This study examines the impact of the share of the board of directors in which family members participate on environmental performance, using Chinese family firms. Although more attention has been paid to corporate governance, especially that of family firms, the mechanism of its effect on environmental sustainability is unclear. This paper uses multivariate regression analyses to reveal the impact of family governance participation on environmental, social, and governance performance, especially environmental performance. The results show that although the effect of the proportion of family members on firms' environmental performance is not statistically significant, the findings of this project will contribute to a better understanding of corporate governance mechanisms. On this basis, the impact of family governance on corporate environmental performance is explored in depth, taking into account factors such as corporate culture, strategic orientation, and the external institutional environment. In addition, this paper proposes a new perspective on improving one's environmental performance through a more open corporate governance structure, which in turn promotes socio-economic development.