Whoever walks in integrity walks securely: does corporate integrity culture mitigate climate change exposure?

This study examines the relationship between corporate integrity culture and firm-level climate change exposure. Using insights from social norm theory and a sample of 31,187 firm-year observations from US firms between 2001 and 2021, we conclude that corporate integrity culture is negatively associated with climate change exposure. Our results remain robust across various robustness tests, including propensity score matching (PSM), an instrumental variable approach, and difference-in-differences (DiD) analysis. Further, our channel analysis suggests that a strong integrity culture mitigates corporate climate change exposure through a stronger internal control environment and higher environmental, social, and governance (ESG) disclosures. Finally, our cross-sectional analysis shows that the negative association between corporate integrity culture and climate change exposure is more pronounced for firms with higher climate policy uncertainty and greater financial distress. Overall, we present novel evidence on how corporate integrity culture mitigates climate risk with important implications for managers and policymakers.