The presence and composition of sustainability committee and waste management practices

Motivated by the recent surge in scholarly enquiries into the role of sustainability committees in corporate social responsibility, this study investigates the relevance of sustainability committees' presence and composition to waste management practices, which is still unknown in the literature. Based on a panel of firms listed in 42 countries from 2002 to 2019, we document a positively significant (insignificant) relationship between the presence of a sustainability committee and waste generation (waste recycling). In terms of the composition, we find that firms with large committee size and gender diversity (committee tenure and independence) generate less (more) waste. Our analysis also indicates that firms with gender-diverse committees are more likely to recycle their waste. Our findings are robust to alternative estimation techniques and variable specifications, sub-sample analyses, and different identification strategies. This study provides new insights into the structure of the sustainability committee and informs stakeholders and regulators about impression management by firms across countries.