Carbon emission and board gender diversity: The moderating role of CEO duality

Purpose – This study aims to investigate how the board gender diversity (BDG) affects carbon performance (CP) based on total carbon emissions intensity and whether CEO duality moderates this relationship. Methodology – The sample consists of 378 non-financial entities from European Union countries, covering the period from 2017 to 2020. We employ several regression models to test the hypotheses and also check results with robustness analyses. Findings – Results show a negative association between BGD and CP, thus suggesting that the higher is the percentage of woman directors, the lesser is carbon emission. Also, we find that CEO duality moderates negatively such relationship. Research limitations/implications – By addressing limitations of the study, we make suggestions for future research in the field of environmental performance and CG literature. Originality – This study adds new insights to the current debate on the association between environmental performance and the role of CG mechanisms.