How Financial Performance Shapes Corporate ESG Performance under China's "Dual Carbon" Agenda: Mechanisms and Heterogeneity

Unofficial AI-generated summary based on the public title and abstract. Not an official translation.

🔬研究者:Provides empirical evidence on the financial-ESG link under policy pressure, useful for scholars studying ESG determinants.

🏢実務担当者:Highlights that strong financial performance can enable better ESG outcomes, which may inform resource allocation for sustainability investments.

🏛政策担当者:Suggests that market-oriented policy incentives can leverage firms' financial capacity to improve ESG performance.

China's "dual carbon" agenda has pushed listed companies to treat ESG performance not only as a disclosure item, but also as a measurable dimension of sustainable competitiveness. Against this background, this study examines whether stronger financial performance gives firms the capacity and incentive to improve ESG outcomes. Using A-share listed companies in Shanghai and Shenzhen from 2011 to 2022, the paper applies panel regressions with firm fixed effects and conducts additional model checks. The evidence indicates that Return on Assets is positively associated with corporate ESG ratings in the baseline model, and the conclusion remains supported when alternative ESG and control-variable measures are used. The analysis also shows two boundary conditions: the positive association is weaker for firms with longer listing age, and it is more visible among eastern-region firms and large-scale enterprises. The study contributes to the discussion on how financial resources are converted into ESG practices under low-carbon transition pressure, and it offers implications for resource allocation, differentiated ESG governance, and market-oriented policy incentives.

• semanticscholar https://bcpublication.org/index.php/SJEMR/article/download/9471/9403first seen 2026-07-18 07:44:04