What does it take for a company to endure through the centuries? When posed to most business analysts, the responses typically centre on innovation, financial acuity, or strategic flexibility in changing market dynamics. However, recent research highlights another significant factor at play: environmental sustainability. A study published in Frontiers in Organisational Psychology by an international team of researchers uncovers a strong correlation between a company’s age and environmental stewardship. Their findings challenge the common assumption that the younger, more nimble firms are best positioned to lead in climate action and ecological responsibility matters.

This research addresses a compelling question: are the organisations that have survived the longest also those most committed to preserving the planet? As the effects of climate change become ever more urgent and calls for corporate responsibility amplify, understanding which organisational traits align with sustainability is more vital than ever. The team’s investigation spanned hundreds of companies across technology, manufacturing, and finance industries, encompassing firms from the United States, Europe, the Middle East and North Africa (MENA), and Asia. Their goal was clear yet ambitious: to determine whether older firms demonstrate superior environmental sustainability than their younger counterparts.

The researchers analysed environmental, social, and governance (ESG) ratings from trusted sources like CSRHub, S&P Global, and Thomson Reuters to accomplish this. These ratings evaluate companies on various fronts, including climate strategy, eco-efficiency, and the transparency of their environmental reporting. The study’s results were striking: in every region examined, older firms consistently outperformed newer ones in environmental measures, even when accounting for variables such as size and financial capacity. This suggests that longevity – not merely the power or affluence that might accompany it – is closely intertwined with environmental responsibility.

Companies with more than a century of history in the United States showed significantly higher sustainability scores than those established within the past twenty years. This same pattern was observed in MENA and Asian markets, while the European figures, though slightly less pronounced, likely reflect data availability challenges rather than any actual performance gap. These findings counter the prevailing image of older firms as cumbersome or inflexible. On the contrary, they suggest that withstanding the tests of time requires adaptability that encompasses not just financial and market-based shifts but also the environmental and societal transformations of the modern era.

The researchers delved further, proposing theories about why this generational difference might exist. Drawing on organisational evolution theory, resource dependence theory, and Cybernetic Trait Complexes Theory, they argue that long-term survival depends on a company’s ability to integrate environmental sustainability into its operational core. Over time, older firms have often had to learn how to navigate resource constraints, public scrutiny, and shifting social values, which naturally steer them towards sustainable practices. Rather than viewing sustainability as an external add-on, these organisations embed it as an essential pillar of their operations and identity.

These findings carry powerful implications for both policy and practice. Policymakers might consider designing incentives that recognise long-established firms’ sustainability strengths while supporting younger companies in embedding environmental goals into their growth trajectories. Investors, too, may find value in this perspective: strong ESG scores can indicate a company’s social conscience and broader adaptability and resilience. Above all, this research encourages a rethinking of sustainability as something beyond generational or geographic divides. It is a test of adaptability – and as these older firms demonstrate, the most enduring organisations are often those that have come to see sustainability not as a burden but as a key to their ongoing vitality and relevance in a rapidly changing world.

More information: Daria M. Haner et al, Survival of the greenest: environmental sustainability and longevity of organizations, Frontiers in Organizational Psychology. DOI: 10.3389/forgp.2025.1521537

Journal information: Frontiers in Organizational Psychology Provided by Frontiers