Board Characteristics and Climate Commitment: A Comprehensive Analysis Unraveling Linear and Nonlinear Relationships

ABSTRACT In an era of increasing environmental awareness, this study analyzes the relationship between board characteristics and corporate climate commitment across various industries. Our empirical analysis examines a comprehensive dataset that includes 4027 firms from the United States and Canada over the period from 2010 to 2022 and employs panel data regression models and panel quantile regressions. Our findings indicate that board meeting frequency (BMTG) exhibits a curvilinear relationship with climate commitment, with positive effects peaking at mid‐quantiles and diminishing at higher levels. Board gender diversity (BGEN), size (BSIZE), and independence (BIND) show increasing positive impacts at higher quantiles. Conversely, board experience (BEXP) shows a negative effect, particularly at middle quantiles. These results highlight the importance of tailoring board composition to optimize environmental outcomes. This study also uniquely resolves conflicting evidence from prior research regarding the impact of corporate board characteristics on carbon emissions performance. It reveals that the effect of board characteristics on emissions varies depending on the industry's carbon emission levels and its environmental consciousness. This study enhances our understanding of how corporate governance shapes environmental stewardship and provides valuable insights for policymakers, practitioners, and scholars.