The positive impact of green bond issuance on corporate ESG performance: from the perspective of environmental behavior

ABSTRACTGreen bonds have become a vital financial instrument to promote green development globally in the face of various environmental challenges. This paper investigates the impact of China's A-share listed companies' green bond issuance on ESG performance and the potential mechanisms from 2011–2021, using propensity score matching and double difference method (PSM-DID). The study finds that green bonds improve corporate ESG performance by enhancing environmental information disclosure, encouraging green innovation, and improving green reputation. Moreover, heavily polluting industries benefit more from green bond issuance in terms of ESG performance improvement. These findings contribute to understanding the benefits of green bond market in developing countries.KEYWORDS: Green bondsESG performanceenvironmental information disclosuregreen innovationgreen reputationJEL CLASSIFICATION: M14O16Q56 AcknowledgementsWe are grateful for the support of the National Social Science Fund Project of China (22CJY054).Disclosure statementNo potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).Notes1 Including monetized environmental information (environmental liabilities, environmental performance, and governance) and non-monetary environmental information (environmental management, environmental certification, and environmental information disclosure vehicles).Additional informationFundingThe work was supported by the National Office for Philosophy and Social Sciences [22CJY054].