Against the backdrop of how to cultivate new quality productive forces and promote the green transformation of enterprises, this paper employs data on green mergers and acquisitions (M&A) of heavily polluting listed firms from 2012 to 2024 to comprehensively examine whether responsible investment can facilitate corporate green M&A. The findings are as follows: (1) Responsible investment significantly enhances the level of corporate green M&A, as manifested in both the likelihood and the extent of green M&A; (2) The facilitating effect of responsible investment on corporate green M&A is stronger when the investment horizon is longer and the regional legal environment is more developed; (3) Responsible investment primarily promotes corporate green M&A by improving the investee firms' capacity to search for green resources and their efficiency in allocating green capital; (4) After responsible investment promotes corporate green M&A, it not only improves firms'market reactions and operating performance but also significantly enhances their environmental performance, thereby generating green value creation.