This study examines the association between environmental sustainability, governance factors and national culture with COVID-19 impact. We aim to draw implications for thinking and researching environmental accountability at a higher level than the organisation. We draw on the conceptual lens of deep ecology. Using a sample of 44 countries, we find that that countries with a higher level of corporate carbon emissions experienced a greater impact from COVID-19. Moreover, countries with higher accountability and government effectiveness are associated with a lower COVID-19 impact, implying that productive policy responses to the pandemic were employed in such settings. The study also finds that the positive association between carbon emissions and COVID-19 impact is less pronounced for countries with an individualism culture. This suggests that policy responses, such as social distancing, may have yielded better results in these cultural contexts. Furthermore, it is found that the positive impact of carbon emissions on COVID-19 impact is lower for countries having long-term orientation and environmental value orientation cultures.