Abstract
The green transformation of the manufacturing sector is pivotal for firms to meet carbon emission reduction objectives, acting as a crucial lever in the broader shift toward a low-carbon global economy. This study leverages China's voluntary environmental regulatory initiative-the "green factory" program-to empirically examine the impact of green manufacturing on corporate carbon emissions. Using a staggered difference-in- differences (DID) model and panel data (2012-2023) on China's A-share manufacturing firms, we find that green manufacturing significantly lowers carbon emissions. The findings are robust to parallel trend assumption, placebo tests, and controls for confounding policy effects. Mechanism analysis reveals that green manufacturing fosters substantial improvements in breakthrough green innovation, facilitates the utilization of data element and promotes the diversification of knowledge within enterprises-factors that collectively enhance their emission reduction benefits. Additionally, the heterogeneity analysis reveals that compared with manufacturing enter-prises confronting higher risks of transboundary pollution transfer, operating in heavily polluting industries, and characterized by labor-biased technological progress, the carbon mitigation dividends of green manufacturing are more pronounced in those with lower transboundary pollution transfer risks, belonging to non-heavily polluting industries, and featuring capital-biased technological progress. This study offers valuable empirical insights and policy implications for developing economies striving to align industrial upgrading with environmental sustainability goals.
NETL
NSTL
Elsevier