["Corporate Social Responsibility and Environmental Management, EarlyView. ", "\nABSTRACT\nDo Industry 5.0 and climate change anxiety exert a notable tangible impact on ESG performance? Given that the traditional Confucian culture spanning over 2500 years and Chinese mianzi (face consciousness) are critical for SMEs' ESG performance in developing countries. As no prior study has combined ESG performance with multiple dimensions such as Industry 5.0, climate change anxiety, sustainability commitment, Confucian culture, and mianzi, to fill this gap, we have integrated these concepts into a moderated‐moderated‐mediation model from 703 SMEs in 108 Chinese cities, based on resource‐based view, dynamic capabilities theory, signaling theory, and protection motivation theory. We have confirmed that (1) Industry 5.0 and climate change anxiety act as key drivers, which can lead to better ESG performance; (2) Sustainability commitment mediates the relationship between Industry 5.0/climate change anxiety and ESG performance; (3) Confucian culture and Chinese mianzi could simultaneously amplify the indirect effects of Industry 5.0 and climate change on ESG performance via sustainability commitment. (4) Compared to “the desire to gain face”, “the fear of losing face” may be more paramount in improving corporate ESG performance. This study theoretically enriches research on Industry 5.0 of SMEs in developing countries. From a practical perspective, we offer long‐standing ethical perspectives for addressing global climate change anxiety and advancing ESG performance in the ever‐evolving Industry 5.0 era.\n"]