Corruption Control and Corporate Hazardous Waste Emissions: Cross-Country Evidence and the Moderating Role of Agenda 2030

The aim of this study is to examine the impact of corruption control, as a public institutional mechanism, on hazardous waste emissions of private sector entities. We also examine the extent to which Agenda 2030 moderates the relationship. We analyse data from the top 500 global companies. Our study covers 2006–2023, representing an 18-year period of Millennium Development Goals (MDGs)/pre–Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) period (2006–2015) and SDGs period (2016–2023)/Agenda 2030. We use the Ordinary Least Square (OLS) fixed effects regression model and address potential endogeneity concerns using propensity score matching, the Heckman two-step procedure and the lagged variable approach. The results show that corruption control as an institutional mechanism significantly curbs the hazardous waste emissions of private sector entities. However, the impact is influenced by the cultural environment where organisations operate. Whereas the SDGs Agenda significantly moderates the relationship between corruption control and hazardous waste emissions, the coming into effect of Agenda 2030 has not enhanced the impact of corruption control in diminishing hazardous waste emissions. Our results are robust to an alternative measurement of variables and potential endogeneity concerns. We contribute to the literature on the association between corruption and environmental pollution, specifically hazardous waste emissions. Our study provides an exposition on the role of Agenda 2030 in moderating the relationship between corruption control and hazardous waste emissions. The international sample analysed in our study, covering a long timeframe, enhances the generalisability of our results.