Green Finance, New Quality Productivity, and Corporate ESG Performance

绿色金融背景下，企业的环境、社会、治理(ESG)表现对企业的发展至关重要。深入考虑新质生产力对企业ESG表现的影响对于实现高质量和可持续发展具有重要意义。本文利用2011~2022年中国A股绿色金融投入上市公司的数据，深入探究绿色金融、新质生产力与企业 ESG表现的关系。实证结果表明，绿色金融投入显著促进企业ESG表现，新质生产力起正向调节作用，尤其是软科技投入方面。经过稳健性检验后，上述结论仍然成立。异质性分析表明，中小企业和高科技企业中绿色金融对ESG表现正面影响更显著。此外，经济后果检验显示，绿色金融投入通过提升ESG表现对企业高质量发展、数字技术应用和市场竞争力有正面影响。研究结果不仅为企业、投资者和政策制定者提供了决策参考，而且启示各方需考虑企业规模、行业和市场竞争状况制定策略，以推动绿色转型和可持续发展。Under the green finance context, corporate environmental, social, and governance (ESG) performance is critical to enterprise development. A thorough examination of the impact of new quality productivity on corporate ESG performance holds significant implications for achieving high-quality and sustainable development. This study utilizes data from A-share listed companies in China with green finance investments from 2011 to 2022 to investigate the relationships among green finance, new quality productivity, and corporate ESG performance. Empirical results demonstrate that green finance investment significantly enhances corporate ESG performance, with new quality productivity—particularly soft technology investment—exerting a positive moderating role. These conclusions remain robust after rigorous robustness tests. Heterogeneity analysis reveals that the positive effect of green finance on ESG performance is more pronounced in small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) and high-tech industries. Additionally, economic impact tests indicate that green finance investment improves corporate ESG performance, thereby positively influencing high-quality development, digital technology adoption, and market competitiveness. The findings not only provide actionable insights for enterprises, investors, and policymakers—urging firms to leverage green finance for ESG enhancement, policymakers to advance green finance policies, and investors to prioritize ESG metrics—but also highlight the necessity for tailored strategies accounting for firm size, industry characteristics, and market competition to drive green transformation and sustainable development.