A study on the impact of corporate low carbon awareness on the quality of carbon information disclosure--Based on the mediating effects of green technology innovation

Abstract

In the context of carbon peaking and carbon neutrality, it is of practical significance for heavily polluting enterprises to achieve low-carbon transformation. This paper uses 225 Chinese heavy polluting enterprises listed in Shanghai and Shenzhen A-shares from 2015-2019 as a research sample, and uses multiple regression models and mediating effect models to analyze the impact of corporate low-carbon awareness on the quality of carbon information disclosure and to explore the mediating role of green technological innovation. The study found that the quality of carbon information disclosure was higher and the level of green technology innovation was stronger when the companies had stronger low-carbon awareness. The study further found that green technology innovation plays a positive mediating role in the positive relationship between low carbon awareness and carbon information disclosure quality.

Can Companies Reduce Carbon Emission Intensity to Enhance Sustainability?

“…Further exploring the mechanism of the role of enterprise carbon emission reduction and enterprise sustainable development makes this paper richer and enables it to provide practical guidance. Previous studies have mostly used government environmental subsidies [83], media monitoring [46], and executives' environmental perceptions [62] as independent variables to explore their effects on corporate carbon emissions. Some studies argue that the government provides the best subsidies for corporate green technology investments, stimulating companies to reduce their carbon emissions.…”

“…Executive low-carbon cognition is a key driver of corporate low-carbon performance [30], and senior management environmental consciousness and dual green innovation are strongly and positively associated with a firm's green competitive advantage [61]. Companies with more environmentally conscious executives are more likely to invest in green technology, which, in turn, leads to greater energy savings and reduced emissions, as predicted by corporate behavior theory [62]. According to reputation theory, executives who damage the environment to achieve short-term corporate performance end up hurting not only their corporate image but also their compensation, career, and reputation in the industry.…”

“…In addition, it has also been shown in the literature that media monitoring can promote companies to actively adopt green tools for energy saving and emission reduction [46]. Additionally, environmentally conscious executives make green investment decisions and use green technologies to improve corporate carbon efficiency [62,86]. Positive stakeholders may drive companies toward more sustainable business practices [90], such as media engagement and green management behaviors of executives.…”

Enterprise Digital Transformation and Green Innovation

“…Positive environmental information disclosure reflects the environmental and social responsibilities undertaken by the enterprise, and conveys positive information about the green operation of the enterprise to the outside world [17] . The higher degree of environmental information disclosure reflects the enhancement of corporate social responsibility.…”