With recent economic and social developments and scientific and technological advances, human society has made tremendous strides. Alongside the accomplishments, however, people have gradually realized that severe environmental and social problems accompany economic development and that non-financial factors such as the environment and corporate governance have become moral risks that cannot be ignored. As the fundamental unit of human economic activity and the primary social organization, enterprises are the backbone of sustainable development. ESG is a sustainable development concept that integrates environmental, social, and corporate governance. It emphasizes that enterprise development activities should pursue not only economic indicators but also consider environmental, social, and governance dimensions to achieve sustainable development of human society. ESG is the concrete manifestation of the "sustainable development concept" in the business world, serving as a guide and instrument for corporations to practice sustainable development. This paper examines, from a strategic management perspective, whether transformational leadership influences the ESG performance of corporations, whether organizational innovation mediates the relationship between transformational leadership and ESG performance, and the moderating effect of organizational ethical culture on transformational leadership and organizational innovation. The results of an analysis of 350 Chinese businesses indicate that transformational leadership has a positive effect on ESG performance, and that organizational innovation partially mediates the relationship between transformational leadership and corporate ESG performance. Furthermore, organizational ethical culture moderates the direct relationship between transformational leadership and organizational innovation and moderates the role of organizational innovation as a mediator between transformational leadership and ESG performance. This study provides valuable research on the relationship between leadership and ESG performance.