This study investigates the potential benefits of positive environmental, social, and governance (ESG) performance for enterprises operating in heavily polluting industries. Regression analyses using Stata were conducted on a sample of A-share listed enterprises in these industries from 2010 to 2020. The findings reveal that higher ESG performance leads to lower debt financing costs. Furthermore, the analysis of mechanisms indicates that the green innovation behavior of enterprises enhances the impact of ESG performance on debt financing costs. Heterogeneity analysis demonstrates that the ESG performance of heavily polluting enterprises in central China has a more significant influence on debt financing costs. For non-state-owned heavily polluting enterprises, the relationship between standard audit opinions is substantial, as audit opinions contain sufficient information and risk disclosure. This study contributes to our understanding of the economic implications of ESG performance and provides valuable evidence supporting enterprises in their efforts to improve ESG performance.