可持续评价与企业绿色创新--来自中国A股上市公司ESG表现的经验证据

The Sustainability Evaluation and the Corporate Green Innovation:The Empirical Evidence from the ESG Performance of Chinese A-share Listed Companies

可持续评价作为一类重要的制度创新成果,能够引导和激励企业践行可持续准则并通过绿色转型实现高质量发展。基于2011一2020年沪深A股上市公司数据,对以ESG评价为代表的可持续评价之于企业绿色创新的影响及渠道机制进行的实证检验发现,ESG表现显著提升了企业绿色创新的数量和质量,并呈现出污染排放异质性和所有权异质性。机制检验结果显示,ESG评价可以通过缓解融资约束、提高管理层绿色发展意识和提高员工创新效率对企业绿色创新产生积极影响。进一步研究发现,在企业绿色创新的高速发展和高质量发展阶段,ESG表现能显著提升企业的财务绩效。有鉴于此,应加快建立符合国情的ESG信息披露与评价标准体系,并增强国内评级体系与国际主流评级体系的可比性和兼容性;通过财税和绿色金融工具大力支持企业绿色技术创新,鼓励企业从长期战略和公司制度上构建和完善ESG管理机制;加快绿色技术成果转化应用并积极打造行业标杆,形成可复制推广的成功模式和经验。

As an important institutional innovation,sustainability evaluation can guide and motivate enterprises to practice sustainability principles and achieve high-quality development through green transformation.Based on the data of A-share listed companies from 201l to 2020,this study empirically tests the mechanism and the impact of sustainability evaluation represented by ESG performance on corporate green innovation.We found that ESG performance significantly improves the quantity and quality of green innovation,and presents the heterogeneity of pollution emission and ownership.The mechanism test results show that ESG performance can have a positive impact on corporate green innovation by easing financing constraints,improving management's awareness of green development and improving employees'innovation efficiency.The further analysis reveals that ESG performance can significantly improve the financial performance of enterprises in the stage of rapid development and high-quality development of green innovation.Consequently,we should accelerate the establishment of the systems of ESG information disclosure and evaluation standard in line with national conditions,and enhance the comparability and compatibility of domestic and international mainstream rating systems.It is also vital to support green technological innovation through fiscal,tax and green financial tools,and encourage enterprises to build and improve ESG management mechanism from long-term strategies and corporate systems.Additionally,accelerating the transformation and application of green technology achievements and actively building industry benchmarks will help to form successful models and experience that can be replicated and promoted.