The impact of management’s characteristics on corporate environmental responsibility performance of energy systems in the digital age—Evidence from China’s traditional energy listed companies industry

China is promoting green economic development and the transformation of polluting enterprises to environment-friendly. As an important polluting industry, energy companies are imminent to improve their corporate environmental responsibility performance(CERP). However, corporate strategic decisions are made by the senior management team and market environment such as the digital economy also play a crucial role. In order to study the relationship between management’s characteristics and CERP and the role of the digital economy, this paper selects 2010–2019 listed companies in the traditional energy industry in A-shares as the research object, and conducts an empirical analysis on the characteristics of their managers and the CERP. The results show that during the Thirteenth Five-Year Plan period, in the stage of rapid development of the digital economy, CERP is significantly improved, the gender diversity and educational background of managers have a significant positive impact on the CERP, and the age is negatively related to the CERP. From this point of view, it is suggested that companies should promote young management, increase the proportion of female management, and give priority to those with higher education.