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Low-carbon production and corporate biodiversity concern: Evidence from Chinese manufacturing firms

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  • Nie, Cong
  • Zhang, Chen

Abstract

Carbon emissions threaten biodiversity, but manufacturing firms often neglect this concern. This study examines the impact of China's Low-Carbon City Pilot on manufacturing firms’ biodiversity concern using a staggered difference-in-differences model. We use financial data from Chinese publicly listed A-share manufacturing firms, with biodiversity concern measured by the frequency of related terms per 10,000 words in annual reports. We find that the policy significantly increases enterprises’ biodiversity attention, particularly for firms with greater financing constraints, and enhances environmental performance and corporate financing. Robustness tests, including heterogeneity-robust estimators, confirm the validity of our findings. The study highlights important implications for policymakers and industry stakeholders, suggesting that integrating biodiversity considerations into policy frameworks and business strategies could enhance both environmental and economic outcomes.

Suggested Citation

  • Nie, Cong & Zhang, Chen, 2025. "Low-carbon production and corporate biodiversity concern: Evidence from Chinese manufacturing firms," Finance Research Letters, Elsevier, vol. 77(C).
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:finlet:v:77:y:2025:i:c:s1544612325003009
    DOI: 10.1016/j.frl.2025.107036
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    Cited by:

    1. Zhou, Xijin & Lin, Deqin, 2025. "Impact of the environmental protection law on corporate biodiversity risk attention - An empirical analysis based on data of Chinese listed companies," Finance Research Letters, Elsevier, vol. 86(PE).
    2. Naifar, Nader, 2025. "Biodiversity finance, green bonds, and tokenized carbon: a Quantile-on-Quantile connectedness analysis," Finance Research Letters, Elsevier, vol. 85(PB).
    3. Polin Kumar Saha & Boon-Kwee Ng & Hon-Ngen Fung, 2025. "Sustainable Product Innovation and Institutional Awareness in Ready-Made Garments Firms," SAGE Open, , vol. 15(4), pages 21582440251, December.

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