This paper investigates the impact of the popularization and usage of the Internet on household electricity consumption in China, as well as the mediating role of sleep duration. By employing data from the China Family Panel Studies (CFPS) and employing the basic ordinary least squares (OLS) model, the mediation model, and the instrumental variable (IV) approach, we derive the following conclusions. The results from the basic OLS regression indicate a positive relationship between internet usage and household electricity expenditure, implying that households that use the Internet tend to have higher electricity bills. Subsequently, by introducing sleep duration as a mediating variable, we find that internet usage leads to shorter sleep duration, indirectly resulting in increased household electricity costs. To address potential endogeneity concerns, we employ the instrumental variable approach to correct for the impact of internet usage on household electricity consumption. In addition, through heterogeneity analysis, we found that internet usage impacts households with different characteristics.

As a key project of China’s western development, the West-East Natural Gas Transmission Project (WENGT) has effectively alleviated China’s uneven energy distribution and supply-demand issues. It has promoted the optimization of China’s energy structure and sustainable development in the new era, helping to achieve the goal of “double carbon”. Based on pollution data from Chinese industrial enterprises from 2000 to 2012, this paper analyzes the impact of the West-East Natural Gas Pipeline Project on the air pollution emissions of industrial enterprises using a difference-in-difference model and explores the moderating role of local government environmental regulations. The findings indicate that the project significantly reduced air pollutant emissions from industrial enterprises in cities along the route, with a more pronounced reduction effect in areas with higher environmental regulation intensity. Additionally, the emission reduction effect varied among different types of enterprises and regions, with private enterprises showing the smallest reduction impact and the eastern coastal region exhibiting the most significant effect. This paper delves into the relationship between sustainable cross-regional energy development and air pollution emissions from industrial enterprises, providing a theoretical basis for energy conservation and emission reduction policies in China.

This study explored the multidimensional influence of high reputation on corporate social responsibility behaviors from the “report disclosure”, “report whitewashing”, and “actual performance” perspectives. The study found that a high reputation may trigger high expectations and strict supervision among stakeholders, which may cause those companies with high reputations to disclose high-quality CSR reports and improve the quality of their CSR performance. The results also indicated that, under the influence of a reputation-constraining mechanism, the degree of whitewashing in the CSR reports of high-reputation firms is significantly lower than that of others. This study focused on facilitating a better understanding of the influence of organizational reputation on organizational behavior and providing theoretical support and practical insights regarding the improvement of the effectiveness of corporate social responsibility governance.