Advancing Corporate Responsibility Through Sustainability Targets, CSR Strategies, and Sustainable Governance for Climate Resilience and Environmental Management

ABSTRACT As climate disruptions intensify, firms face growing pressure to ensure that sustainability commitments translate into measurable resilience outcomes; however, evidence remains limited on whether sustainability targets strengthen firm‐level climate risk resilience and through which mechanisms this occurs. This study examines the relationship between sustainability targets and climate risk resilience, focusing on the mediating role of corporate social responsibility (CSR) strategies and the moderating effect of sustainable governance. Grounded in Stakeholder Theory and the Resource‐Based View, the study develops and tests an integrative framework using panel data from 489 publicly listed manufacturing firms across Sub‐Saharan African countries from 2010 to 2023. Using fixed‐effects estimation, instrumental‐variable regressions, non‐linear modeling, and extensive robustness and heterogeneity analyses, the findings show that sustainability targets enhance resilience, but the relationship is non‐linear, with diminishing returns at higher levels of ambition. CSR mediates this relationship by translating targets into implementable resilience‐building practices, while sustainable governance amplifies both the direct and indirect effects by strengthening accountability and strategic alignment. The results further indicate regional and sectoral heterogeneity linked to institutional support and climate‐risk exposure. These findings advance sustainability research by reframing targets as capability‐building levers with clear boundary conditions and highlight the importance of governance‐supported, context‐sensitive resilience strategies for firms and policymakers in emerging markets.