Beyond the Façade: Sustainability in Contemporary Business Practices

This thesis investigates whether corporate sustainability practices reflect genuine corporate efforts or serve primarily as tools for symbolic purposes. While companies are increasingly aligning with sustainable global frameworks such as the Paris Agreement and the UN Sustainable Development Goals, researchers suggest that several practices such as linking executives compensation to sustainability targets or committing to set net-zero targets may serve as legitimacy tools rather than leading to substantive sustainable commitments. Drawing on agency theory, the thesis combines quantitative analyses of sustainability performance with qualitative content analysis of corporate remuneration reports. The first chapter investigates “climate decommitment” among firms that joined and later withdrew from the Science Based Targets initiative (SBTi). The second chapter analyzes sustainability linked executive compensation in large listed firms in France, Germany, and Italy, exploring whether sustainability targets integrated in CEO annual bonuses are systematically easier to achieve than traditional financial targets. By studying how firms may use sustainability mechanisms as governance façades, the thesis contributes to the literature on corporate governance, CSR decoupling and corporate legitimacy. The findings have implications for scholars and policymakers seeking to spotlight on corporate sustainability symbolic signaling.