Cultivating sustainability literacy in business and accounting education: evidence from a digital intervention

Purpose This study aims to investigate how a theory-driven digital intervention promotes sustainability literacy among business and accounting students, positing environmental knowledge as a mediating factor between intention and pro-environmental action. Grounded in the theory of planned behaviour (TPB), the research addresses a persistent gap in business education, where sustainability and environmental accountability remain peripheral despite the growing global emphasis on climate change; environmental, social and governance reporting and sustainability regulations. Design/methodology/approach A quasi-experimental pre- and post-intervention design was employed with 151 students from a Malaysian public university. Using the EcoFriend Site, a structured digital learning platform, participants engaged with sustainability modules over one academic semester. Paired t-tests, regression analyses and mediation testing using the PROCESS macro were conducted to examine the relationships among environmental intention, knowledge and action. Findings The results demonstrate statistically significant improvements in students' environmental intention, knowledge and pro-environmental actions following the digital intervention. Mediation analysis confirms that environmental knowledge partially and significantly mediates the relationship between intention and action, providing empirical support for extending TPB within a digitally mediated sustainability education context. Research limitations/implications The study is limited to a single institutional setting and relies on self-reported measures, which may constrain generalisability. Future research should adopt multi-institutional and longitudinal designs to examine the durability of sustainability literacy and behavioural change across diverse educational contexts. Practical implications The findings demonstrate that digital pedagogy can systematically strengthen sustainability knowledge, thereby activating intentional and behavioural change among future accounting and business professionals. Embedding sustainability literacy through structured digital interventions supports graduate readiness for evolving disclosure frameworks, such as International Financial Reporting Standards S1/S2, the Task Force on Climate-related Financial Disclosures and local sustainability requirements and provides actionable guidance for curriculum designers, educators and policymakers. Social implications By fostering sustainability-competent graduates, higher education institutions contribute directly to Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 4 (Quality Education) and SDG 13 (Climate Action). The study highlights how digitally enabled sustainability education supports the development of environmentally responsible professionals who can effectively translate their knowledge of sustainability into meaningful action. Originality/value This study offers one of the earliest empirical tests of a TPB-based digital sustainability intervention in Malaysian accounting education, demonstrating environmental knowledge as a key cognitive mediator linking intention to action. It advances sustainability literacy research by integrating behavioural theory with digital pedagogy in a developing-country higher education context.