Green bond issuance and corporate ESG performance: the perspective of internal attention and external supervision

Abstract

Based on the staggered difference-in-difference (DID) model, this paper uses Chinese listed firms between 2012 and 2020 to investigate the impact of green bond issuance on corporate environmental, social and governance (ESG) performance. We provide evidence that green bond issuance positively enhances corporate ESG performance. Green bond issuance mainly promotes corporate ESG performance through the internal attention effect and the external supervision effect. Moreover, the positive correlation between green bond issuance and corporate ESG performance is more prominent among companies with larger size, higher government subsidies and executives with environmental experience. The extended analysis shows that green bond issuance can promote the enhancement of firm valuation. This study provides theoretical guidance for the use of green financial systems to promote corporate ESG performance.

Does large-scale research infrastructure affect regional knowledge innovation, and how? A case study of the National Supercomputing Center in China

“…Utilizing a linear model, we established the impact of NSC on mechanism variables. Subsequently, it conducts a comparative analysis of the estimated coefficients of NSC in equations that control for mechanism variables and those that do not, aiming to validate the existence of such mechanisms (Gao and Yuan, 2020;Zhang and Wang, 2022;Chen et al 2023a).…”

Green Bonds Drive Environmental Performance: Evidences from China

“…There are usually three theories to explain the issuance of green bonds by enterprises: First, signal theory [20]. By issuing green bonds, enterprises can convey their determination to support environmental protection to the outside world, gain attention from the securities market and investors, and enhance social reputation and corporate value [3,11,21]. In addition, the issuance of green bonds by enterprises conveys their commitment to environmental protection to the outside world.…”

“…It is particularly noteworthy that since the implementation of the green bond policy, the issuance scale of green bonds in China has continued to grow, reflecting the strong market demand and recognition of this financial instrument. By the end of 2022, China has ranked among the top in the global green bond market [11]. According to the data of China Bond Information Network (CBIN) Green Bond Environmental Benefit Information Database [10,12,13], China issued more than 600 billion RMB green bonds in 2022, reaching a record high.…”

“…This finding not only further confirms the applicability of signal theory in the field of green finance, but also emphasizes how green bonds can effectively improve the environmental performance in the context of a rapidly developing green bond market in China. Second, this study contributes to the literature about the relationship of environmental, social, and governance (ESG) or corporate social responsibility (CSR) to green bond issuance [11,[16][17][18]. This study proceeds from the perspective of environmental performance, different from previous papers from the ESG or CSR aspect.…”

How green credit affects corporate environmental information disclosure: evidence from new energy listed companies in China

“…Most studies have found that corporate environmental information disclosure can improve corporate environmental and financial performance (Wang et al, 2016;Khatri and Kjaerland, 2023), and the more detailed the environmental information disclosed by companies, the easier it is to obtain bank loans (John and Reisz, 2020;Bharath et al, 2008;Goss and Roberts, 2011). On the one hand, the implementation of green finance policies such as the issuance of green bonds has actively improved the ESG performance of enterprises (Chen et al, 2023). On the other hand, the implementation of green credit policy encourages financial institutions to pay full attention to the fulfillment of companies' environmental responsibilities, and encourages companies to actively disclose environmental information by effectively linking corporate financing needs with environmental responsibilities (Wang et al, 2019), which further improves the quality of corporate environmental information disclosure (Aizawa and Yang, 2010).…”