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Family Firms and Carbon Emissions

Author

Listed:
  • Marcin Borsuk

    (Narodowy Bank Polski, Poland; Institute of Economics, Polish Academy of Sciences, Poland; University of Cape Town, South Africa.)

  • Nicolas Eugster

    (University of Queensland, Australia.)

  • Paul-Olivier Klein

    (University of Lyon.)

  • Oskar Kowalewski

    (IESEG School of Management, Univ. Lille, CNRS, UMR 9221 – LEM – Lille Économie, France.)

Abstract

This study examines the relationship between family firms and carbon emissions using a large cross-country dataset comprising 6,610 non-financial companies over the period 2010-2019. We document that family firms display lower carbon emissions,both direct and indirect, when compared to non-family firms, suggesting a higher commitment to environmental protection by family owners. We show that this differential effect started following the 2015 Paris Agreement. Differences in governance structure, familial values, and higher R&D expenditures partly explain our results. Paradoxically, we find that family-owned firms and family CEOs commit less publicly to a reduction in their carbon emissions and have lower ESG scores, although polluting less. This suggests a lower participation in the public display of such an outcome and a lower tendency to greenwashing.

Suggested Citation

  • Marcin Borsuk & Nicolas Eugster & Paul-Olivier Klein & Oskar Kowalewski, 2023. "Family Firms and Carbon Emissions," NBP Working Papers 361, Narodowy Bank Polski.
    • Handle: RePEc:nbp:nbpmis:361
    Note: The views expressed in this paper are those of their authors and do not necessarily correspond to the opinions of Narodowy Bank Polski. This paper was previously circulated under the title "Family Ownership and Carbon Emission". The authors would like to thank the anonymous referee. The authors appreciate the comments of Morten Bennedsen, Joseph Fan, Jacquelyn Humphrey, Pierluigi Murro, Wojtek Paczos, Bartolomé Pascual-Fuster, Patrick Roger, reviewers at the Journal of Corporate Finance Special Issue Conference on Ownership and Corporate Social and Sustainable Policies, and participants at the 30th AEFIN Conference in Malaga, XII FEBS Conference in Chania, the 2023 AFFI Conference in Bordeaux, the 2023 Financial Management Association European conference, and the Southern Finance Association conference. We acknowledge support from the National Science Center, Poland, research grant no. 2019/33/B/HS4/00369.
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    References listed on IDEAS

    as
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    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    carbon emission; ESG; governance; family firms; greenwashing; climate change.;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • G3 - Financial Economics - - Corporate Finance and Governance
    • G38 - Financial Economics - - Corporate Finance and Governance - - - Government Policy and Regulation
    • M14 - Business Administration and Business Economics; Marketing; Accounting; Personnel Economics - - Business Administration - - - Corporate Culture; Diversity; Social Responsibility

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