowing them to make a positive impact, consistent with corporate sustainability and legitimacy theories. The results reveal challenges that impede progress among banks in SSA. The findings can serve as a guide for policymakers and practitioners in creating an enabling environment that supports the banking sector to increase its contribution to the SDGs.

L'industrie des capitaux priv & eacute;s, qui d & eacute;passe les 14 milliards de dollars d'actifs sous gestion dans le monde, est bien plac & eacute;e pour contribuer aux objectifs de d & eacute;veloppement durable (ODD) des Nations unies. Les auteurs analysent les rapports environnementaux, sociaux et de gouvernance de 33 entreprises de capitaux priv & eacute;s en 2020, y compris Brookfield Asset Management, la plus grande entreprise de capitaux priv & eacute;s au Canada. Ils examinent les ODD les plus populaires (particuli & egrave;rement l'ODD-13, l'action climatique), les tendances g & eacute;ographiques et industrielles, les modes d'int & eacute;gration des ODD et la comparaison entre Brookfield et l'ensemble du groupe. Les r & eacute;sultats ont r & eacute;v & eacute;l & eacute; que les entreprises de capitaux priv & eacute;s ont neuf fa & ccedil;ons d'int & eacute;grer les ODD & agrave; leurs processus d'investissement. Brookfield d & eacute;clare un fort engagement envers l'ODD-13 et souligne r & eacute;guli & egrave;rement les facteurs climatiques & agrave; une plus grande fr & eacute;quence que les autres entreprises. Bien que les rapports de certaines entreprises incluent les placements de portefeuille respectueux des ODD, dans bien des cas, rien ne d & eacute;montre qu'ils ont & eacute;t & eacute; retenus de mani & egrave;re intentionnelle avant les investissements. The private equity industry, totaling more than US$14 trillion in assets under management worldwide, is well positioned to make contributions to the United Nations' Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). We analyzed environmental, social, and governance reports from 33 top private equity firms in 2020, including the largest private equity firm in Canada, Brookfield Asset Management. We looked at which SDGs were most popular (with a focus on SDG 13, Climate Action), geographic and industry trends, modes of SDG integration, and how Brookfield compared with the overall group. The results show that private equity firms may integrate SDGs into their investment processes in nine ways. Brookfield reports a strong commitment to SDG 13 and consistently mentions climate factors at a greater rate than the other firms. Although the reports of some firms include portfolio investments consistent with the SDGs, there is often little evidence that these were chosen with pre-investment intentionality.

Based on the organizational legitimacy theory, we examine the Environmental Protection Tax (EPT) Law in China as an exogenous shock to investigate its effects on companies' environmental, social, and governance (ESG) outcomes. Taking China's A-share listed firms as the sample, a difference-in-difference (DID) with multiple time periods model is used for empirical testing. The results indicate that the introduction of EPT can promote the improvement of ESG performance, and this positive effect can be achieved by encouraging companies to implement initiatives for innovation in green management. The research finding shows that the effect of EPT on firms' ESG achievements is more prominent in the context of greater media attention and environmental attention from the senior management team. Moreover, the research conclusions have passed a series of robustness tests. This study not only expands the application of organizational legitimacy theory in corporate sustainable development but also provides a useful reference for improving the environmental regulatory system.

PurposeThis study aims to dive into the unique context of Nigerian universities, exploring their roles in terms of campus sustainability practices and the challenges they face while implementing sustainability initiatives.Design/methodology/approachThis study investigates sustainability practices through in-depth interviews with higher education institutions (HEIs) in developing countries. Experts from eight different government-owned universities in the Southwestern region of Nigeria participated in this study through a purposive sampling technique. The study leveraged the Sustainability Tracking and Rating System framework to determine potential sustainability management indicators tailored to the Nigerian context.FindingsThe findings reveal a limited degree of engagement and implementation and show that HEIs adopt a wide range of sustainability approaches. Hence, underlying the necessity for concerted efforts to enhance sustainability initiatives in Nigerian HEIs.Originality/valueTo the best of the authors' knowledge, no previous studies have investigated Campuses' Sustainability Practices in Nigerian HEIs. This study contributes to the body of literature by clarifying the challenges faced by Nigerian HEIs as their comprehension of sustainability practices widens, which has gotten little attention in previous literature.

In diesem Beitrag wird dargestellt, welche Rolle Einstellungs-, Wahrnehmungs-, Entscheidungs- und Verhaltensdimensionen im nachhaltigen Bankgeschäft spielen. Da die rein finanzielle Dimension um eine weitere, die ethisch-ökologische, Dimension ergänzt wird, muss nicht mehr allein zwischen finanziellem Risiko und Ertrag abgewogen werden, sondern zwischen unterschiedlichen Arten des Risikos und des Ertrags, wie z. B. finanziellem Risiko und sozio-ökologischem Ertrag. Im Anschluss an die Einführung in das nachhaltige Bankgeschäft mit seinen Bestandteilen, sozio-ökologischem Kreditrisikoassessment, Socially Responsible Investment, sozialem Banking und Impact Investing, werden kognitionspsychologische Aspekte im nachhaltigen Finanz- und Kreditgeschäft vorgestellt. Weiterhin werden die Zusammenhänge zwischen Einstellungen und sozialverantwortlichem Investieren auf der Basis sozialpsychologischer, entscheidungspsychologischer, organisationspsychologischer und individualpsychologischer Erkenntnisse diskutiert. Schließlich wird das Verhalten im Rahmen des nachhaltigen Bankgeschäfts anhand der Theorie des geplanten Verhaltens im nachhaltigen Bankgeschäft erklärt. Dieser Beitrag schlussfolgert, dass Wissen, Einstellungen, subjektive Wahrnehmung, Rahmung, Betroffenheit und subjektive Normen eine große Rolle im Rahmen der nachhaltigen Kreditvergabe und des nachhaltigen Investierens spielen.

Engaging green investors is essential for firms seeking a green transformation. A considerable amount of research has investigated the factors influencing green investor entry (GIE) into a firm. However, the impact of financial technology (Fintech) on GIE has been inadequately studied. This study empirically examines the influence of Fintech on GIE and its underlying mechanisms, using data from Chinese A-share listed firms from 2011 to 2020. The findings indicate that the advancement of Fintech in a city significantly enhances the ability of firms within its jurisdiction to recruit GIE. This conclusion remains strong despite the implementation of robustness checks and the consideration of endogeneity issues. Further analysis reveals that the positive effect of Fintech on GIE is more pronounced in non-state-owned enterprises, mature enterprises, and heavily polluting enterprises. Mechanism studies demonstrate that Fintech enhances GIE by mitigating financing constraints and improving enterprises' environmental governance performance and the quality of corporate information disclosure. Finally, our findings offer data and a reference for governments to entice green investors via the advancement of Fintech.

This study utilizes a connectedness approach that is based on the quantile vector autoregressive model to analyze the level of connectedness between China's crude oil future market (INE) and the energy industrial bond credit spread across various markets. The findings of our study indicate that (1) The total connectedness index (TCI) exhibits a U-shaped pattern that changes according to conditional quantiles. This suggests that the spillover between the energy industry bond market and oil futures market is greater during extreme market conditions (bullish and bearish markets) compared to normal markets; (2) The TCI increased in size and volatility during the COVID-19 pandemic and the Russia-Ukraine conflict; (3) The electricity sector consistently transmits shocks, whereas INE consistently receives them, irrespective of the market states; (4) The credit risk of the energy sector has a significant impact on INE, particularly in bullish and bearish markets, while the former has a little impact on the latter. The coal and electricity sectors are the primary net spillover transmitters for INE in both bullish and bearish markets. Conversely, the gas sector is the largest net spillover transmitter for INE in a typical market. Lastly, our research offers novel perspectives on the information-sharing channels for the energy sector's bonds and oil futures markets, which could assist traders and investors in making more informed investment decisions.

Green bonds are an important sustainable finance tool that can help reorient financial flows and influence public policy in addressing climate action across the global financial markets. However, this market is still in its infancy for the retail investor segment, and it has not been sufficiently examined from a behavioural policy lens. We fill this research gap by examining whether labelling and environmental benefits framing of a green bond can influence retail investor decision-making. By employing 1105 Amazon Mechanical Turk workers across three choice scenarios, we test whether alignment of pro-environmental personal norms or having specific personal traits can have a mediating effect on their green bond preferences. Using a mix of quantitative analyses, we find that most retail investors are influenced by the presence of a ‘green label effect’. For most retail investors, we find that the presence of a green label matters more than the ‘greenness’ of a green bond or the higher financial return of a non-green bond. However, for a very small sub-set of our sample, the alignment of environmental performance-related framing with their pro-environmental personal norms, enables greater investment into enhanced performance green bonds, even at the cost of losing financial returns. Finally, personal traits like individual risk tolerance (high), or previous investment experience with investment products (bonds, stocks), gender (non-binary individuals) and those having employment experience with financial industry, are more likely to invest in a labelled green bond. Our findings have timely implications for sustainable finance public policy, as it relates to regulating the growth of such products through labelling schemes like green taxonomies as well as addressing greenwashing risks through improved regulatory oversight.

This paper evaluates sustainable banking performance and its relationship with financial performance among 99 banks across six Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) countries. Prior research has shown that there are limited studies on benchmarking sustainable banking performance, and the relationship between sustainable banking and financial performance remains inconclusive. We conducted a benchmarking of sustainable banking performance using a 44-indicator framework and a 4-stage ranking system. Regression analysis is used to examine the relationship between sustainability and financial performance. Results indicate that most banks in SSA are in the early stages of adopting sustainable banking practices. A positive relationship exists between sustainable banking performance and financial performance. This finding aligns with good management theory. This win-win situation offers a compelling case for banks to integrate sustainability into their core strategies, creating economic value while addressing social and environmental challenges. Banking regulators can leverage sustainable banking to implement regulations that promote sustainable development in the region.

A common topic of debate in academic scholarship on impact, ethical, and responsible investing is definitional clarity around the motivations and applications of each form of investment strategy. We ask, how does the subfield of impact investing differentiate itself from more established ethical and responsible investing – and do these differences necessitate yet another field of study? Adopting a combination of bibliometric and content analyses, we identify four distinct features of impact investing – positive impact targeting, novelty of governance structures, long time horizons, and the importance of philanthropy.