This paper empirically analyses the influence of board characteristics on the environmental sustainability of listed companies in the United Kingdom, France and Germany. This quantitative study spans from 2013 to 2023, utilising a dataset comprising 2,726 firm-year observations. Employing robust panel data regression with multiple fixed effects, the analysis reveals that board gender diversity, board cultural diversity, the presence of a corporate governance committee and larger firms tend to exhibit higher environmental sustainability performance. The findings of this paper advance the understanding of two key theories: the agency theory and the stakeholder theory. This study thus contributes to the growing literature on corporate governance and sustainability by providing empirical evidence of the role of board characteristics in shaping environmental sustainability outcomes.