Buying into Reality: Green Public Procurement and ESG Decoupling
Prof. Weiping Li
Associate Professor in Finance
Faculty of Finance, City University of Macau
Date: 14 May 2026 (Thursday)
Time: 12:15-13:15
Venue: FBA Lobby
Abstract
Green Public Procurement (GPP) is increasingly scrutinized for its capacity to drive substantive ecological transformation rather than mere symbolic compliance. Using a longitudinal dataset of Chinese listed companies from 2015 to 2023, we find that GPP participation significantly reduces ESG decoupling. This effect is most pronounced in regions with high enforcement capacity and for firms subject to intense monitoring. By demonstrating that GPP creates a logic of discipline overriding symbolic management, this study highlights how public procurement can serve as a coercive barrier against strategic decoupling, ultimately mitigating the systemic external injustices and negative externalities embedded in corporate supply chains.
About the speaker
Weiping Li is currently an associate professor at the Faculty of Finance, City University of Macau. Dr. Li’s main research interests include corporate finance, green finance, digital finance, and cultural finance. He has published numerous papers in international SSCI/SCI journals such as the Journal of Business Ethics, Journal of Financial Stability, Journal of International Financial Markets, Institutions and Money and so on. He is the principal investigator of a project funded by the Natural Science Foundation of Guangdong Province. In addition to his academic role, he serves as editorial board member of Humanities and Social Sciences Communications, China Journal of Accounting Research, and Scientific Report.aui
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