CEO Education and Corporate Environmental Footprint

TY - JOUR

T1 - CEO Education and Corporate Environmental Footprint

AU - Amore, Mario Daniele

AU - Bennedsen, Morten

AU - Larsen, Birthe

AU - Rosenbaum, Philip

PY - 2019/3

Y1 - 2019/3

N2 - We analyze the effect of CEO education on environmental decision-making. Using a unique sample of Danish firms from 1996 to 2012, we find that CEO education significantly improves firms’ energy efficiency. We seek to derive causality using health shocks: the hospitalization of highly educated CEOs induces a drop in energy efficiency, whereas the hospitalization of less educated CEOs does not have any significant effect. Exploring the mechanisms at play, we show that our results are largely driven by advanced education in business degrees. Moreover, we show that CEO education is associated with greater environmental awareness: highly educated CEOs exhibit greater concerns for climate change, as measured by a survey of social preferences, and drive more environmentally efficient cars. Taken together, our findings suggest that education shapes managerial styles giving rise to greater sustainability in corporate actions.

AB - We analyze the effect of CEO education on environmental decision-making. Using a unique sample of Danish firms from 1996 to 2012, we find that CEO education significantly improves firms’ energy efficiency. We seek to derive causality using health shocks: the hospitalization of highly educated CEOs induces a drop in energy efficiency, whereas the hospitalization of less educated CEOs does not have any significant effect. Exploring the mechanisms at play, we show that our results are largely driven by advanced education in business degrees. Moreover, we show that CEO education is associated with greater environmental awareness: highly educated CEOs exhibit greater concerns for climate change, as measured by a survey of social preferences, and drive more environmentally efficient cars. Taken together, our findings suggest that education shapes managerial styles giving rise to greater sustainability in corporate actions.

KW - Faculty of Social Sciences

KW - CEOs

KW - Education

KW - Climate Change

KW - Energy Efficiency

U2 - 10.1016/j.jeem.2019.02.001

DO - 10.1016/j.jeem.2019.02.001

M3 - Journal article

SN - 0095-0696

JO - Journal of Environmental Economics and Management

JF - Journal of Environmental Economics and Management

ER -