Officially launched in 2008, China’s low-carbon city pilot project is aimed at creating green and low-carbon cities by restricting individual consumption and enterprise production behaviors as a means of controlling greenhouse gas emissions. Among other indicators, the impact of the pilot low-carbon initiative may be evaluated based on whether it induces enterprises to engage in green technology innovation. Using green patent application data from Chinese listed companies between 2009 and 2018, this paper applies a time-varying difference-in-difference (DID) model to conduct a multi-dimensional empirical test on the changes in listed companies’ degrees of green innovation before and after the publication of the list of three batches of pilot cities. Our findings were as follows: first, as a means of environmental regulation, the pilot low-carbon city initiative’s effect on enterprises’ green technology innovation conforms to the Porter hypothesis—that is, it encourages enterprises to improve their production technology and enhances the green innovation levels of listed companies in pilot cities; second, in terms of regional differences, the low-carbon cities pilot initiative can significantly induce green innovation activities among enterprises in China’s eastern region, but not in the central or western regions; third, from the perspective of enterprise ownership, the initiative promotes greater awareness of green innovation among non-state-owned enterprises than among state-owned enterprises. At the enterprise level, this paper provides theoretical support and empirical evidence for the success of the low-carbon city pilot initiative and highlights the implications for nationwide policy.

Carbon emissions have become a serious environmental problem worldwide, with the greenhouse effect and global temperature increase being the main areas of concern. Financial inclusion is a means to increase the welfare of citizens and promote sustainable development. Development of financial inclusion may have a big impact on carbon emissions. This study uses data from 2011 to 2019 to do panel Tobit regression and check the effect of financial inclusion on the efficiency of carbon emissions, which is calculated by the super-efficiency Slacks-Based Measure (SBM) -data envelopment analysis (DEA) method. The results show that financial inclusion decreases the efficiency of carbon emissions. Moreover, financial inclusion could reduce the efficiency of carbon emissions by increasing the proportion of tertiary industries. Moreover, the effect varies in each region. Thus, following these conclusions, we propose several related policy implications. The government should strengthen the supervision of money due to financial inclusion and ensure that the investment should be put into environmental projects. In addition, it needs to pay attention to carbon emissions generated in the process of industrial upgrading. More access to renewable energy is an effective measure to solve the problem of higher carbon dioxide emissions.

This study investigates the role of Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) in shaping employee perspectives towards green initiatives and its consequent impact on environmental sustainability within the Congolese cobalt sector. The research is based on cross-sectional data analysis, with survey questionnaires administered to 398 employees across various mining companies. The study reveals a positive relationship between an employee’s mindset towards CSR and green initiatives, which subsequently leads to improved environmental sustainability outcomes. Furthermore, the research demonstrates that CSR measures moderate this relationship: when CSR practices are strong and visible (clear environmental policies, training, incentives, and resource support), they provide direction and support that strengthen the effect of employee mindset on green initiatives while when CSR practices are weak, the same mindset is less likely to lead to green initiatives. The findings offer valuable theoretical and managerial implications, particularly for organizations in sectors with considerable environmental impacts. The study reveals the necessity of aligning CSR strategies with both corporate objectives and employee attitudes to optimize their effectiveness. The study provides a robust model for future research and practical implementation.