Title: Corporate social responsibility and sustainability committee inside the board

Authors: Ignacio Danvila Del Valle; José María Díez Esteban; Óscar López De Foronda Pérez

Addresses: Department of Business Organization, Faculty of Economics and Business, Complutense University of Madrid, Campus de Somosaguas s/n, 28223 Madrid, Spain ' Department of Economics and Business Administration, Faculty of Economics and Business, Burgos University, Plaza Infanta Elena s/n, 09001 Burgos, Spain ' Department of Economics and Business Administration, Faculty of Economics and Business, Burgos University, Plaza Infanta Elena s/n, 09001 Burgos, Spain

Abstract: This study examines whether the existence of a sustainability committee with independent directors facilitates the requirements of the Dow Jones Sustainability Index in order to include the company within the leading sustainable companies. Our research focuses on the firms of STOXX EUROPE 600 for the year 2015. The results evidence that the existence of a CSR committee, formed by independent directors with previous experience in socially responsible actions, orientates the board to lead the firm's inclusion in DJSI Europe. This study offers a tool for executives and investment managers of European multinational firms about the role played by boards to adopt CSR policies with the target to get the firm's presence in the main sustainability indexes.

Keywords: sustainability committee; corporate governance; corporate social responsibility; independent directors; Dow Jones Sustainability Index; composition of board.

DOI: 10.1504/EJIM.2019.098145

European Journal of International Management, 2019 Vol.13 No.2, pp.159 - 176

Received: 14 Apr 2016
Accepted: 01 Jun 2017
Published online: 05 Mar 2019 *

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