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Under the strategic background of implementing the new development concept, there is an important question to be answered about whether the' responsibility to people' water pollution control policy can promote corporate green innovation while improving the environment. Based on the panel data of Shanghai and Shenzhen A-share listed companies from 2009 to 2019, this paper empirically tested the impact of the implementation of the river chief system on corporate green innovation using the multi-period DID method. This research concluded that the river chief system could significantly improve corporate green innovation. After a series of necessary tests, such as the parallel trend test and placebo test, the conclusion remained robust. The mechanism analysis showed that the policy effect of the river chief system was mainly realized through two channels, namely, internal incentive and external pressure, and that the effect of external pressure was stronger than that of internal incentive. Further research showed that the governance power of local river chiefs had a lax effect at the boundaries of prefecture-level cities, and the promotion incentives of officials also affected the policy effect to a certain extent. More importantly, under the policy background of the river chief system, local officials were more active in water pollution control and could also monitor enterprises far away from the rivers. In addition, the results of the heterogeneity analysis showed that: ① Compared with small enterprises, large enterprises received more attention from policymakers, and the river chief system had a stronger regulatory impact on large enterprises, whose green innovation level had a more significant improvement. ② Compared with private enterprises, state-owned enterprises responded more positively to the river chief system policy, and the green innovation output stimulated by the policy was higher. ③ Compared with other industries, enterprises in the water pollution industry were less affected by the river chief system policy. This paper found that these enterprises mainly dealt with environmental governance pressure by reducing production rather than focusing on green innovation. This study provides a policy basis for implementing the environmental regulation policy of' responsibility to people' and for realizing the dual goals of environmental protection and economic development. It also provides theoretical support and practical inspiration for the refined implementation of environmental regulation policies from multiple perspectives, such as internal incentives, external media supervision, and enterprise heterogeneity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]