DeepGreen: Effective LLM-Driven Green-washing Monitoring System Designed for Empirical Testing -- Evidence from China

원문 초록

This paper proposes DeepGreen, an Large Language Model Driven (LLM-Driven) system for detecting corporate green-washing behaviour. Utilizing dual-layer LLM analysis, DeepGreen preliminarily identifies potential green keywords in financial statements and then assesses their implementation degree via iterative semantic analysis of LLM. A core variable GreenImplement is derived from the ratio from the two layers' output. We extract 204 financial statements of 68 companies from A-share market over three years, comprising 89,893 words, and analyse them through DeepGreen. Our analysis, supported by violin plots and K-means clustering, reveals insights and validates the variable against the Huazheng ESG rating. It offers a novel perspective for regulatory agencies and investors, serving as a proactive monitoring tool that complements traditional methods.Empirical tests show that green implementation can significantly boost the asset return rate of companies, but there is heterogeneity in scale. Small and medium-sized companies have limited contribution to asset return via green implementation, so there is a stronger motivation for green-washing.