This paper examines the impact of corporate environmental responsibility (CER) on corporate financial performance (CFP) and the potential positive moderating role of R&D investment. Drawing on the natural resource-based view theory, we argue that R&D investment positively moderates the CER-CFP relationship, even in periods of financial distress. Using international panel data for firms operating in 77 countries from 2012 to 2021, we find that the joint effect of CER and R&D investment positively impacts CFP. This effect holds in both non-distressed and distressed situations. Remarkably, in situations of financial distress, the effect on performance is even larger when sectors are of low technology intensity. However, this effect only appears in Liberal Market Economies (LMEs) like the US. Our findings highlight the importance of combining CER practices with R&D investments for improving financial performance independently of a firm's financial situation, particularly in institutional/national settings where there is high pressure to generate short-term results (LMEs).