Older companies are more environmentally sustainable than younger ones, according to a new analysis. The findings upend popular assumptions of old organizations as hidebound and incapable of change, and younger ones as having a “greenness” native to their era of environmental concern.

“Lasting organizations have learned to adapt, again and again, across changing environments, including those in the natural world. Over decades, they have built deep-rooted habits, systems, and values that support adaptive practices,” research team members University of Pennsylvania student Daria M. Haner, City University of New York professor Stephan Dilchert, and University of Minnesota professor Deniz S. Ones wrote in a statement to Anthropocene. “Organizational age can be an asset for the planet.”

The researchers assembled a list of top tech, finance, and manufacturing companies in the United States, Europe, the Middle East and North Africa, and Asia. They analyzed the companies’ establishment and incorporation dates in relation to their environmental, social, and governance (ESG) ratings from multiple independent organizations including CSRHub, S&P Global, and Thomson Reuters.

Overall and in every region, older companies have better environmental metrics than younger companies, the researchers report in the journal Frontiers in Organizational Psychology.

“This edge is not just about size or wealth,” the researchers told Anthropocene. “Even after accounting for both, organizational longevity still relates to environmental sustainability performance.” (This pattern and others are somewhat less evident in Europe, probably because of missing information about companies’ incorporation dates.)

The analysis suggests that surviving as a business requires a knack for adapting to changing markets, social norms, and environmental conditions over time. Older companies have developed the structures, discipline, and resources required to carry out long-term goals.

The sustainability advantage is particularly pronounced when the oldest companies—90 firms established before 1850—are compared with the youngest ones—82 companies established after 2005. The oldest companies are especially strong when it comes to transparency and environmental reporting, which may reflect that these firms are experienced at responding to public scrutiny.

The advantage of age is least pronounced—though still present—in the realm of innovation. This finding “[hints] at a limit: experience strengthens structure, but may not fuel cutting-edge change,” the researchers said in their statement.

The results suggest that businesses have different sustainability-related strengths and weaknesses at different points in their lifecycle. Policymakers should reward the sustainability chops of older companies and encourage them to adopt cutting edge environmental innovations, while designing policies to help younger businesses develop sustainability strategies and the resources to carry them out, the researchers argue.

Around the world, corporate life expectancies are declining and corporate environmental footprints are expanding. But the new results suggest that a good ESG score signals a good investment opportunity, a company that is likely to be robust and adaptable over the long term. Sustainability and longevity become a “virtuous cycle,” with businesses that pay attention to sustainability better able to stand the test of time.

In the future, the researchers aim to delve deeper into how longevity contributes to sustainability, exploring possible mechanisms related to HR departments, corporate boards, and aspects of organizational culture. They also want to understand how different laws, history, and culture contribute to the longevity-sustainability link across countries.

Source: Haner D.M. et al. “Survival of the greenest: environmental sustainability and longevity of organizations.” Frontiers in Organizational Psychology 2025.

Image: ©Anthropocene Magazine.