New fixed assets investment project environmental performance and influencing factors—an empirical analysis in China’s optics valley

Abstract

Civilization prospers when the ecology prospers, and civilization decays when the ecology decays. As an effective indicator of sustainable development of economy and resource environment, environmental performance can comprehensively reflect the actual level of coordinated development of the economy and environment system. This paper exemplifies China's Optics Valley to evaluate its environmental performances and research the influencing factors of new fixed assets investment projects, for which a new fixed assets investment project environmental performance assessment system was constructed. The measurement model for the system was constructed using a generalized data envelopment analysis (DEA) with undesirable output to evaluate the environmental performances of the new fixed assets investment projects in China's Optical Valley from 2011 to 2016. The multiregression model with eight environmental performance hypotheses was established to determine the key influencing factors and to propose targeted countermeasures to enhance low-carbon innovation and promote low-carbon economic development. The results indicated that implementing new fixed assets investment project energy conservation assessments and reviews in high-tech areas could assist companies and the government in achieving better management.