Green Innovations at the Core: Policy Roadmaps for Aligning Natural Resource Management, Economic Growth, and Environmental Protection in <scp>BRICS</scp> + Nations

ABSTRACT Global sustainability is central to achieving the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and requires technological advancement, cross‐border investment, and strong human capital (HCA). This study investigates how HCA, economic growth (ECG), foreign direct investment (FDI), institutional quality (INQ), and natural resource rents (NRRs) influence ecological footprints (EFPs) across the extended BRICS economies from 1996 to 2023. The Method of Moments Quantile Regression (MMQR) is used as the main estimator, supported by diagnostic tests such as the Cross‐sectionally Augmented Im, Pesaran, and Shin (CIPS) unit root test, Westerlund cointegration test, cross‐sectional dependence, slope heterogeneity, and matrix correlation. Robustness is confirmed using the Common Correlated Effects Mean Group (CCEMG) and Augmented Mean Group (AMG) estimators. The results show that FDI and green innovation (GIN) significantly reduce EFPs, particularly in high‐emission economies, while HCA and NRRs increase environmental degradation. ECG exhibits a nonlinear relationship that validates the Environmental Kuznets Curve (EKC) hypothesis, where EFP initially rises with income and declines beyond a specific threshold. INQ has a conditional effect, becoming more influential in economies with higher ecological pressure. The robustness checks largely align with MMQR findings, with AMG confirming the mitigating role of GIN and the EKC relationship, while CCEMG supports the nonlinear growth–environment nexus and highlights cross‐country heterogeneity. These results emphasize the need for context‐specific sustainability strategies aligned with structural and institutional realities to advance SDG‐oriented environmental governance.