Optimal production and carbon reduction investment decision for manufacturers with leasing–selling strategies considering financing

Abstract For a capital‐constrained manufacturer, in the context of carbon reduction, whether products should be sold or leased and which financing mode is more beneficial are usually debated. By considering Carbon Emission Permits Repurchase Financing (CEPRF) and Green Credit Financing (GCF), the optimal decision‐making models with different strategies are presented. The Karush–Kuhn–Tucker theorem is applied and the results are compared. Meanwhile, the influence of initial capital and interest rates on the manufacturer's decision‐makings, profits, and environment are explored. The results show that: under the selling strategy, when the initial capital is small, GCF is better for the manufacturer; otherwise, CEPRF is better; under the leasing strategy, both optimal production and carbon reduction investment with CEPRF are lower than that with GCF, but their profits are higher. With CEPRF, the leasing strategy would bring more economic and environmental benefits to the manufacturer; with GCF, the selling strategy would result in more economic and environment benefits.