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Research project

Corporate leaders and climate action

  • Start date: 1 August 2024
  • End date: 31 July 2025
  • Principal investigator: Professor Jatinder Sidhu
  • Co-investigators: Dr Yunke Wu, Dr Nawon Oh, Professor Tine Buyl (Tilburg University, Netherlands) and Dr Joris Berns (Tilburg University, Netherlands)

Description

Over the past decade, public and corporate views on business responsibilities have shifted. In the wake of this, there is an expectation that for-profit companies need to do more to address the climate crisis we face. While some companies have embraced Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) practices, others engage in greenwashing or are even facing environmental lawsuits.

The European Union’s Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive (CSRD), effective since January 2023, aims to enforce sustainable practices, but its impact on broader corporate climate commitments remains unclear.

This project investigates the influence of corporate leaders—specifically their education, personalities, values, and interpersonal dynamics—on companies’ climate-related actions. Insights from this research could inform both corporate strategies and policy, aiding boards in fostering climate-positive decisions and identifying ways to strengthen regulatory frameworks like the CSRD.

Research overview

This research will investigate how the educational backgrounds, personalities, and values of a company's corporate leaders influence the company’s climate-related actions.

The research aims to arrive at actionable findings for strengthening practice and policy vis-à-vis corporate commitment to tackling climate change.

To achieve the research aim, the investigators will first conduct initial scoping work. This will involve a comprehensive literature review, conversations with subject and policy experts at the University of Leeds and externally, and fieldwork involving interviews with corporate leaders in the UK and the Netherlands.

The first phase of research is expected to lead to a finer delineation of the research boundaries. Next, we will do panel-data analysis using data from secondary sources, and data on conference calls and earnings calls.

Publications and outputs

Contact

Jatinder Sidhu

This project is funded by Leeds University Business School’s Climate Change and Environmental Research Fund.