Strategic Sustainability Leadership for SDGs 9, 12, and 13: The Role of Innovation, Environmental Policy, and Chief Sustainability Officers in Italian Firms

ABSTRACT This study examines the role of innovation, environmental policy, and the presence of a chief sustainability officer (CSO) in carbon emissions management within Italian enterprises. It further examines how firm‐level characteristics, including size, regional location, and firm type, are associated with carbon emissions management practices. The analysis is based on cross‐sectional data from 760 Italian firms obtained from the World Bank Enterprise Survey, representing a subset of 13,942 firms in the population. Quantitative methods are employed to assess the associations among innovation, environmental policy, CSO presence, and carbon emissions management. The results indicate that innovation and environmental policy are positively associated with carbon emissions management, and that environmental policy statistically mediates the association between innovation and carbon emissions management. However, the moderating role of CSOs is not statistically supported. Given the relatively small number of firms reporting CSO presence, this finding should be interpreted cautiously and may reflect either limited statistical power or differences in the institutional development of sustainability‐governance roles across firms. This research offers novel evidence on the interplay among policy implementation, corporate governance, and sustainability practices in Italy. By linking firm‐level innovation and policy frameworks to carbon emissions management, it advances understanding of how enterprises may contribute to achieving the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs 9, 12, and 13).