Based on 3 296 observations of Shanghai and Shenzhen A-shares from 2015 to 2020, a panel regression model was set up to empirically test the impact of social responsibility on corporate substantive green innovation and the internal transmission mechanism. It is found that the fulfillment of social responsibility has a significant positive impact on substantive green innovation of enterprises, and this positive impact is more obvious in state-owned, eastern region, and non-manufacturing enterprises. R&D manpower investment and financial investment play a partially intermediary role between social responsibility and substantive green innovation of enterprises, with the effect values of 6.7% and 5.9%, respectively. Finally, policy recommendations for promoting substantive green innovation in enterprises are proposed.