A Framework for Assessing Green Capacity Utilization Considering CO 2 Emissions in China’s High-Tech Manufacturing Industry

China’s high-tech manufacturing industry has become the mainstay of the country’s domestic industrial transformation and upgrading. However, in recent years, the industry has experienced huge blind expansion under policy stimulus, which is not good for long-term industrial development. Therefore, this article attempts to explore the extent to which such an important and critical industry in China utilizes its production capacity and provides a basis for future policymaking. Coupled with the country’s increasing emphasis on the green and low-carbon development of the industry, this article extends the green and low-carbon thinking based on capacity utilization, namely green capacity utilization (CU). On this basis, the study empirically investigates the green CU of the high-tech manufacturing industry in 28 provinces in mainland China from 2010 to 2015. In performing the investigation, the inputs were divided into (quasi-)fixed and variable inputs, and an assessment framework was established based on the data envelopment analysis (DEA) method. Moreover, optimal variable inputs are also available as by-products within the assessment framework. The results were as follows: First, China’s high-tech manufacturing industry showed an excellent overall performance in green CU. Moreover, half of the provinces were at fully utilized capacity, and half were under-utilized. On average, there was a slight deterioration in green CU. Second, the results showed regional differences. The western region had the highest green CU followed by the middle and northeastern regions, and the eastern region had the lowest green CU. Third, regarding the optimal variables inputs, the total amount of labor in China’s high-tech manufacturing industry met the demand, but the distribution was uneven. Fourth, the scale of traditional energy consumption needs to be reduced both in individual provinces and in general. These conclusions have implications for the formulation of policies to promote the green development of China’s high-tech manufacturing industry.