Listed companies in Nigeria

This study examined the effect of Board Sustainability Committees on corporate financial performance among listed companies in Nigeria. The main objective was to determine whether the existence, size, expertise, and meeting frequency of Board Sustainability Committees contributed meaningfully to firms’ financial outcomes.The study also aimed to provide empirical evidence on whether sustainability governance practices, as recommended by global ESG frameworks and the Nigerian Code of Corporate Governance, translated intoimproved profitability within the Nigerian corporate environment.The study adopted an ex-post facto research design and analysed panel data covering 50 listed companies over a five-year period (2019–2023). Secondary data were extracted from annual reports and sustainability disclosures of sampled firms.The variables were analysed using descriptive statistics, correlation analysis, and panel regression techniques. Diagnostics—including multicollinearity tests, heteroskedasticity tests, and the Hausman specification test—were conducted to validate the model, and the Fixed Effects estimator was selected as the most appropriate based on the diagnostic outcomes.The findings revealed that BoardSustainability Committee existence, meeting frequency, expertise, and size all had positive and statistically significant effects on corporate financial performance, measured by Return on Assets. Firm size also exerted a positive and significant influence.The study concluded that sustainability governance enhanced financial performance and recommended that firms institutionalise functional sustainability committees with competent members, frequent meetings, and clearly defined mandates. It further recommended that regulators strengthen disclosure requirements on sustainability governance to encourage substantive, rather than symbolic, adoption of ESG oversight structures in Nigerian firms