A firm level Environmental Kuznets Curve Evaluation: thresholds in a cross-sectional dataset of mid-sized companies

Marine Kohler (), Natalia Costa I Coromina, Pascal da Costa (), Peter Fox Penner and François Cluzel ()
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Marine Kohler: LGI - Laboratoire Génie Industriel - CentraleSupélec - Université Paris-Saclay, CentraleSupélec
Natalia Costa I Coromina: Energy Impact Partners
Pascal da Costa: LGI - Laboratoire Génie Industriel - CentraleSupélec - Université Paris-Saclay
Peter Fox Penner: Energy Impact Partners
François Cluzel: LGI - Laboratoire Génie Industriel - CentraleSupélec - Université Paris-Saclay

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Abstract: In a context of insufficient global regulation, a substantial proportion of firms set voluntary greenhouse gas emissions reduction targets. This study draws on a new dataset of about 1,000 GHG Protocol-compliant assessments from a thousand Europe and US-based small and medium enterprises and mid-sized firms between 2019 and 2024 to investigate how emissions metrics compare across as companies grow and consolidate their productivity. Moving beyond the conflicting environmental Kuznets curve evidence and the traditional focus on large enterprises, we uncover a new, untheorized link between emissions and firm productivity. Using competing polynomial and threshold regression models, and addressing endogeneity, selection bias and omitted variable bias by relying on Granger causality, Hausman instruments, poststratification, Oster sensitivity tests and split sample testing, we establish that contrary to the classic inverted U shape of the EKC, corporate emissions and emissions intensities do not show a clear turning point but instead stabilize once over a critical threshold in revenue per employee. We find raising productivity can halve per revenue intensities despite simultaneous fourfold and twofold surges in absolute and per-employee emissions. This structural influence of financial productivity challenges the fairness of corporate net-zero targets that assume comparable baseline intensities across firms.

Keywords: Corporate Net-Zero targets; Threshold approach; Environmental Kuznets curve; Corporate climate performance (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2026-06-09
Note: View the original document on HAL open archive server: https://hal.science/hal-05170003v2
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Published in Journal of Cleaner Production, 2026, 571, pp.148599. ⟨10.1016/j.jclepro.2026.148599⟩

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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:hal:journl:hal-05170003

DOI: 10.1016/j.jclepro.2026.148599

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