Enhancing Environmental, Social, and Governance Performance through New Quality Productivity and Green Innovation

Sustainability practices are increasingly significant in the current business environment, much more so in China with its rapid economic growth. What drives environmental, social, and governance (ESG) performance, especially regarding the impacts of new quality productivity and green innovation, is thus of importance. The study further assesses the impact of new quality productivity and green innovation on ESG performance with listed companies in China. The research is empirical and regresses the data of the Chinese listed companies from 2011 to 2022. The important findings indicate that new quality productivity significantly improves ESG performance. Efficient innovation practice plays a key role in the promotion of corporate sustainability. Green innovation contributes directly to ESG improvement and enhances the effects of new quality productivity on ESG. This moderating effect has proven to be the more important reason why innovation should be well-infused into core business strategies for sustainable optimization. In addition, this study examines the differential impact of new quality productivity across regions, firm types, and development stages, showing that its effectiveness in driving ESG performance is constrained by the geographic location, firm development stage, and industry characteristics. These findings emphasize the importance of incorporating new quality productivity enhancement and green innovation into corporate strategies, providing valuable insights for managers, policymakers, and investors.