Greenwashing or Game Changer of Corporatesustainability: Impact on Environment, Society, and Governance (ESG)

Abstract

The argument raised in green washing research that the voluntary CESR (Corporate Environmental Social Responsibility) approach stimulates the spread of greenwashing is our keyfinding leading to ourtheory contribution. The voluntary idea of CESR remains popular in CESR literature and searches to be an unclear field which allows for misleading 'green' communication. As public awareness about green washing has increased over the last two decades, likewise has academic research, and there is now a significant amount of researchaddressing greenwashing issues. In this paper, we analyse and evaluate green washing research to provide a review of trends and progress in the field and an overview of the empirical andtheoretical findings reported in previous studies. As a result, we argue that greenwashing couldbe better prevented through a combination of voluntary and mandatory approaches. The freshapproach should encourage innovative and compelling corporate CESR activities while definingthe boundaries and regulations for their achievements and communication, as companies may break legislation by over stretching CESR reports. They are vulner able to the phenomena recognised in the literature as "green washing" because of their stake holders' perceptions. Consequently, this paper aims to exam in ethephenomena of green washing and trace its development in the current body of research.