In the context of the government’s initiative on “dual carbon” targets, state-owned enterprises (SOEs) face the challenge of reconciling the tension between environmental, social, and economic responsibilities in their pursuit of low-carbon value creation. Drawing on the resource orchestration theory, this paper employs a longitudinal single-case study of Shanghai Metro to examine the dynamic process and underlying mechanism of low-carbon value creation in SOEs. We propose that: (1) The dynamic evolution of low-carbon value creation in SOEs—encompassing the stages of emergence, growth, and expansion—is characterized by incremental value demands, iterative resource orchestration, and progressive value achievement. Driven by heterogeneous demands (e.g., governmental mandates, societal expectations, and organizational benefits), SOEs systematically orchestrate low-carbon resource portfolios through policy-internalized low-carbon resource structuring, demonstration-driven low-carbon resource bundling, and value co-creation-oriented low-carbon resource leveraging. These actions are transformed into low-carbon governance adaptation, low-carbon technological breakthroughs, and low-carbon business expansion, thereby achieving alignment of social, environmental, and economic value. (2) This dynamic evolution is synergistically propelled by mission-driven governance of low-carbon resource orchestration, feedback loops between value actions and value carriers, and the leveraging and feedback effects of value carriers. This paper sheds light on the dynamic evolution process and mechanism of low-carbon value creation in SOEs, offering a systematic processual framework of low-carbon value creation. Moreover, it deepens insights into how resource orchestration can facilitate value creation, and also offers theoretical guidance for SOEs to navigate mission dilemmas and advance sustainable low-carbon development.