Research on the Impact of Environmental Judicial Specialization on Corporate Greenwashing Behavior: Evidence from China

Against the backdrop of comprehensively promoting a green economy to drive high-quality development, curbing corporate greenwashing is pivotal to advancing this agenda. Consequently, leveraging the quasi-natural experiment presented by the gradual regional rollout of intermediate environmental courts, this study employs A-share data from Chinese listed companies between 2012 and 2024, utilizing a difference-in-differences approach. It empirically examines the impact of environmental judicial systems on corporate greenwashing practices. The findings reveal that the policy of establishing intermediate environmental courts exerts a restraining effect on corporate greenwashing. This conclusion remains robust across a series of stability and endogeneity tests. Mechanism analysis indicates that this policy reduces greenwashing by enhancing judicial efficiency, upgrading green strategies, and strengthening rights protection oversight. Further analysis indicates that the negative effect of intermediate environmental courts on corporate greenwashing is more pronounced among state-owned enterprises, heavily polluting industries, and regions with stringent environmental regulations. This provides substantial evidence that specialized environmental adjudication effectively curbs corporate greenwashing. Consequently, leveraging environmental judicial mechanisms to curb corporate greenwashing and promote green innovation holds significant implications for advancing high-quality socio-economic development.