The influence of sustainable governance and innovation on socio-environmental performance: a multivariate analysis of companies listed on the Brazilian Corporate Sustainability Index

Purpose – This study aimed to analyze the impact of innovation and sustainable governance on the socio-environmental performance of companies in the Brazilian capital market, with a methodological focus on the companies listed on the Corporate Sustainability Index (ISE). Design/methodology/approach – The study is descriptive in nature, with a quantitative approach, using documentary data sources, and employed four multiple linear regression models to analyze the relationship between the variables. Findings – The results revealed a significant influence of innovation and sustainable corporate governance on the social and environmental performance of the listed companies. It was demonstrated that sustainable governance and investments in innovation are capable of improving organizational socio-environmental performance. Overall, sustainable governance and innovation had a more significant impact on social performance than environmental performance, indicating a stronger alignment with the social pillar of sustainability in the context analyzed. Research Practical & Social implications – The contributions of this study reach different stakeholders, with a potential to assist companies in improving their sustainability approaches, considering governance and innovation aspects. Furthermore, the study also contributes to the state of the art in the field of research on governance, innovation and socio-environmental performance in the context of Brazil and emerging economies. Originality/value: It is noteworthy that no other analyses investigating the impact of innovation and sustainable corporate governance performance on socio-environmental performance in the context of the ISE were identified. In this sense, the research reinforces the understanding of the relationship between sustainable corporate governance, innovation, and socio-environmental performance.