Four-Chain-Integrated Development of Green Environmental Protection Industry in China

The green environmental protection industry has the dual attributes of driving economic growth and coping with environmental problems. The deep integration of “four chains” (i.e., innovation, industrial, capital, and talent chains) is crucial for the high-quality development of the green environmental protection industry and the achievement of the carbon peaking and carbon neutrality goals. Considering the development status of the green environmental protection industry, this study analyzes the characteristics of four-chain integration at different stages of enterprise development. In the early stage of establishment, the capital chain is key to enterprises and an industrial chain is gradually formed driven by the innovation and talent chains. During business expansion of enterprises, the industrial chain is extended, driven by the capital chain and supported by the innovation and talent chains. At the mature stage, enterprises can carry out strategic layout based on the industrial chain while maintaining th