The corporate sustainability committee and sustainable development goals

Purpose – This study aims to provide fresh empirical insights into the nexus between corporate sustainability committee (SC) attributes and sustainable development goals (SDG) disclosure practices. Design/methodology/approach – This study draws on an unbalanced sample of 132 Italian-listed companies that prepared a mandatory non-financial declaration (NFD) in accordance with the Global Reporting Initiative (GRI) Standards over a seven-year period (2017–2023), yielding a total of 455 observations. Data on SC characteristics – size, power, independence, gender diversity and number of meetings – were manually collected from firms’ annual corporate governance reports, whereas SDG disclosure data were obtained via content analysis of companies’ NFDs. Findings – Results from a fixed-effects panel regression model reveal that including the chief executive officer or the chair (or both) on the SC, together with greater female representation, enhances the ability of SCs to stimulate higher levels of SDG disclosure. Originality/value – To the best of the authors’ knowledge, this is the first study to provide empirical evidence on the nexus between SC characteristics – size, power, independence, gender diversity and number of meetings – and SDG disclosure. The findings provide impetus for policymakers and regulators to consider requiring companies to establish dedicated SCs as a core component of their corporate governance systems and to manage their composition carefully, ensuring that they fulfill their responsibilities in overseeing sustainability disclosure practices.