Abstract: Environmental pollution, resource constraints and ecosystem degradation are still acute problems, and ecological civilization construction has become a focus of concern among all walks of life. As the main body of national economic development, enterprises are the main force in practicing the strategy of ecological civilization. The consistency of words, actions and performance of corporate environment bears directly on the process of ecological civilization construction. Can the “words” of the corporate environmental culture obtain the “return” of financial performance through the “action” of environmental management? That is, does the corporate environment form a virtuous circle of “thought-driven action, action-rewarded return”? It is an important question. In response to this question, this paper analyzes the impact of corporate environmental culture on financial performance and the intermediary role of corporate environmental management, and conducts an empirical test based on the sample of the top 500 listed companies in Shanghai and Shenzhen. The results show that: (1) Corporate environmental culture has a significant positive impact on return on assets (ROA) and return on equity (ROE); (2) Corporate environmental management has a significant intermediary role in the relationship between corporate environmental culture and financial performance. The conclusion can provide theoretical basis and practical guidance for corporate environmental culture construction and environmental management.

Key words: corporate environmental culture, environmental management, financial performance, intermediary role, words actions and return