LOCALIZING SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT GOALS: NONPROFIT DENSITY AND CITY SUSTAINABILITY

One of the 17 sustainable development goals established by the United Nations refers to the creation of sustainable cities and communities. Using a 12-year longitudinal dataset on 100 U.S. communities, we explore how the density of local environmental nonprofit organizations (LENOs) contributes to this goal. We analyze the relationship between nonprofit density and city sustainability as well as the moderating effect of the socioeconomic characteristics of the cities in which LENOs operate. We find that a higher density of LENOs is associated with a reduction in a city's toxic contamination and an increase in the number of buildings with an environmental certification. Interestingly, we find that this relationship is stronger in cities that have greater education levels, are more innovative, host large corporations' headquarters, and have a higher per capita income. However, the link between LENO density and city sustainability is lower in communities with higher income inequality. We discuss the plausible mechanisms governing these relationships and suggest future directions for organizational research.