ESG与创新脱节：来自绿色专利的数据（WP2022）

题目：THE ESG-INNOVATION DISCONNECT: EVIDENCE FROM GREEN PATENTING

摘要：No firm or sector of the global economy is untouched by innovation. In equilibrium, innovators will flock to (and innovation will occur where) the returns to innovative capital are the highest. In this paper, we document a strong empirical pattern in green patent production. Specifically, we find that oil, gas, and energy-producing firms – firms with lower Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) scores, and who are often explicitly excluded from ESG funds’ investment universe – are key innovators in the United States’ green patent landscape. These energy producers produce more, and significantly higher quality, green innovation. Our findings raise important questions as to whether the current exclusions of many ESG-focused policies – along with the increasing incidence of explicit divestiture campaigns – are optimal, or whether reward-based incentives would lead to more efficient innovative outcomes

1.Main Story & Results

In this paper, we aim to address this gap in the literature by being the first paper to systematically investigate who produces green patents, the most influential of these green patent producers, and whether the capital of investors who desire to allocate capital toward ESG objectives actually do end up investing in these producers

研究发现石油、天然气和能源生产企业是美国绿色专利领域的关键创新者。（环境、社会和治理 (ESG) 绩效较差，并且经常被明确排除在 ESG 基金的投资范围之外）这些能源生产商生产更多、质量更高的绿色创新产品。即当前排除许多以 ESG 为重点的政策是否是最优的，是否导致更有效的创新成果。（投资没有给到这些部门，但是这些部门做出很多创新）

Put differently, the evidence thus far suggests that: i.) traditional energy sector firms (which have lower ESG scores, along with being explicitly restricted by many ESG-focused vehicles and campaigns) appear to be substantive contributors to the universe of the entirety of green patenting;and ii.) that firms with higher environmental scoring seem to produce fewer green patents, on average.