Sustainable Innovations: Green Patent Acquisition and Corporate Environmental Performances

Almost nine years after the Paris climate agreement was signed, the world isn't on track to meet its target for limiting global warming. Private enterprises, propelled by market incentives and the need for competitiveness, hold a unique position in developing and implementing sustainable solutions at scale. This thesis investigates the relationship between firms' acquisition of environmental technologies and their subsequent environmental performance through the tracking of transactions involving patents categorized as "green," to evaluate the extent and manner in which these acquisitions impact firms' green key performance indicators (gKPIs). Statistical and econometric methods are employed, including multiple fixed effects regressions, which examine how the acquisition of green patents through various methods (direct development by the firm, as part of mergers and acquisitions, or through transactions between corporations) influence different environmental variables. Additionally, a bivariate probit regression is utilized to explore the inverse relationship, studying how environmental performances influence patent acquisitions. Finally, a Dumitrescu–Hurlin test for Granger causality is conducted to confirm causal relationships identified in the previous models.