Full Research and Media List
Greenwash vs. Brownwash: Exaggeration and Undue Modesty in Corporate Sustainability Disclosure
To truly understand greenwashing, one must understand what motivates corporate disclosure decisions. This article:
(1) Describes and tests factors that motivate environmental, social, and governance (ESG) disclosure. Those factors include output growth, deregulation, profit, and external scrutiny.
(2) Identifies a new phenomenon, called brownwashing, whereby companies are deliberately modest in their ESG disclosure.
Tweetjacked: The Impact of Social Media on Corporate Greenwash
Social media is profoundly different than traditional media, and can be a powerful tool to fight greenwashing. In this article, we explore the role of social media in stopping greenwashing, including:
(1) How social media functions differently than traditional media in anti-greenwashing efforts.
(2) The ways social media pressure can influence corporate greenwashing decisions.
Strategic Environmental Disclosure: Evidence from the DOE's Voluntary Greenhouse Gas Registry
Environmental disclosures can be mandatory or voluntary. This article explores voluntary disclosures, particularly in the context of greenhouse gas emissions disclosure to the US government. You’ll discover:
(1) What motivates firms to report voluntarily and how reporting impacts those firms.
(2) How companies engage in selective disclosure, which allows them to increase emissions but report reductions.
(3) That non-participants actually reduce their emissions more than participants.
Greenwash: Corporate Environmental Disclosure Under Threat of Audit
Auditing is a tool used to bring accountability to corporate reporting. In this research, we explore how auditing affects greenwashing. You’ll learn:
(1) Why activist auditing reduces greenwashing, but also reduces overall environmental disclosure.
(2) How environmental management systems discourage unsustainable companies from attempting to greenwash.