How does the Belt and Road policy affect the level of green development? A quasi-natural experimental study considering the CO2 emission intensity of construction enterprises

The ‘Belt and Road’ (B&R) Initiative has received attention from environmental researchers. However, there are no studies explaining the impact of the B&R policy on the green development (GD) of construction enterprises. We aim to find a mechanism for how the B&R policy impacts the GD level of construction enterprises. Consequently, on the basis of a fixed effects model, we consider the B&R policy and the background of GD in the construction industry and construct a model of the GD level of construction enterprises. Meanwhile, we use panel data for 28 provincial administrative regions of the Chinese government from 2010 to 2020 and analyse the implications of the B&R policy on the GD level of construction enterprises using Stata 16.0. The main conclusions are as follows. (1) A positive promotion effect is evident in the planned focus areas of the B&R policy on construction enterprises’ GD levels. (2) Research and development (R&D), regional development, education, labour productivity and investment in sewage treatment significantly affect the intensity of CO2 emissions of regional construction enterprises, thus increasing and hindering the GD of construction enterprises. Taking the findings of this study into account, this study contributes to the econometrics of construction enterprises in the area of sustainable development. Additionally, it provides policy ideas for the government to further build a green B&R.