环境管理体系认证何以助力企业ESG表现脱颖而出?

How does Environmental Management System Certification Helps Enterprises Stand out in ESG Performance?

ESG作为一种关于环境、社会和公司治理协调发展的可持续发展理念,为企业提供了一个系统性、可量化的操作框架,传递了追求经济价值与社会价值相统一的发展观,助力企业可持续发展,而优于行业水平的ESG表现更是决定着企业的合法性,并成为其竞争优势的重要来源。为此,企业试图通过不同途径来提高自身ESG表现,其中环境管理体系认证即为可行路径之一。在此背景下,文章基于合法性理论、利益相关者理论,构建了环境管理体系认证与企业ESG表现行业差距间的关系模型,并从内部控制质量和绿色技术创新两方面,揭示上述关系的内在机制。在此基础上,选取2009—2021年中国制造业上市企业为样本进行实证检验。研究发现:(1)环境管理体系认证对企业ESG表现行业差距具有正向影响,表现在环境管理体系认证能够扩大企业ESG表现行业顺差,缩小企业ESG表现行业逆差。(2)内部控制质量与绿色技术创新是环境管理体系认证影响企业ESG表现行业差距的两条重要路径。(3)环境信息披露强化了环境管理体系认证对企业ESG表现行业差距的正向影响,而环境管理体系认证对企业ESG表现行业差距的作用却在低环境敏感性的行业中更显著。(4)企业扩大ESG表现的行业顺差抑或缩小ESG表现的行业逆差,均有助于提升自身竞争力。研究结论对于拓展环境管理体系认证的影响效应,明晰内部作用机制,并指导企业提高ESG表现,助力可持续发展可能具有些许启示。

As a sustainable development concept emphasizing the coordinated development of environment,society,and corporate governance,ESG provides enterprises with a systematic and quantifiable operational framework.It conveys a development outlook that pursues the unification of economic and social values,facilitating corporate sustainable development.An above-industry-level ESG performance determines the legitimacy of enterprises and becomes an important source of their competitive advantage.Accordingly,enterprises attempt to improve their ESG performance through various channels,with Environmental Management System Certification being a viable approach.Against this backdrop,based on legitimacy theory and stakeholder theory,this paper constructs a relational model between environmental management system certification and the gap between corporate ESG performance and industry level,and reveals the internal mechanisms of the above relation from the perspectives of internal control quality and green technology innovation.Subsequently,an empirical examination is conducted based on a sample of Chinese listed manufacturing companies from 2009 to 2021.The study finds that:(1)environmental management system certification has positive effects on the gap between corporate ESG performance and industry level,reflected in its ability to expand the industry surplus of ESG performance and reduce the industry deficit.(2)Internal control quality and green technology innovation are two crucial pathways through which environmental management system certification influences the industry gap.(3)Environmental information disclosure strengthens the positive effect of environmental management system certification on the industry gap,while this effect is more pronounced in industries with lower environmental sensitivity.(4)Expanding the industry surplus or reducing the industry deficit of ESG performance can both contribute to enhancement of enterprise competitiveness.The research conclusions may provide some insights into expanding the effects of environmental management system certification,clarifying internal mechanisms,guiding enterprises to improve ESG performance,and facilitating sustainable development.