The role of board size, environmental indicators, and corporate reputation on environmental, social, and governance performance

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Abstract

Anthropogenic climate change increases biodiversity risks, with projections indicating potential global-scale biodiversity loss. Greenhouse gas emissions also affect global energy stability, intensifying extreme weather such as heat waves, floods, and droughts. In response, sustainability reporting has become mandatory in many regions, including Indonesia, to support Nationally Determined Contribution (NDC) commitments and net-zero initiatives. This study investigates the determinants of environmental, social, and governance (ESG) performance using Bloomberg’s ESG score, which evaluates the three pillars based on corporate disclosures. The sample includes 105 companies listed on the Indonesia Stock Exchange (IDX) from 2018 to 2022, generating 525 firm-year observations. Governance is measured by board size, environmental performance by carbon intensity and energy use, and the social pillar by corporate reputation from the IDX reputational index. Panel regression results show that board size positively and significantly affects ESG performance, suggesting larger boards improve decision-making (Albitar et al., 2020). By contrast, environmental performance has a significant but negative association with ESG performance (Chen et al., 2020; Kusumawati & Murwaningsari, 2023). These findings advance ESG research in emerging markets and provide practical insights for regulators, emphasizing the need for more targeted policies to enhance corporate roles in achieving climate change mitigation goals.

Keywords: Sustainability, ESG Performance, Board Size, Carbon Intensity, Energy Consumption

Authors’ individual contributions: Conceptualization — B.M.L. and L.K.W.; Methodology — B.M.L. and L.K.W.; Software — B.M.L.; Validation — B.M.L. and L.K.W.; Formal Analysis — B.M.L.; Investigation — B.M.L. and L.K.W.; Resources — B.M.L.; Data Curation — B.M.L.; Writing — Original Draft — B.M.L.; Writing — Review & Editing — L.K.W.; Visualization — B.M.L. and L.K.W.; Supervision — L.K.W.; Project Administration — L.K.W.

Declaration of conflicting interests: The Authors declare that there is no conflict of interest.

JEL Classification: D83, G34, L25, M41, Q54

Received: 13.08.2025
Revised: 21.09.2025; 30.09.2025
Accepted: 03.10.2025
Published online: 07.10.2025

How to cite this paper: Iliany, B. M., & Wedari, L. K. (2025). The role of board size, environmental indicators, and corporate reputation on environmental, social, and governance performance. Corporate Board: Role, Duties and Composition, 21(3), 48–59. https://doi.org/10.22495/cbv21i3art4