Does the Financial and Innovation Performance of European and Asian–Oceanian Companies Coincide with the Targets of the Green Deal?

Raminta Vaitiekuniene (), Kristina Sutiene, Bohdan Kovalov and Rytis Krusinskas
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Raminta Vaitiekuniene: Department of Mathematical Modeling, Kaunas University of Technology, Studentu 50, 51368 Kaunas, Lithuania
Kristina Sutiene: Department of Mathematical Modeling, Kaunas University of Technology, Studentu 50, 51368 Kaunas, Lithuania
Bohdan Kovalov: Department of Economics, Entrepreneurship and Business Administration, Sumy State University, Kharkivska Str., 116, 40007 Sumy, Ukraine
Rytis Krusinskas: Sustainable Economics Research Group, Kaunas University of Technology, Gedimino 50, 44249 Kaunas, Lithuania

Sustainability, 2024, vol. 16, issue 4, 1-18

Abstract: The Paris Agreement, signed in 2015 and put into effect in 2016, led to the European Green Deal. It envisages ensuring climate neutrality by 2050. To achieve this, solutions to the climate challenge have to be implemented globally. This research aims to evaluate interactions among corporate financial, innovation, and environmental performance indicators in European and Asian–Oceanian companies. Financial performance refers to the financial capacity and financial resources of companies that enable the creation of more sustainable innovations. More sustainable innovation could contribute to limiting global warming to 1.5 °C. Science indicates that global greenhouse gas emissions need to be cut down by 43% by 2030, compared to 2019 levels, to limit global warming to 1.5 °C. According to our results, it is possible to compare which region, Europe or Asia, moved towards climate neutrality in the analyzed period of 2008–2019. By determining their starting positions, we seek to disclose how companies can contribute to climate change reduction. The results reveal that for both analyzed regions, financial and innovation indicators have an important impact on environmental performance. We found that the ROA ratio and R&D expenditures are significantly linked to carbon dioxide (CO 2 ) emissions as an indicator of environmental performance. The interaction between ROA and CO 2 emissions was identified as being stronger in Asia–Oceania. The relationship between R&D expenditures and CO 2 emissions was more robust in Europe. Therefore, Europe is participating in the race towards sustainable goals by increasing R&D expenditures to stimulate green economy development. In the race to achieve the Green Deal’s long-term 2050 targets, companies will have to combine their strategic decisions, while business survival requires profitability, meaning that the race towards climate neutrality goals will hardly be possible without corporate R&D expenditures.

Keywords: financial performance; innovation performance; environmental performance; Green Deal implementation (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: O13 Q Q0 Q2 Q3 Q5 Q56 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2024
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