Director appointments, boardroom networks, and firm environmental performance

Chen, Mingyuan and De Silva, Dakshina and Slechten, Aurelie (2026) Director appointments, boardroom networks, and firm environmental performance. Environmental and Resource Economics. ISSN 0924-6460 (In Press)

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Abstract

Using BoardEx (2000-2017), we create a dynamic network connecting firms and board directors in the United States. We use the Environmental Protection Agency's Toxics Release Inventory to measure environmental performance at the director and firm-level. We first examine how candidates' environmental performance and networks affect their probability to be appointed to the board. We find that firms are likely to appoint influential directors with good environmental records and similar characteristics. We then show that directors' past environmental records affect their current firm's chemical releases. We address endogeneity concerns related to directors' appointments and firms' environmental performance by modeling directors' network formation.