Evaluation of Low-Carbon Competitiveness Based on a System Evaluation Method: A Case Study of Three Chinese Steel Companies

Low-carbon competitiveness is an effective way for enterprises to remain relevant in the global green economy agenda. The low-carbon footprints of firms are not only reflected in their carbon-tangible assets but also in carbon-intangible assets. Thus, carbon-intangible assets also play a crucial role in firms’ emission mitigation and environmental conservation capacity. Several forms of carbon-intangible assets may constitute an integrated system that shapes the low-carbon performance of enterprises. Therefore, firms’ low-carbon competitiveness can be evaluated by studying the distribution of individual carbon-intangible resources and the composite shape of such assets. Based on this idea, this paper explored the dimensions through which carbon-intangible assets contribute to low-carbon competitiveness. By determining the location and distribution of each carbon-intangible asset in its value space, we proposed a multidimensional evaluation technique with three dimensions including realistic, sustainable, and inimitable value. Herein, the idea of value space of carbon-intangible assets has been contributed to the extant literature. Finally, to apply our evaluation index system, we selected three Chinese steel companies to serve as the research sample and evaluated their low-carbon performances. The main contribution of this study is the development and application of a novel multidimensional low-carbon evaluation method. This technique will not only help governments as well as the academics to effectively determine the low-carbon level of enterprises but also helps managers to fully grasp the trends of low-carbon competitiveness and thereby take some targeted measures to improve their firms’ performance.