IPO环保问询提升了企业ESG责任吗?

Does IPO environmental due diligent inquiry enhance corporate ESG responsibility?

促进实体经济承担ESG责任、加强连接外部资本与绿色产业连接、实现企业高质量发展的话题受到理论与实务界越来越的关注。行政型环境规制迫使企业将环保治理作为政策遵从成本,而市场化规制则能引导企业在产品市场兑现“绿色”价值,履行ESG责任,提升企业竞争力,缓解资源约束问题。本文基于IPO环保核查市场化改革背景,从发行市场审核问询视角出发,以2015年到2022年A股发行阶段的问询函为样本,实证研究了IPO环保问询对企业ESG责任的影响效应及作用机理。研究表明:(1)IPO环保问询对企业承担ESG责任具有显著的激励效应,这一结论在经过稳健性与内生性检验后依旧成立。(2)机制研究表明,IPO环保问询为公众监督上市公司环保治理提供了更透明的资讯,优化了地方政府选择补贴对象的信息环境,从而提高了环保问询企业获得补贴的可能,并通过补贴释放的“减排信号”进一步强化公众监督,倒逼公司兑现上市承诺,提升ESG表现。(3)异质性分析表明,IPO问询对企业环保行动的指引,因不同地区的环境规制强度、地区公众环境关注度以及企业自身的绿色技术条件而异。本文的研究在理论上为探索如何激励企业承担ESG责任提供了新的视角,在实践上为完善发行市场环保问询体系提供了经验证据。

how to promote the real economy’s assumption of ESG responsibilities,enhance the connection between external capital and the green industry,and achieve high-quality development of enterprises has attracted the attention from all walks of life.Formal environmental regulations force companies to treat environmental governance costs as policy compliance costs,while market-based regulations can guide companies to realize the“green”value in the product market and fulfill their ESG responsibilities.This is an effective way to enhance corporate competitiveness and alleviate resource constraints.This paper is based on the background of the market-oriented reform of environmental due diligence and focuses on the perspective of IPO environmental due diligence inquiries in China’s issuance market.By using the comment letters during the IPO stage of A-share companies from 2015 to 2022 as samples,it empirically studies the impact and mechanisms of IPO environmental due diligence on corporate ESG responsibilities.Our research findings are as follows:(1)IPO environmental due diligence has a significant incentive effect on companies’assumption of ESG responsibilities.This conclusion remains valid even after robustness and endogeneity tests.(2)Mechanism analysis shows that IPO environmental due diligence provides more transparent information for public supervision of listed companies’environmental governance.It also optimizes the information environment for local governments to select subsidy recipients,thereby increasing the likelihood of environmental inquiry companies obtaining subsidies.The“emission reduction signal”released through subsidies further strengthens public supervision,compels companies to fulfill their listing commitments,and enhances ESG performance.(3)Heterogeneity analysis shows that IPO inquiries guide companies’environmental actions,but the effects vary depending on the environmental regulatory intensity,public environmental concerns in different regions,and companies’green technology conditions.Our research provides a new perspective on how to incentivize companies to assume ESG responsibilities,and it provides empirical evidence for improving the environmental due diligence system in China’s issuance market.