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Given that the current sustainability assessment in higher education institutions primarily relies on qualitative methods with relatively limited quantitative tools, the purpose of this study is to design a tool that could be used to comprehensively assess the overall state of higher education institutions’ sustainability.

The authors based the “Model to Assess the Sustainability of Higher Education Institutions” on the Triple Bottom Line (TBL) framework of economic, environmental and social factors, and established its primary dimensions as educational level, research capacity, community outreach, campus operations, campus experience and assessment reports. They designed the College Organisational Sustainability Scale (CO-SS) based on this research model, drawing their inspiration from the qualitative research tool, the Sustainability Assessment Questionnaire, and taking the following validation steps: expert review (n = 10), pilot testing (n = 150) and formal experiments (n = 1108). These steps were taken to optimise the scale items, test the model’s validity and assess its reliability.

After undergoing rigorous scientific validation, CO-SS was unequivocally confirmed as an effective and reliable tool, demonstrating its accurate reflection of the level of sustainability in higher education institutions.

The authors took an industry-specific approach by relying on the TBL and the Sustainability Assessment Questionnaire to construct and validate the CO-SS. Furthermore, the CO-SS has the potential to evolve into a self-assessment tool for higher education institutions, and a reliable foundation for data-driven decision-making in the realm of organisational sustainability at universities.

This paper aims to unveil the greenwashing intention of green bonds issuing in Chinese enterprises through the lens of stock pricing efficiency.

Drawing on data of Chinese listed companies during 2012–2021, this study uses a difference-in-differences method to study how and through what mechanisms issuing green bonds impacts stock pricing efficiency.

Issuing green bonds lowers stock pricing efficiency, verifying the greenwashing intention of green bonds in China. Potential mechanisms underlie the increased investor attention and sentiment resulting from the information disclosures about corporate green and low-carbon development. This greenwashing issue is more pronounced in firms facing lower financing constraints, having stronger relations with the government, and located in highly marketized regions. In the context of uncertainty surrounding economic policies, especially trade policies, issuing green bonds can signal a weakening of the greenwashing effect.

The quality of information disclosure should be emphasized to ensure a substantive commitment to environmental responsibility signaled by green bond issuance, thereby mitigating greenwashing concerns.

Regulators and standard-setters should improve the issuance system for green bonds and promote the sustainable development of the green bond market through formulating unified certification criteria for green bonds and implementing a stringently periodic reporting system.

First, to the best of the authors’ knowledge, it is the first study to draw on the quality of information disclosure and the perspective of stock pricing efficiency to identify whether firms issuing green bonds engage in greenwashing. Second, the study uncovers the black-box underlying this greenwashing issue through investor attention and sentiment and examines further the moderating role of economic policy uncertainties.

The purpose of this study is to map the intellectual structure of sustainable finance and accounting (SFA) literature by identifying the influential aspects, main research streams and future research directions in SFA.

The results are obtained using bibliometric citation analysis and content analysis to conduct a bibliometric review of the intersection of sustainable finance and sustainable accounting using a sample of 795 articles published between 1991 and November 2023.

The most influential factors in the SFA literature are identified, highlighting three primary areas of research: corporate social responsibility and environmental disclosure; financial and economic performance; and regulations and standards.

SFA has experienced rapid development in recent years. The results identify the current research domain, guide potential future research directions, serve as a reference for SFA and provide inspiration to policymakers.

SFA typically encompasses sustainable corporate business practices and investments. This study contributes to broader social impacts by promoting improved corporate practices and sustainability.

This study expands on previous research on SFA. The authors identify significant aspects of the SFA literature, such as the most studied nations, leading journals, authors and trending publications. In addition, the authors provide an overview of the three major streams of the SFA literature and propose various potential future research directions, inspiring both academic research and policymaking.