The Role of CSR Committee Structure in Catalyzing ESG Performance: Through the Lens of Dynamic Panel Approach

ABSTRACT The key objective of this empirical study is to reveal the influence of CSR (Corporate Social Responsibility) Committee Structure on Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) performance. To investigate this, the study employs a System‐GMM estimation technique based on panel data set of 404 non‐financial corporations listed on Nifty 500 index, covering a tenure of 9 years, that is, from 2015 to 2023. Here, all the financial and non‐financial data of sampled companies are retrieved from the Bloomberg database. The empirical outcome points out that the environmental disclosure score is significantly elevated by the existence of CSR committee and attendance in CSR committee meetings. The findings also shows that the social disclosure score is influenced by three components of CSR committee, that is, size, independence, and number of meetings. Additionally, the study reveals that the governance disclosure score is significantly improved by four components of CSR committee, that is, size, independence, number of meetings, and attendance in meetings. Finally, the outcome also depicts that three CSR committee attributes, that is, size, attendance, and number of meetings significantly elevate the ESG performance. This research work provides fresh insight in this field, that may be useful to experts, institutions, regulators, and legislators as they draft and revise laws governing the composition of CSR committees.