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Purpose – This paper aims to investigate the link between a sustainable supply chain and companies’ financial performance (FP) and provide empirical evidence about the relationship between these two constructs. This link is an important, but still unclear, subject. Design/methodology/approach – Multivariate measures of sustainable supply chain performance and companies’ FP are used for Granger causality tests on a large, diverse sample of 3,900 companies in a time frame of eight years (2004-2011). Findings – Results indicate general bidirectional causality between sustainable supply chain performance and companies’ margins and revenue. However, the link between firms’ profitability and sustainable supply chain performance is unidirectional. In addition, the recent financial crisis altered this link between the studied constructs. Finally, a wide diversity in relationship patterns between sustainable supply chain performance and companies’ FP emerges when the full sample is divided into different geographical regions and economic sectors as specified by the Global Industry Classification Standard system. Practical implications – This research makes recommendations for improving several processes, such as stakeholder evaluation of the sustainable supply chain performance of companies worldwide and manager testing of environmental policy outcomes. Originality/value – Building on the mostly qualitative literature on sustainable supply chain performance and companies’ FP, this research provides quantitative evidence of the gaps between these constructs. This research contributes to the discussions of supply chain management, environmental practices and the drivers of companies’ environmental and financial success. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose - The aim of this paper is to evaluate the significance of the link between corporate environmental and financial performance in order to show managers how an adequate management of environmental factors could contribute to the financial success of the firm. Design/methodology/approach - The paper analyses the environmental and financial performance of a sample of 230 European companies. Under the stakeholder approach, the commitment to environmental performance is analysed and linked with the firms' financial improvement. The paper proposes a partial least squares model (PLS) for measuring corporate environmental and financial performance that seems to be the first time which has been applied in the field. Findings - The results support the idea that enterprises which obtained higher rates of environmental performance show better financial performance levels in the future. Research limitations/implications - The lack of a long series of environmental performance data for organisations is an obstacle for a broader analysis. This research shows the usefulness of the multivariate modelling for analysing the environmental and financial performance of businesses. Practical implications - In practice, this research may show managers the need of taking into account the environmental management factors when configuring the strategic policy of the firm and how environmental management can impact to the financial success of the firms. Originality/value - The use of PLS modelling for measuring environmental and financial performance theoretical concepts and considering a sample of European companies for the empirical analysis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]