The impact of economic performance on the environmental protection orientation of mining enterprises: A case study of the Yangtze River Economic Belt in China

Environmental protection and sustainable economic development are significant issues that impact people's lives and contribute to the construction of a beautiful China. The approach to corporate sustainability depends on the environmental protection orientation adopted by the enterprise. This paper takes a dual perspective of pollution-oriented and ecology-oriented environmental protection. It uses panel data from mining companies in the Yangtze River Economic Belt (YREB) from 2013 to 2020 at the micro level to examine whether the economic performance growth of enterprises contributes to achieving corporate sustainability goals. The study results indicate an inverted U-shaped curve relationship between enterprise economic performance and pollution-oriented environmental protection (POLEVP), with an initial increase followed by a subsequent decrease. On the other hand, there is a U-shaped curve relationship between enterprise economic performance and ecology-oriented environmental protection (ECOEVP), with an initial decrease followed by a subsequent increase. Mechanism analysis reveals that the structure effect, scale effect, and technology effect have different regulatory effects on the relationship between economic performance and enterprise environmental protection orientation. Further research demonstrates that companies in heavy-polluting industries and those audited by the Big Four accounting firms tend to prioritize POLEVP In contrast, state-owned enterprises show a stronger emphasis on ECOEVP compared to non-state-owned enterprises. These findings can provide valuable insights for decision-makers in promoting the sustainable development of the YREB at the micro-enterprise level and facilitating the green, low-carbon transformation of mining companies.