Purpose: The study aims to investigate the influence of stakeholder pressure on sustainability practices via the mediating effect of green innovation (GI) from a developing economy in Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA). Design/methodology/approach: The study used primary data from 567 respondents in manufacturing and mining firms in Ghana to conduct the Partial Least Squares Structural Equation Modeling (PLS-SEM) analysis using Smart-PLS, Version 4.0. Data was gathered using survey questionnaire. A purposive sampling method was used to choose participants' companies. Findings: The findings revealed that shareholder and government pressure significantly and positively influence sustainability practices, while pressure from the community has an insignificant beneficial impact on sustainability practices. Consumer pressure revealed an insignificant detrimental influence on sustainability practices. The study discovered that green innovation fully and substantially mediates the association between stakeholder pressure and sustainability practices. Research limitations/implications: The study has limitations, including the exclusion of control variables and its focus on four different stakeholders, excluding other stakeholders that who also impact sustainability practices. Practical implications: The study’s findings can assist Ghanaian companies in making strategic decisions to enhance corporate reputation, acknowledging the effect of stakeholder pressure on sustainability practices. Social implications: The study outcome may enable companies to implement more inclusive sustainable development initiatives, benefiting their bottom line while contributing to the well-being of local communities and the environment. Originality/value: The study’s originality stems from integrating green innovation in examining stakeholders' influence and sustainability practices of firms, a gap that remained unexplored. It highlights the essence of green innovation in shaping a company’s sustainability practices, highlighting the need for businesses to integrate technology and sustainability in their operations.

We examined the impact of financing decisions on a firm’s sustainability in China as it aspires to achieve carbon neutrality. To proxy firms’ sustainability performance, we proposed an index for environmental, social, and governance (ESG) performance. The financing decision was proxied by debt funding and equity funding. Using secondary data from China Stock Market Accounting Data from 2016 to 2022, we utilize the fixed effect and fully modified ordinary least squares estimators for the empirical analysis. The analysis indicated a favorable link between debt funding and ESG performance. We uncovered an inconsistent association between equity funding and ESG performance. Moreover, ownership concentration revealed a significant role in moderating the impact of debt financing and ESG performance in China. The findings affirm that firms should rely on debt funding rather than equity funding to enhance their ESG performance. Hence, policymakers should enact laws allowing easy access to debt funding for companies to ensure higher ESG performance. This, in the long term, will contribute to the Chinese dream of carbon neutrality.