Purpose– In this era, the knowledge economy is a significant tool in tackling issues of organizations’ sustainability and achieving sustainable development goals. In this study of Saudi Arabia’s small and mediumsized enterprises (SMEs), the authors explored the effect of green knowledge management (GKM) practices on green innovation (GI) through adopting a green culture (GC) and green entrepreneurial self-efficacy (GESE). Design/methodology/approach– In this co-relational study, the authors used cross-sectional data from Saudi Arabia’s top SMEmanagersandbasedthefindings on368validsamples. Findings– Using structural equation modeling, this study’s findings demonstrate that GKM constructs, such as green knowledge acquisition (GKA), green knowledge dissemination (GKD) and green knowledge responsiveness (GKR), have a positive and significant effect on GI. Moreover, GI positively and significantly affects GCand GESE.Finally, GCandGESEmediateGKA’s,GKD’sandGKR’srelationshipswithGI. Practical implications– The study’s findings assist in tackling environmental sustainability challenges and help achieve sustainable development goals. These also strengthen organizational capabilities to achieve GI. Accordingly, the authors recommend that policymakers and planners develop a wide range of GKM settings for organizations, businesses, communities and governments to tackle the issues of GI and GC. Originality/value– This study empirically fills the gaps by demonstrating the role of GC and GESE in developing the connection between GKMpractices and GIand, morespecifically,Saudi Arabia’s SMEs. Keywords Greenknowledge management, Green culture, Green entrepreneurial self-efficacy, Green innovation, Sustainable development, SMEs Paper type Research paper