Does green investment improve company performance

Abstract

Under the influence of the background of "carbon peak", "carbon neutrality" and "Clear waters and green mountains", the green investment of firms has become a part of the green development of companies, which has aroused widespread concern in the academic community. Based on the data of listed companies in heavy pollution industries from 2008 to 2020, this paper constructs a panel fixed effect model to examine whether green investment will improve the performance of firms. The study found that green investment has a positive role in promoting company performance. Further heterogeneous analysis shows that green investment has a more significant impact on the performance of state-owned firms. In terms of mechanism, the research results show that green investment promotes company performance mainly by improving the reputation of firms. Based on the above results, it provides some reference experience for the guidance of green investment from the perspective of reputation.