Environmental regulation and corporate environmental responsibility fulfillment: a qualitative study based on the LDA topic model

"Environmental penalties" are the primary policy tool for implementing environmental regulations and serve as an external force to compel companies to take key measures in order to achieve the goals of the Paris Agreement. Currently, research on environmental regulation primarily focuses on policy effect evaluation. However, the way companies respond to external pressure from environmental penalties and implement a series of control measures has not been fully explored in the academic field. Based on this, this paper uses the LDA topic model and content analysis method to systematically review the annual reports of 1,151 listed companies in China that were subjected to environmental penalties in 2024. The study conducts an in-depth identification of the internal administrative responses, control goals, and major measures of these companies after the environmental penalties were implemented. The findings reveal that after the imposition of environmental penalties, the internal administrative response of companies focuses on achieving "compliance emissions," with control goals specified down to individual "units," and the main measures remain centered on "fine-tuned monitoring." In the future, companies under close monitoring by environmental authorities should adopt more innovative and effective measures that balance efficient production with the fulfillment of environmental responsibilities.