From Responsibility to Resilience: A Comprehensive Review of Corporate Environmental Responsibility and Sustainable Business Practices

Abstract

In recent years, the urgency of addressing environmental degradation has intensified the call for businesses to adopt more sustainable practices. While Corporate Environmental Responsibility (CER) has become an established component of Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR), there remains a lack of comprehensive understanding of how CER translates into sustainable business practices across diverse organizational contexts. This gap highlights the need to synthesize current research to clarify how CER contributes to long-term business resilience, stakeholder trust, and ecological stewardship. The aim of this study is to critically examine the relationship between CER and sustainable business practices by identifying consistent, rising, and novel themes emerging from the literature. The study employed a structured literature review approach, drawing on peer-reviewed publications indexed in Scopus. A thematic analysis was conducted to categorize findings into three levels: consistent themes, such as the enduring role of CSR and green innovation in sustainability; rising themes, including the growing focus on the link between sustainability practices and financial performance; and novel themes, notably Green Human Resource Management (Green HRM) and corporate environmental governance in China. The findings indicate that CER serves as both a strategic imperative and a driver of innovation, with consistent themes underscoring the enduring relevance of CSR in aligning business goals with sustainable development. Rising themes suggest a stronger business case for sustainability, as organizations increasingly recognize financial gains associated with environmental responsibility. Meanwhile, novel themes expand the discourse by integrating human capital and regional governance into the sustainability agenda. The study carries both theoretical and practical implications. Theoretically, it advances sustainability scholarship by integrating environmental governance, innovation, and organizational behavior perspectives. Practically, it highlights pathways for businesses to embed sustainability into core strategies, foster green corporate cultures, and align with global sustainability goals. These insights provide a foundation for future research exploring the multidimensional impacts of CER.