Institutional Determinants of Environmental Disclosure for Sustainable Development: The Moderating Role of Gender‐Diverse Boards

This study examines the institutional determinants of environmental disclosure in the context of sustainable development and analyses the moderating role of board gender diversity in this relationship. Using an international sample of 26 countries over the period 2014–2023, we explore how macro‐level socioeconomic, cultural, political, and environmental conditions influence firms' environmental reporting practices. The results show that environmental disclosure is higher in firms operating in countries with greater public investment in education, more developed cultural characteristics associated with long‐term orientation and lower levels of individualism, uncertainty avoidance, power distance, masculinity, and indulgence, as well as stronger institutional quality, higher levels of economic development and freedom, and greater natural capital endowments. In addition, the presence of female directors on corporate boards positively moderates the relationship between these institutional conditions and environmental disclosure. Overall, our findings highlight the importance of adopting a holistic perspective to understand how country‐level institutional environments shape corporate environmental reporting and contribute to sustainable development, while also emphasizing the role of gender‐diverse boards in promoting transparency and sustainability‐oriented disclosure.