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Environmental Governance and Environmental Responsibility Research
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Environmental Governance and Environmental Responsibility Research

A special issue of Sustainability (ISSN 2071-1050). This special issue belongs to the section "Economic and Business Aspects of Sustainability".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (1 March 2025) | Viewed by 6728

Special Issue Editors

Prof. Dr. Ding Li

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
School of Public Administration, Southwestern University of Finance and Economics, Chengdu, China
Interests: energy transition and sustainable development
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
Dr. Ziran Li

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
School of Public Finance and Taxation, Southwestern University of Finance and Economics, Chengdu 610000, China
Interests: agricultural economics and development; commodity markets; public finance
Dr. Guoxiang Li

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
School of Business, Nanjing Normal University, Nanjing 210023, China
Interests: digital transformation; green technology innovation; pollution and carbon reduction
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Global economic development has made remarkable achievements, but it has also produced serious environmental pollution problems, especially with the rapid development of industrialization and modernization. Environmental pollution, resource waste, and other problems are becoming increasingly serious. It has brought great threats to human health and the ecological environment of the earth. In order to deal with the increasingly severe problem of environmental pollution and achieve high-quality economic development, countries worldwide have issued a series of environmental protection policies and laws and achieved great results in environmental governance. However, due to regional differences in industrial structure, energy structure, and subjective initiative of various subjects, environmental governance still faces severe challenges, such as cross-mismatch and inefficient management of environmental management, insufficient subjective initiative, and incentive of enterprise environmental governance, narrow channels of individual participation and poor results. Individuals, enterprises, and society should actively fulfill their environmental responsibilities to achieve green development. Everyone can contribute to environmental protection, including reducing energy consumption, waste emissions, and wildlife protection. Enterprises should adopt environmentally friendly production modes, technologies, and energy resources and then reduce pollution emissions in the production process. The government and society should further increase investment in environmental protection, encourage green technology innovation, popularize environmental protection culture, and form a pattern of environmental protection in which all people participate.

This Special Issue will focus on environmental governance and environmental responsibility, explore the breakthrough path of environmental governance under economic downward pressure, and analyze the new positioning of individuals, enterprises, and governments in environmental governance in the new development stage so that each stakeholder can better fulfill their environmental responsibilities and better promote green and sustainable economic development. It also helps to expand the research perspective of environmental governance and supplement the research literature on the relationship between environmental governance and environmental responsibility. In this Special Issue, original research articles and reviews that are non-published or in process elsewhere are welcome.

Prof. Dr. Ding Li
Dr. Ziran Li
Dr. Guoxiang Li
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Sustainability is an international peer-reviewed open access semimonthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2400 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

  • environmental decentralization, government responsibility, and high-quality development
  • government behavior, environmental strategies, and environmental performance
  • environmental protection system and enterprise environmental protection behavior
  • environmental responsibility and pollution reduction
  • green innovation, pollution, and carbon reduction
  • enterprise digital transformation and green development
  • green consumption, product selection, and environmental governance
  • consumption mode choice and industrial green transformation
  • harmonious coexistence between humans and nature

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Further information on MDPI's Special Issue policies can be found here.

Published Papers (4 papers)

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Research

22 pages, 301 KiB  
Article
Institutional Cross-Ownership and Corporate Sustainability Performance: Empirical Evidence Based on United Nations SDGs Ratings
by Miaomiao Yi, Fei Ren and Zhang-Hangjian Chen
Sustainability 2025, 17(10), 4461; https://doi.org/10.3390/su17104461 - 14 May 2025
Viewed by 366
Abstract
Corporate sustainable development, as a critical component of Chinese-style modernization, is essential for achieving high-quality economic growth, yet the influence of institutional cross-ownership—a prevalent phenomenon in stock markets—on corporate sustainability performance remains contested. Using a sample of Chinese A-share listed companies from 2012 [...] Read more.
Corporate sustainable development, as a critical component of Chinese-style modernization, is essential for achieving high-quality economic growth, yet the influence of institutional cross-ownership—a prevalent phenomenon in stock markets—on corporate sustainability performance remains contested. Using a sample of Chinese A-share listed companies from 2012 to 2023, this study innovatively employs micro-level data on the degree of the achievement of the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) to measure corporate sustainability performance and investigate the influence of institutional cross-ownership on corporate sustainability performance. This study presents the following findings: (1) Institutional cross-ownership undermines corporate sustainability performance, a finding that remains robust to a series of endogeneity and robustness tests. (2) Mechanism analysis reveals a triple erosion effect: short-termism driven by institutional investors’ preference for immediate financial returns, market power through cross-ownership that dampens competitive pressures, and reduced green innovation investments that weaken sustainability. (3) This negative effect is more pronounced in firms located in high-productivity regions or central and eastern China, in firms facing lax environmental regulations, and in state-owned enterprises. (4) The impact of cross-ownership on sustainability performance varies across dimensions, with the negative effects concentrated in the economic and social dimensions. This study enriches the literature on the factors influencing corporate sustainability performance, providing new empirical evidence for governments to guide institutional investors in long-term value investment and firms to implement effective sustainable development strategies. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Environmental Governance and Environmental Responsibility Research)
27 pages, 1092 KiB  
Article
How the Belt and Road Initiative Transforms Corporate ESG Performance: Insights from China’s Experience
by Fangnan Cui, Yue Tan and Bangwen Lu
Sustainability 2025, 17(8), 3700; https://doi.org/10.3390/su17083700 - 19 Apr 2025
Viewed by 1084
Abstract
This study examines the transformative potential of the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) in enhancing the environmental, social, and governance (ESG) performance of Chinese companies, carrying significant implications for global sustainable development. Using data from Chinese listed companies from 2009 to 2022, we [...] Read more.
This study examines the transformative potential of the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) in enhancing the environmental, social, and governance (ESG) performance of Chinese companies, carrying significant implications for global sustainable development. Using data from Chinese listed companies from 2009 to 2022, we employ a difference-in-differences approach to rigorously assess the impact of the BRI on corporate ESG performance and elucidate the underlying mechanisms. Our findings indicate that the BRI significantly enhances corporate ESG performance, with these results robustly validated through robustness checks. The analysis identifies two primary channels through which the BRI affects ESG performance: internal mechanisms, such as fostering technological innovation and enhancing environmental disclosure, and external mechanisms, including increased analyst attention and the expansion of digital infrastructure. Additionally, we observe significant variation in the BRI’s impact across different industries and firm characteristics. Specifically, non-state-owned enterprises, high-growth companies, large corporations, and those located in economically advanced regions exhibit the most pronounced positive effects. This research not only deepens the understanding of the BRI’s influence on sustainable business practices but also provides valuable insights for policymakers and corporate leaders. By leveraging the BRI, companies can significantly enhance their ESG performance, thus contributing to broader sustainability objectives. Our findings underscore the importance of strategic engagement with global initiatives like the BRI in achieving improvements in corporate sustainability such as enhanced environmental performance and social responsibility. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Environmental Governance and Environmental Responsibility Research)
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17 pages, 1823 KiB  
Article
Can Environmental Protection Tax Promote Urban Green Transformation? Experimental Evidence from China
by Zhankun Qi, Feng Long, Fenfen Bi, Xue Tian, Ziwei Qian, Xianming Duan and Chazhong Ge
Sustainability 2024, 16(20), 9011; https://doi.org/10.3390/su16209011 - 17 Oct 2024
Cited by 1 | Viewed by 1573
Abstract
As one of China’s important environmental and economic policies, the environmental protection tax (EPT) is important in promoting economic and social green transformation. In this study, the green total factor productivity (GTFP) of 283 prefecture-level cities in China from 2013 to 2022 was [...] Read more.
As one of China’s important environmental and economic policies, the environmental protection tax (EPT) is important in promoting economic and social green transformation. In this study, the green total factor productivity (GTFP) of 283 prefecture-level cities in China from 2013 to 2022 was calculated using a Super Slack-Based Model (Super-SBM) and the Malmquist-Luenberger (ML) index, which includes undesirable outputs. Moreover, the implementation effect of environmental tax on promoting urban green transformation is identified through the difference-in-differences (DID) model. This study revealed that (1) an EPT can significantly increase the GTFP of a city and promote its green transformation. (2) Industrial structure optimization and technological innovation are important mechanisms through which EPT drives urban green transformation. (3) The implementation effect of EPT in promoting urban green transformation presents significant policy differences across geographic locations, whether cities are key environmental protection cities or types of resource-based cities. EPT can significantly promote the green transformation of local cities, which in turn can positively affect the green transformation of neighboring cities. Based on this study’s conclusions, suggestions are put forward to improve the EPT system to promote urban green transformation. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Environmental Governance and Environmental Responsibility Research)
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24 pages, 1697 KiB  
Article
Environmental Credit Constraints and the Enterprise Choice of Environmental Protection Behavior
by Chunrong Yan, Xintian Xiang, Liping Li and Guoxiang Li
Sustainability 2023, 15(24), 16638; https://doi.org/10.3390/su152416638 - 7 Dec 2023
Cited by 4 | Viewed by 1722
Abstract
Choosing appropriate environmental protection strategies is important in improving enterprises’ economic and environmental performance. Based on the data of A-share listed enterprises from 2009 to 2019 in China, this paper uses the difference-in-differences model to identify the effects of environmental credit constraints on [...] Read more.
Choosing appropriate environmental protection strategies is important in improving enterprises’ economic and environmental performance. Based on the data of A-share listed enterprises from 2009 to 2019 in China, this paper uses the difference-in-differences model to identify the effects of environmental credit constraints on the enterprise choice of environmental protection behavior. We find that environmental credit constraints motivate some enterprises to choose active environmental behavior due to the incentive effect of environmental credit constraints on R&D investments. However, some enterprises may adopt evasive strategies because environmental credit constraints increase production costs and debt. State-owned enterprises prefer active environmental protection strategies to address environmental credit constraints, while private enterprises mainly adopt evasive strategies. Environmental credit constraints make high-interest and high-profitability enterprises choose active environmental strategies. Environmental credit constraints generated by enterprises’ evasive environmental behavior increase the probability of litigation and arbitration cases, and environmental credit system construction in the short term may exacerbate unemployment, which the government needs to pay attention to when developing and implementing a blacklist system for environmental fraud. Although there are limitations in this paper in terms of research objectives and samples, the results are important for improving the environmental management system and the operating performance of enterprises. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Environmental Governance and Environmental Responsibility Research)
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