From Green Strategy to Sustainable Development: Corporate Efforts Toward SDG 12 and SDG 13

Abstract

Firms are increasingly integrating United Nations Development Goals 12 (Responsible consumption and production) and 13 (Climate action) as a part of their sustainability strategies. However, prior research has rarely examined how these SDGs interact as a unified capability rather than as isolated practices. Drawing on the Strategic Green Synergy (SGS) framework, the firm's integrative capability to align environmental identity (who we are), green innovation (what we do), and green disclosure (what we communicate) to generate superior corporate social responsibility (CSR) outcomes. Employing panel data of US firms from 2015 to 2024, this study reconceptualises eco-innovation as an internal operational capability that facilitates the translation of green strategy into CSR. This relationship is mediated by green innovation products and is intensified in sustainability reporting firms. The study findings suggest that innovating green products is crucial, an under-theorised mechanism advancing SDGs 12 and 13, shaping the association between green strategy orientation and CSR.