Green data elements are a new type of production factor that can create green value for production entities and serve as an important source for cultivating new quality productive forces. Based on expounding the connotation and characteristics of green data elements, the promoting effect of green data elements on the high-quality development of manufacturing enterprises was explored. Using empirical data from China's Shanghai and Shenzhen A-share listed manufacturing enterprises from 2015 to 2022, the results indicate that green data elements have a positive impact on the high-quality development of manufacturing enterprises, manifested in the dual improvement of economic and social benefits. Data foundation support and executives' green experience positively moderate the relationship between green data elements and the high-quality development of manufacturing enterprises. Suggestions for future avenues of inquiry are proposed, including investigations into the measurement of green data elements embedding, the intermediary mechanism of digital-green synergy, the heterogeneity effect from the perspective of production factor collaboration, and examinations of boundary conditions at both the macro-regional and micro-enterprise levels. The focus on green data elements has played a positive role in advancing the theoretical study and practical exploration of the scene-based application of data elements.