Can policy coordination empower heavily polluting enterprises to achieve a green transition? Evidence from the low-carbon city and smart-city pilot programs in China

The synergistic advancement of digitalization and greening has become a key institutional arrangement for heavily polluting enterprises to achieve green transformation. Using heavily polluting listed companies on the Shanghai and Shenzhen A-share markets from 2010 to 2024 as a sample, this paper treats the “dual pilot program”—comprising the National Low-Carbon City Pilot Program and the National Smart City Pilot Program—as a quasi-natural experiment on the synergy between digital and green policies. By employing an intensity difference-in-differences (DID) model and PSM-DID robustness tests, the study examines the synergistic impact of these policies on corporate green transformation.The study found that the synergy between the two pilot policies significantly enhanced the level of green transformation among heavily polluting enterprises, and this conclusion remained valid after robustness tests. Mechanism analysis indicated that the synergy between digital and green policies primarily empowered enterprises’ green transformation by increasing subsidy intensity, alleviating financing constraints, and optimizing resource allocation. Heterogeneity analysis revealed that this effect was more pronounced in non-state-owned enterprises, regions with higher levels of marketization, and labor-intensive cities. This paper provides empirical evidence to support the coordinated implementation of digital and green policies and to accelerate the green transition of heavily polluting enterprises.