Management attention to climate risk reduces corporate greenwashing through green innovation

Amid intensifying climate risks and stricter environmental regulations in China, sustainability disclosure is expanding, alongside growing concerns about greenwashing. Existing research emphasizes external pressures, while the role of managerial attention remains less understood. Here we show, using 7556 annual observations of Chinese listed companies from 2012 to 2022, that management attention to climate risk is associated with lower subsequent greenwashing. Further analyses show that this relationship is partly explained by green innovation: greater attention is associated with more granted green invention and utility patents, which in turn are linked to less future greenwashing. The negative relationship is stronger in firms with higher internal control quality, particularly asset safety controls. These findings suggest that climate-conscious management helps firms move from symbolic disclosure toward substantive environmental action. They also show how attention indicators and verifiable innovation outcomes, such as granted green patents, can help regulators and rating agencies distinguish firms that “walk the talk” from those relying on symbolic disclosure. Firms receiving greater managerial attention are less likely to engage in subsequent greenwashing, and this effect is partly driven by increased green patenting and is stronger in firms with high-quality internal controls, according to an analysis of Chinese A-share listed firms from 2012 to 2022.