Achieving sustainable business: The nexus between external sustainability assurance, CSR strategy and emission reduction

This study investigates the relationship between firm's emissions reduction initiative and external assurance of sustainability performance, as well as the moderating effect of corporate social responsibility (CSR) strategy. The study uses a sample of non-financial firms listed on the STOXX Europe 600 index from 2006 to 2021. The findings suggest that external assurance of sustainability has a positive and significant impact on a firm's emissions reduction initiative. Additionally, the study finds that CSR strategy positively moderates the relationship between firm's emissions reduction initiative and external assurance of sustainability. The study's results have implications for managers, regulators, and stakeholders, indicating that external auditing for sustainability can enhance a firm's legitimacy and reputation and that strong CSR strategies can enhance the effectiveness of environmental initiatives. Our results demonstrate resilience to various econometric methods, sub-sample analyses, propensity score matching, and generalized method of moments (GMM).