No full-text available
To read the full-text of this research,
you can request a copy directly from the authors.
The new greenwash? Potential marketing problems with carbon offsets
... While environmental compensation efforts are highlighted in these claims, neither information about their real environmental benefit nor about the environmental harm that is initially caused by flying is given (e.g. Polonsky et al., 2010). This could give consumers the misleading impression that airlines are sustainable and "change is happening, when in reality, it is not" because, with every flight, airlines still contribute Greenhouse Gas emissions to the atmosphere (BEUC, 2023;Harding-Rolls, 2022). ...
... While airlines might genuinely make an effort to become more sustainable, they often advertise their services by using misleading environmental compensation claims promoting environmental measures to neutralize the environmental harm done by flying (e.g. Olk, 2021;Polonsky et al., 2010). Typically, compensation claims solely focus on the pro-environmental aspects of flying by stressing airlines' engagement in environmental compensation measures. ...
... In other words, when greenwashing is detected in an airline ad, the evaluation of the single airline and general attitudes toward flying, and, thus, the whole airline sector may be influenced negatively (e.g. Polonsky et al., 2010). In a broader context, misleading green advertising attempts of particular brands may undermine not only consumers' trust and confidence in a specific brand but also all environmental endeavors in this particular sector (e.g. ...
... The term greenwashing is used to refer to companies that are misleading their consumers about the goods and services they offer (Lyon & Maxwell, 2011). Greenwashing is a concern because fooling customers about a corporation's sustainability impact reduces customers' capacity to believe the messaging of manufacturers producing "green claims," potentially harming the green sector overall (Polonsky, Grau, & Garma, 2010). One of the most common indicators of sustainable buying habits, according to (Gleim & Lawson, 2014), is the customer's comprehension of the consequences of their actions. ...
... Green marketing's purpose is to highlight the relevance of pollution prevention from the perspective of the consumer (Moravcikova, Krizanova, Kliestikova, & Rypakova, 2017). According to Polonsky et al. (2010), the purpose of green marketing is to enhance the ecological systems even while improving customer services connected and standard of living. This is to help customers comprehend the issues around goods use as well as acknowledge that by changing their consumption behavior, they may reduce emissions. ...
... As a result, going green undermines public faith in green products and may harm the green industry overall (Hamann & Kapelus, 2004). As a consequence, some claim that greenwashing could kill the green business by increasing customer distrust of sustainable goods (Polonsky et al., 2010). ...
... Moreover, information about what the carbon compensation measures cover is often omitted. As a consequence, it is difficult for consumers to make a responsible consumption decision (e.g., Polonsky, Grau, and Garma 2010). ...
... They solely focus on the ecological benefits of flying and thus, may distract consumers from the negative environmental consequences. Therefore, they can be categorized as omission claims and thus, as potentially greenwashing (Majoras 2008;Polonsky, Grau, and Garma 2010). ...
... Here, 'a uniform, accepted standard' could help advertisers to avoid greenwashing as well as consumers to get more clarity about the environmental benefit achieved through the compensation measure. Additionally, information about the scope of the compensation, the timing of the compensation, and the quality of the compensation should be mandatory to provide when environmental compensation is offered (Polonsky, Grau, and Garma 2010). Finally, tools that help consumers to detect misleading advertising claims should be implemented. ...
Drawing on information process theories, this study investigated whether consumers have the ability to perceive greenwashing in vague and false greenwashing claims, as well as in abstract and concrete compensation greenwashing claims. Moreover, we examined the moderating role of topical environmental knowledge. We also looked at the effects of perceived greenwashing on brand evaluation and flight shame. Findings of an experimental study with a quota-based sample (N = 658) indicate that only concrete compensation claims do not significantly enhance greenwashing perceptions. However, when consumers have a high topical environmental knowledge, they are able to discover greenwashing in concrete compensation claims as well. Once greenwashing perceptions are triggered, they harm brand evaluations and foster flight shame. Implications for research on greenwashing and conclusions for practitioners are discussed.
... Esta práctica, como se describe por Tateishi (2017), implica la difusión selectiva de información para generar una percepción engañosa sobre la sostenibilidad de una organización, servicio o producto. Como consecuencia, el greenwashing puede generar una ganancia a corto plazo para las empresas engañosas, pero, a largo plazo, todo el mercado verde experimenta una caída, perjudicando a las compañías realmente verdes (Polonsky et al., 2010). ...
... Adicionalmente, las prácticas de greenwashing han desencadenado una pérdida de confianza significativa entre las partes interesadas al cuestionar la autenticidad de los atributos de los servicios verdes. Además, el valor y el riesgo percibidos son elementos mediatizadores clave (Diaz-Soloaga, 2021;Li y Sun, 2022;Malik et al., 2022;Polonsky et al., 2010). La familiaridad con la marca emerge como un componente esencial en esta dinámica, resaltando la necesidad de abordar el greenwashing y reforzar la autenticidad de las iniciativas ecológicas para preservar la confianza de las partes interesadas y resguardar la reputación de la marca verde (Guo et al., 2014). ...
Objetivo:identificar los elementos o factores que influyen en la relación entre el greenwashingy el green brand equity.Diseño/metodología: para llevar a cabo este estudio se optó por una metodología de tipo exploratorio con un enfoque cualitativo, destacando la búsqueda conceptual que delineó a los autores clave y los factores asociados a través del análisis documental. Resultados: la indagación reveló que los factores vinculados en esta relación incluyen el green trust, green brand image, brand credibility, green satisfaction, green brand association, green concern, green confusion, green brand attitude, word of mouth, brand avoidance, green perceived risk, green brand perceived value, green loyaltyy green brand legitimacy, los cuales son estudiados en la literatura y, dependiendo el contexto, tienen diferentes roles en esta relación. Conclusiones: se concluye que esta relación constituye un área de investigación subexplorada; sin embargo, se presenta como una oportunidad para profundizar en la comprensión de los efectos generados por el greenwashingen diversas marcas a través de los factores mencionados anteriormente.
... It allows them to appear eco-friendly without making significant sustaina changes, potentially saving costs and complying with the standardized criteria "green" practices in the industry. Prior studies indicated that customer perceptions greenwashing continually caused them to have a negative attitude towards a compan eco-friendly efforts, leading them to mistrust green products [2,7,8,10,61]. This is co sistent with the results of our study, which showed that customers' perceptions of gree washing negatively influence their trust in green hotel services and products. ...
... It allows them to appear eco-friendly without making significant sustainable changes, potentially saving costs and complying with the standardized criteria for "green" practices in the industry. Prior studies indicated that customer perceptions of greenwashing continually caused them to have a negative attitude towards a company's eco-friendly efforts, leading them to mistrust green products [2,7,8,10,61]. This is consistent with the results of our study, which showed that customers' perceptions of greenwashing negatively influence their trust in green hotel services and products. ...
Greenwashing has become a pervasive phenomenon in the tourism and hospitality sector, posing significant challenges and potential reputational damage to green hotels. Despite its prevalence, research on mitigating greenwashing’s influence on guest trust and behavior remains limited. This study addresses this gap by investigating the moderating roles of green authenticity (GA) and green transparency (GTR) in the relationship between greenwashing and guest green trust (GT), ultimately influencing patronage intentions (PI) towards green hotels. Employing a quantitative approach, the study utilized a questionnaire survey administered to 309 participants, capturing their experiences with green hotels. Subsequent structural equation modeling (SEM) analysis in Smart PLS 4 confirmed several key findings. Firstly, hotel greenwashing negatively impacted green trust and subsequent patronage intentions, encompassing both intentions to stay (IS) at green hotels and willingness to pay a premium (WPP) for green hotels. Secondly, the study established green trust as a significant mediator in the greenwashing–patronage relationship. Most importantly, the analysis revealed the crucial moderating roles of both green authenticity and green transparency. Increased perceptions of GA and GTR significantly attenuated the negative influence of greenwashing on green trust and, consequently, strengthened the positive relationship between GT and PI. These findings suggest that fostering genuine environmentally friendly practices and ensuring clear communication of sustainability efforts can effectively counteract the detrimental effects of greenwashing on green-hotel patronage. The study’s implications extend to practical considerations for green-hotel managers, offering insights into preventive measures to diminish the adverse effects of greenwashing, thereby contributing to the long-term sustainability of their operations.
... The specificities of offsetting communication, in general, and VCO programs specifically, present significant opportunities for greenwashing (Becken and Mackey, 2017;Gössling et al., 2007;Guix et al., 2022;Polonsky et al., 2010). ...
This study evaluates the authenticity, verifiability, and alignment of Voluntary Carbon Offset (VCO) claims made by eighteen European airlines, aligning them with proposed EU regulations specifically targeting greenwashing practices. Our analysis focuses on four key components within VCO programs: measurement, integrity, significance, and alignment. Our findings reveal that European airlines are engaging in greenwashing practices in their VCO programs. The most compelling evidence lies in the insignificance and misalignment of these programs, indicating they are implemented without substantial impact on the airlines' mitigation efforts and are not integrated into their strategies. It is essential to clarify that this research does not delve into the intent behind greenwashing practices but rather aims to shed light on the potential for consumer misperception resulting from such practices. Despite some important limitations, the Greenwashing Directive represents a significant step towards enhancing transparency within the environmental sector, aligning closely with established academic frameworks.
... According to (Peattie et al., 2009), customers' perceptions of greenwashing can harm a company' s reputation when it communicates about its environmental initiatives. Therefore, by making individuals wary of green products, greenwashing has the potential to demolish the market (Polonsky et al., 2010). ...
... S4: offsets SBTi takes the position that while efforts to protect and restore natural carbon sinks are necessary to achieve global mitigation, these cannot substitute for immediate decarbonization efforts. This is especially the case in a market where there is widespread uncertainty about the environmental integrity of offsets and buyers lack sufficient information to discern low-quality from high-quality offset projects (Polonsky et al., 2010). As such, SBTi does not allow for offsetting to substitute for emissions reductions, despite encouraging contributions to nature conservation on top of pre-existing decarbonization progress (SBTia, 2021). ...
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to evaluate the extent to which a sample of US-based higher education institution’s (HEI’s) climate targets and associated climate action planning efforts align with the definitions of and practices associated with science-based targets (SBTs) that are typically used to organize corporate climate efforts. This analysis will be used to explore similarities and tease out differences between how US-based HEIs and corporations approach sustainable target setting and organize sustainable action.
Design/methodology/approach
The degree of intersection between a sample of HEI climate action plans from Ivy Plus (Ivy+) schools and the current SBT initiative (SBTi) general corporate protocol was assessed by using an objective-oriented evaluative approach.
Findings
While there were some areas of overlap between HEI’s climate action planning and SBTi’s general corporate protocol – for instance, the setting of both short- and long-term targets and large-scale investments in renewable energy – significant areas of difference in sampled HEIs included scant quantitative Scope 3 targets, the use offsets to meet short-term targets and a low absolute annual reduction of Scope 1 and 2 emissions.
Originality/value
This paper unites diverse areas of literature on SBTs, corporate sustainability target setting and sustainability in higher education. It provides an overview of the potential benefits and disadvantages of HEIs adopting SBTs and provides recommendations for the development of sector-specific SBTi guidelines.
... The specificities of offsetting communication, in general, and VCO programs specifically, present significant opportunities for greenwashing (Becken and Mackey, 2017;Gössling et al., 2007;Guix et al., 2022;Polonsky et al., 2010). ...
A comprehensive literature review on voluntary carbon offsetting (VCO) programs in aviation highlights a predominant focus on offsetters' sociodemographic traits, behavioral triggers, and propensity to pay for offsets, inadvertently overshadowing the critical exploration of policy efficacy. Despite enriching our understanding of air passenger behavior, these studies afford limited insights into the role of VCO programs in enhancing aviation sustainability. The potential of VCO programs to significantly curtail aviation emissions becomes questionable, as increased participation could paradoxically raise offset costs, necessitating public policy intervention. Compounding the challenge is the low level of awareness about VCO programs and the aviation industry's misleading claims, suggesting a propensity toward greenwashing. While air passenger preference leans toward pro-environmental aviation policies and mandatory offsetting, several countries resort to non-earmarked, distance-based air passenger taxes, ostensibly to encourage sustainable travel. This review underscores the urgency for a balanced approach, marrying individual initiatives and structural reforms to effectively manage VCO programs in aviation and yield significant emission reductions. The role of public policy in ensuring transparency in VCO communications is also strongly emphasized.
... However, the effectiveness of voluntary programmes has been questioned because of their low credibility and direct impact on reducing emissions [33,34]. Therefore, carbon taxes are considered more effective through levying it on aviation fuel or including it in ticket prices [35]. ...
This study aims to investigate air travellers’ Willingness to Pay (WTP) for green premiums, specifically focusing on their contribution to reducing carbon emissions generated by air travel. The research integrates the Theory of Planned Behaviour (TPB) and the Contingent Valuation Method (CVM) to estimate the monetary value that air passengers would be willing to pay for environmental initiatives. The TPB provides a theoretical framework to understand the psychological factors influencing individuals’ intentions and behaviours, while the CVM allows for the estimation of the economic value of environmental goods. Drawing on the TPB, this study examines the influence of attitudes, subjective norms, and perceived behavioural control on air travellers’ WTP for green premiums, while considering the determinants and barriers related to ecological goods, and sustainable consumption. The study investigates the potential economic implications of air travellers’ willingness to pay for green premiums, particularly in the context of sustainable aviation fuel options and carbon-related fees. The findings of the survey of a sample of 248 respondents suggest a general willingness among passengers to pay for environmental premiums, notably carbon taxes, with variations in WTP influenced by demographics, travel preferences, environmental values, and awareness. Notably, younger travellers exhibit the highest WTP which is negatively related to the air ticket price. Higher environmental consciousness correlates with greater WTP. The impact of price perception and perceived efficacy of environmental initiatives were also found significant. Financial constraints and scepticism about the credibility of such premiums, however, limit some passengers’ willingness to contribute.
... This method is referred regarded as "greenwashing" in the industry. According to research, greenwashing is not sustainable in the long run, despite the fact that businesses may benefit from it in the short term (Polonsky et al., 2010). Moreover, research has shown that greenwashing improves green skepticism and decreases green purchase intention (Leonidou & Skarmeas, 2017). ...
Organizations want to enhance sales via improved purchases. Therefore, they want higher purchase intentions. With the current green marketing wave, stakeholders need green facilitations from the organizations. In the current era of heightened awareness towards environmental issues, stakeholders are demanding green initiatives from organizations. Consequently, organizations are striving to earn the trust of environmentally conscious consumers. However, certain entities engage in the deceptive practice of greenwashing, attempting to falsely present themselves as environmentally friendly. This research seeks to inspect the influence of the greenwashing on customer purchase intentions. Additionally, it explores mediation role of the green brand trust and the regulating influence of customers' environmental knowledge in this relationship. Data for the study was collected across all four provinces of Pakistan, employing standardized scales for measurement. The results indicate that greenwashing has an adverse effect on purchase intentions. Furthermore, the deceptive practice of greenwashing diminishes green brand trust, leading to a decline in customers' purchase intentions. The research also emphasizes that the association between greenwashing and purchase intentions is intensified by higher levels of environmental knowledge among consumers. This study contributes a distinctive perspective to existing literature, offering insights into ways organizations can enhance customers' purchase intentions and consequently drive higher sales.
... Hypothesis 2 (H2): The relationship between greenwash and sustainable behaviour is mediated by green perceived risk. Polonsky et al. (2010) concluded that in today's scenario, with the help of greenwash advertising, several companies deceive customers by claiming that their goods are "greener". Parguel et al. (2011) demonstrated that perceptions of greenwashing would damage consumer attitude towards a company and its environmental performance. ...
... Hypothesis 2 (H2): The relationship between greenwash and sustainable behaviour is mediated by green perceived risk. Polonsky et al. (2010) concluded that in today's scenario, with the help of greenwash advertising, several companies deceive customers by claiming that their goods are "greener". Parguel et al. (2011) demonstrated that perceptions of greenwashing would damage consumer attitude towards a company and its environmental performance. ...
Aim: To evaluate how greenwashing can affect sustainable behaviour. This study also explores the role of green perceived risk and green scepticism as mediators and how these mediators affect each other sequentially in the relationship between greenwashing and sustainable behaviour. Methodology: As people are now completely dependent on gadgets in their daily lives, therefore, the researcher solicited consumers who had purchased eco-friendly gadgets from shopping malls and other electronic stores 450 subjects were selected using "purposive sampling". Indian consumers in Chennai, Hyderabad, Bengaluru, and Pondicherry are the subjects of the study. Responses were obtained through the use of a questionnaire. To test the research hypotheses, the study used SPSS 25 and AMOS 21. Results: The results indicate that the negative correlation between green washing and sustainable behaviour was mediated by green perceived risk and green scepticism, and these mediators serially affected green washing and sustainable behaviour. Interpretation: This study suggests that firms should integrate transparency into green products without employing greenwash, which would increase consumer trust in green products and reduce green perceived risk and green scepticism among them. Consumers today are aware of greenwashing and have started to investigate it. This research is crucial to protect both the environment and mankind. Key words: Green perceived risk, Green scepticism, Greenwash, Sustainable buying behaviour, Transparency
... P<.05). Literature also provides support for this finding (Kinnunen, 2020;Polonsky et al., 2010). This suggests that if a firm greenwashes about any green attribute, it creates confusion in consumers' minds about all the green claims of the firm. ...
Brand love is the ultimate commitment level of customers for a brand. The love for a
brand developed through concerted efforts by the marketers. Attaining customer brand love
increases market share and ensures business sustainability. This study assesses the antecedents and consequences of brand love in developing markets. Neo-luxury brands are highly
purchased brands in Pakistan. Therefore, the study evaluated customers’behavioral loyalties
toward Neo-luxury brands. A total of 315 valid questionnaires on neo-luxury brands were
collected from a representative sample of Millennials. . The data were analyzed through
structural equation modeling (SEM) using SmartPLS software. The study results revealed
that brand love could regulate the relationship of neo-luxury brands between the dimensions
of brand image, purchase intention, word-of-mouth, brand loyalty, and brand commitment.
The study also found that Mystery, Sensuality, and Intimacy impact brand love. The study
contributes to neo luxury brands in relationship with brand love. This research results give
valuable information for brand managers to consider when building brand love strategies
and applying them in marketing activities. It provides marketers insights into building brand
love and increasing market share.
... Many organizations currently use greenwash advertising to mislead consumers with environmental claims, presenting their products as "green" and "eco-friendly." They should also avoid making false promises to customers, as this will damage consumer loyalty to green products and make green marketing less effective (Polonsky et al. 2010). One of the previous studies also investigated that ethical judgment is the main reason behind the general moral evaluation of corporate misconduct (Andersch et al. 2019). ...
Today, people are becoming more aware of healthy living, particularly immunity, and demanding green products. They are also getting more concerned with environmental sustainability. Therefore, the industry should use the emerging concept of sustainability to take advantage of new opportunities. A significant challenge for marketers lies in creative thinking and response to consumer needs by tailoring sustainability practices and providing green products for a better standard of living. However, greenwashing is used to promote products as environmentally friendly when they are not. This greenwashing behaviour gives rise to negative environmental consequences. Hence, this study employs the Attitude-Behaviour-Context (A-B-C) theory, with 440 participants, constructs a research model using structural equation modeling to assess how greenwash could influence sustainable purchase intention of green gadgets using green altruism and green brand evangelism as parallel mediators that are serially antecedent to a third mediator, green scepticism. The results reveal that green altruism, green brand evangelism, and green scepticism partially mediate the proposed associations. Thus, green attributes that are transparent without being greenwashed do not induce green scepticism but rather enhance green altruism and green brand evangelism and promote sustainable purchasing. This study fills a research gap in the context of greenwashing through multiple mediators, with economic implications for manufacturers, marketers, and policymakers.
... P<.05). Literature also provides support for this finding (Kinnunen, 2020;Polonsky et al., 2010). This suggests that if a firm greenwashes about any green attribute, it creates confusion in consumers' minds about all the green claims of the firm. ...
The usage of green products has increased dramatically in the recent decade. The compelling reason behind this behavioral change is the consumer understanding of climate change and its negative impact on the planet. However, firms’ engagement in greenwashing is causing a detrimental impact on this green cause, and it is leading customers to disbelieve the environmental claims of the firms. This study investigates the impact of firms’ greenwashing practices on consumer green trust and green brand attachment. Moreover, it examines the intermediation factors of green perceived risk, green perceived value, green confusion, and green brand image. This study follows a quantitative research design and deductive approach. Data was collected from the home appliances consumers through an online and in-person survey questionnaire. Respondents were contacted by using the non-probability sampling technique and a sample of 330 valid responses was used to analyze the data. Confirmatory Factor Analysis was used to test the reliability of the variables and Structural Equation Modeling to test the nine hypotheses that were proposed in this study. The findings suggest that Greenwashing negatively affects Green Perceived Value (GPV) and GPV positively affects Green Trust (GT). GT showed a positive impact on Green Brand Attachment (GBA). Hence, it is proved that greenwashing may reduce the trust and Brand Attachment of the consumers with the green product. Greenwashing has a positive impact on Green Confusion and a negative impact on Green Brand Image. These findings augment the existing knowledge on the relationship between greenwashing and green brand attachment. It is suggested that if organizations want to increase consumers` green trust and green brand attachment, they must refrain from greenwashing. Green brand trust is a significant driver of the relationship-building process and organizations should strive to build it by furnishing real green values to the consumers, thus it will result in increasing the market share of the companies.
... When consumers feel cheated by the greenwashing exercised by a company, they may doubt their initiatives for sustainable development and may not want to maintain long-term relations with them. Therefore, when companies communicate untrue information about their engagement in environmental protection and about their green actions, consumers may feel disoriented (Hamann, Kapelus, 2004;Parguel et al., 2011;Dahl, 2018), and in consequence such organizations may lose prestige and consumers' trust (Polonsky et al., 2010;Hsu, 2011). ...
... Unsurprisingly, newer terms such as greenwashing, which means to "highlight one or two or more virtuous attributes of a product meant to impart goodness to the whole thing" [10] are now occupying mainstream discourses. These terms provoke serious issues that lead to mistrust and skepticism about the authenticity of specific claims, which impact the faith of consumers or audiences towards those real concerns and discourses [29]. As Meister [26] stated, "the involvement of celebrities in environmental causes also engages the commodity-driven function of capitalism, which often invites public criticisms about engaging the system against which many environmentalists rail". ...
Screen culture and conglomerates are starting to echo the green shooting phenomena; roles such as sustainability director, eco-manager, eco-consultant, and eco-assistant are taking a more prominent space in the entertainment and cultural industry to achieve the goal of creating sustainable productions. In this current context, there seems to be a need for an agent to catch the attention of the audience to make a claim about green policies and contribute to a green literacy fabric. This opinion article recognizes that there are two types of voices, internal (scholars and practitioners) and external (celebrities and audiences), that have arisen in the audiovisual industry from different perspectives. Hence, through a theoretical approach, it tackles the particularities, typologies, and the role celebrities play as hot spots to push both viewers and creators into better decision-making models. The results show two main typologies: celebrification, in which a person becomes famous due to their sustainable actions, provoking a metonymic effect, and recelebrification, when famous people or well-known figures redefine their status by acting sustainable, producing a synecdoche effect. In conclusion, it is difficult to define what goes before and what goes after: whether it is the celebrity who passes the attributes onto production or whether it is the production that, by its characteristics, passes its attributes onto the celebrity.
... Moreover, in addition to representing a voluntary governance intervention, the <IR> framework does not require companies to account for all the capitals (International Integrated Reporting Council, 2013). Using the materiality concept, a company may, therefore, only report on those capitals that it wants to, increasing the risk of "greenwash", with companies selectively disclosing capitals with positive environmental and societal performance, whilst concealing adverse performance (Alves, 2009;Delmas and Burbano, 2011;Polonsky et al., 2010). Stakeholders, such as senior employees and trade unions, have raised concern about the exclusion of the IIRC's initial proposal requiring companies to disclose the reason(s) why any omitted capital(s) were not considered material, as advocated by the "apply or explain" approach (Huggins and Simnett, 2015). ...
Purpose:
Despite initially being lauded as a revolutionary approach for companies to account to all stakeholders, the shareholder orientation of the international integrated reporting ( ) framework gave rise to questions about whether integrated reports would still sufficiently disclose pertinent corporate social responsibility (CSR) information. This paper aims to investigate the extent to which the framework has impacted the CSR disclosures contained in integrated reports of South African mining companies.
Design/methodology/approach:
The study deployed a mixed methods research approach, involving thematic content analysis of the CSR disclosures contained in the integrated reports of mining companies with primary listings on the Johannesburg Stock Exchange. The resultant qualitative data were subsequently analysed using a T-test of difference.
Findings:
The study observes that the release of the framework appears to have had a limited impact on the CSR disclosures in the integrated reports of most companies included in the study. However, where significant differences were identified, the CSR disclosures of some companies were positively impacted after the release of the framework, whilst others were negatively impacted.
Research limitations/implications:
As South Africa is acknowledged as a leader in the global movement, the paper’s observations have global relevance and suggest that the fundamental principles of should be reconsidered to improve the alignment with stakeholders’ information needs, as originally conceived.
Originality/value:
Despite the shareholder orientation of the framework, the global mining industry is acknowledged as being at the forefront of implementing CSR interventions to mitigate the adverse impacts of their operations on stakeholders, supporting a stakeholder orientation. As the adoption of continues to gain traction around the world, this paper’s contribution is that it represents one of the few papers to use the global reporting initiative G4 indicators to specifically examine the impact of framework on the CSR disclosures on the South African mining industry, where both and CSR reporting are quasi-mandatory disclosure requirements.
... Furthermore, it can lead to a loss of confidence among consumers, investors, and non-governmental organizations (Painter-Morland, 2006;Jahdi and Acikdilli, 2009;Lyon and Montgomery, 2015). Greenwashing may create a short-term gain for deceptive companies; however, in the long run, the entire green market will experience a fall (Polonsky et al., 2010). If the environmental, social, and governance information disclosed by enterprises is unreliable, the greenwashing behavior of enterprises may become an obstacle to incorporating environmental, social, and governance factors into investment decisions (Yu et al., 2020). ...
As global warming becomes increasingly prominent, countries worldwide advocate for a low-carbon economy to cope with the pressure to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. The Chinese government has proposed a “dual carbon” goal of peaking carbon emissions by 2030 and becoming carbon neutral by 2060. The disclosure of carbon information by Chinese enterprises has attracted widespread attention from society. This study selects the constituents of the Social Responsibility Index of China Shanghai Stock Exchange from 2016 to 2020 as samples to empirically analyze the relationship between the level of carbon information disclosure and corporate value, and the moderating effect of greenwashing behavior. Results indicated that the quality of carbon disclosure is positively correlated with the enterprise value. Greenwashing behavior promotes the positive impact of carbon disclosure quality on enterprise value in the short run, but this promoting effect fades in the long run. We further found that the carbon information disclosure of non-heavy-pollution enterprises has a more obvious positive impact on enterprise value than that of heavily polluting enterprises. Additionally, the positive impact of carbon information disclosure on enterprise value is more visible among enterprises in a good legal environment than those in a poor legal environment. This study enriches the relevant literature on carbon information disclosure and enterprise “greenwashing” behavior and has practical significance for promoting China’s low-carbon development in the context of ecological civilization and improving the enthusiasm for the quality of enterprise carbon information disclosure.
... Individuals that make these alternative payments ostensibly eliminate their influences on the environment. Despite the attractiveness of these strategies, analysts recognize several conditions that ultimately limit the efficacy of these efforts (Polonsky et al., 2010). Offset investors face substantial uncertainty establishing the costs of offsets as well as appropriate offsetting investments. ...
Voluntary offset investments provide the opportunity to compensate for the ecological consequences of consumption. Despite this opportunity, many entities do not purchase offset investments. We provide an overview of alternative carbon and biodiversity offset investments. We characterize the marketplace conditions, benefits, and constraints operating in the markets for voluntary carbon and biodiversity offset investments. We subsequently outline research implications inherent to these markets.
... When a brand claims to be environmentally responsible but does not engage in any specific activities to protect the environment, it is likely to be viewed as hypocritical because it does not act as it says [25]. It is also reasonable to doubt the authenticity of a brand when it is found to selectively disclose positive information without fully disclosing negative information [48]. Consumers are apt to believe that the brand will do anything to maximize its own benefit even if it damages consumers' benefits. ...
Greenwashing has become a widespread phenomenon and obstructs green products, but literature on how consumers react to misbehaving brands is still scarce. This study aims to investigate the effect of greenwashing on consumers’ brand avoidance, integrating the mediating effect of brand hypocrisy and the moderating effect of CSR–CA belief. Data were acquired from a questionnaire survey of 317 consumers. Hypotheses were tested in a first-stage moderated mediation model with a bootstrapping method using the PROCESS program in SPSS. The empirical results demonstrated that greenwashing has a positive effect on brand avoidance, which is partially mediated by brand hypocrisy. Meanwhile, the positive effects of greenwashing on brand hypocrisy and brand avoidance are both weaker at higher levels of CSR–CA belief. Furthermore, the mediating effect of brand hypocrisy is also weaker at higher levels of CSR–CA belief. Based on these findings, we recommend that brands fulfill their environmental claims and balance their quality control, manufacturing costs and environment protection. Moreover, the government and environmental protection organizations should educate the public that there is not necessarily a tradeoff between corporate social responsibility (CSR) and corporate capability (CA).
... In fact, the available literature shows that 80% of green customers would decline to buy from firms that disregard environmental regulations or those that rely on greenwash to present their non-green products as green (Laroche et al., 2001). Greenwash refers to advertising or marketing that cheats consumers about the environmental functionality of products (Polonsky et al., 2010). Consequently, firms are compelled to strategize ways of building green competitive advantage (GCA) to create a solid customer base. ...
Purpose
The available literature demonstrates that green human resource management (GHRM) practices enhance the firm's green performance. However, the studies fail to show how GHRM practices give rise to green culture and how such green culture influences the green competitiveness of a firm. Anchored on the Ability Motivation Opportunity (AMO) theory, this study investigates how firms can build green competitive advantage from GHRM. The study focuses on four enablers of green culture (EGC): leadership emphasis, message credibility, peer involvement and employee empowerment. The study tests the mediating role of each EGC in the relationship between GHRM and green competitive advantage (GCA). The study findings provide managers with a deeper understanding of how GHRM supports the development of the EGC and how they explain the firm's GCA.
Design/methodology/approach
Data was collected from a large-scale survey of Malaysia's manufacturing firm. We managed to collect 96 valid and useable questionnaires.
Findings
We find that GHRM practices give rise to EGC and the EGC mediate the relationship between GHRM and GCA.
Originality/value
The study presents the EGC in the green competitiveness context and goes further to test its mediating role in the GHRM–GCA relationship. We also develop a novel conceptual framework that manufacturing firms can deploy to attain green competitive advantage.
... These schemes aim at mitigating the impact of emissions by supporting the reduction in other sectors and by inciting airlines to reduce their emissions. However, this offsetting approach might not be effective to mitigate the impact of the emissions [20,21]; the air transport sector's share of emissions continues to proportionally increase with respect to other sectors, which can decarbonise easier. ...
Recently, there has been much interest in measuring the environmental impact of short-to-medium-haul flights. Emissions of CO2 are usually measured to consider the environmental footprint, and CO2 calculators are available using different types of approximations. We propose analytical models calculating gate-to-gate CO2 emissions and travel time based on the flight distance and on the number of available seats. The accuracy of the numerical results were in line with other CO2 calculators, and when applying an analytical fitting, the error of interpolation was low. The models presented the advantage with respect to other calculators of being sensitive to the number of available seats, a parameter generally not explicitly considered. Its applicability was shown in two practical examples where emissions and travel time per kilometre were calculated for several European routes in a simple and efficient manner. The model enabled the identification of routes where rail would be a viable alternative both from the emissions and total travel time perspectives.
... For example, Shabana and Ravlin (2016) report that public CSR disclosure is becoming an expectation for public corporations and an increasingly important driver of corporate reputation. However, studies on impression management (Mansurov, 2020;Wang, 2016), greenwashing (Polonsky et al., 2010) and CSR-washing (Pope and Waeraas, 2016) suggest that some corporations will intentionally use obfuscation to present the most favorable impression of the organization, its values and its actions. Corporations that embellish their commitment to environmental social and environmental investing (ESG) values create shareholder expectations of corporate behavior that may be very difficult to satisfy. ...
Purpose
This study aims to explore if corporations that publicly disclose more information about their managerial values are also more organizationally authentic in enacting these values.
Design/methodology/approach
A maturity model of managerial values is used that ordinally ranks a corporation’s level of managerial values enactment using corporate annual reports. The samples of corporations’ corporate reports are qualitatively content analyzed, and the outcomes are statistically tested.
Findings
The findings indicate that as an organization voluntarily discloses more information about its corporate values, it tends to be more likely to enact their espoused values, and their corporation’s level of organizational authenticity increases.
Originality/value
This study suggests an approach to benchmark a corporation’s level of organizational authenticity using public information, and by doing so, contributes to both policy and practice by offering a framework to compare organizational authenticity between public corporations by their sector, size or the age of the corporation.
Ecological sustainability has risen to the topmost of global political conversations in recent decades and is now identified as a crucial factor driving innovation. As a result, there is a rise in the number of companies working to develop green products, and more and more consumers are increasingly interested in these products (Dangelico and Vocalelli in Journal of Cleaner Production 165:1263–1279, 2017). Although the number of eco-sensitive consumers is increasing, the growth in green consumer numbers must be more substantial in the overall consumer segment. The primary reason could be the inability to differentiate between green and deceptive green marketing efforts. This chapter investigates the consumer acceptance and understanding of green marketing and the deceptive green marketing efforts of the organizations. Compared to the green attitude, the purchase rate of green products is comparatively lower (Dangelico and Vocalelli in Journal of Cleaner Production 165:1263–1279, 2017). A potential explanation for this scepticism amongst consumers to opt for green products may be their need for exposure to green marketing. This lack of understanding could also lead to consumers needing help to differentiate between green marketing and deceptive green marketing (i.e. greenwashing), resulting in a green attitude not being culminated in green purchase behaviour in the case of many consumers.
Further, literature has identified that, over time, consumers' understanding of greenwashing has increased. This understanding of the greenwashing practices of the brands among consumers could be a significant factor contributing to the lower rate of green product purchases (Jog and Singhal in Strategic Direction 35:4–7, 2019; Jog and Singhal in Greenwashing understanding among Indian consumers and its impact on their green consumption, 2020). Past empirical research in the area of green and deceptive green marketing has examined how consumer understanding impacts several antecedent and consequent variables (e.g., purchase of green or eco-friendly products, new green product development, and recycling programs). By analyzing the relevant literature surrounding consumer perspectives on green marketing and deceptive green marketing, this chapter will study the consumer understanding of green and deceptive green marketing. This is assessed by reviewing the existing literature based on the green marketing orientation theory proposed by Papadas et al. (2019). This theory attempts to classify firms' green marketing strategies at three levels—strategic, tactical, and internal. According to this theory, the green marketing efforts of organizations can be classified into three measured areas stated above. Further, drawing from the existing consumer-centric literature, this chapter attempts to understand how such efforts of organizations are perceived at a consumer level through the lens of green marketing theory. Managers, academics, and students can all benefit greatly from understanding the organization's orientations and tactics for overcoming obstacles.
Nowadays, due to the increasing green trends, numerous businesses in the automobile industry adopt greenwashing as a primary strategy to appear environmentally conscious, despite their production processes like manufacturing lithium-ion batteries, which are causing significant environmental pollution. By combining three theories as signaling, legitimacy, and psychological contract, the study focuses on solving the previous research gaps when examining the influence of greenwashing (GW), green brand image (GBI), green skepticism (GS), green confusion (GC), perceived betrayal (PB), eco-literacy (EL) on the purchase intention (PI) towards electric motorbikes among Vietnamese consumers. The study employed a convenient random sampling method with a sample size of 535 consumers in Vietnam. A quantitative research method and Structural Equation Modeling (SEM) approach were used to analyze the data using SmartPLS software. The findings reveal that GW significantly influences the PI, and GBI, GS, GC, and PB partial mediate the correlation. Additionally, the study discovered the significant moderating role of GW in the correlation between GW to PI, GW to GS, and GW to PB. Based on the findings, the managers can apply marketing strategies to encourage consumers’ purchase intention and avoid greenwashing activities. Then, the theoretical implications and directions for future research have been proposed.
The built environment is responsible for around 37% of energy consumption and over 34% of carbon emissions globally. Despite international commitments, progress in the sector remains slow, with only a 0.7% reduction in energy intensity and 7% reduction in emission intensity between 2015 and 2021. Commercial real estate faces increasing pressure to meet decarbonisation targets due to corporate sustainability targets, global compliance and reporting initiatives, as well as mounting public and investor interest and scrutiny. This report explores the key trends and challenges pertaining to ESG in the commercial real estate sector and provides insights into the following key themes: (1) Risk and Financial Performance, (2) Asset allocation strategies, (3) Governance and behaviours, (4) ESG rating systems, (5) Data and Transparency, (6) Building certification, (7) Climate Risk Mitigation and Adaptation, and (8) Materiality.
A novel methodology is developed to assess ESG performance in UK real estate, combining multi-level and multi-domain data for both listed real estate investment trusts (REITs) and non-listed funds. Asset-level property data is geotagged and mapped against a publicly available open energy performance certificate (EPC) database of 1.2m non-domestic properties to ascertain current environmental ratings associated with these property investment portfolios. Further layers of data relating to aggregate property portfolio performance, as well as financial data, and corporate ESG ratings are layered over the asset-level information to provide detailed insights into the relationship between asset-level performance and corporate ESG ratings.
The report analysis assesses four key areas – (1) Performance gap, (2) Stranded asset risk, (3) Financial Risk and performance, and (4) ESG Ratings. Firstly, the scale of the performance gap between rated efficiency and actual building performance is quantified, revealing a correlation coefficient of just 0.14 for all UK non-domestic properties. The level of ‘stranded asset’ risk is then determined for UK funds and REITs by analysing the percentage of portfolios failing to meet imminent minimum energy efficiency standard (MEES) regulations – at 6.9% this compares favourably to the UK national average of 10.14%. A difference-in-difference analysis is applied to compare the performance of REITs in response to two major macro-economic shocks, revealing that REITs with higher ESG ratings significantly underperformed their peers in the period preceding both shocks but were much quicker to recover after severe crises. Finally, an analysis of ESG ratings from S&P, Refinitiv, Sustainalytics and other major ESG vendors revealed exceptionally low correlations, as well as a zero or negative correlation EPC asset-ratings, supporting the findings of other recent studies.
The report concludes with a summarised set of findings and resultant recommendations for policymakers, investors, and asset owners. Key policy recommendations include (1) adopting asset ratings which reflect actual energy and emissions performance; (2) Standards and taxonomies for more consistent data gathering and reporting; (3) Development of impact focused ESG rating systems; (4) Improved safeguarding of investors from mis-selling of ESG funds, as well as clear communication of ESG risk exposure. From an impact investor perspective, the primary recommendation relates to increased need for due diligence when using current rating systems as a proxy for environmental sustainability, and recommendation to compliment any investment analysis with increased scrutiny of more granular portfolio and asset-level data, where available. Finally, from an asset-owner perspective, there is an opportunity for real estate owners and operators to differentiate themselves through increased focus on operational performance and emissions over green rating systems, as well as demonstrating leadership through increased transparency regarding asset performance to help facilitate the industry transition to net zero carbon.
This study examines how greenwashing effects customers’ intention to make environmentally friendly purchases, known as green purchase intention, and how green skepticism, green brand love, and green brand loyalty mediate this relationship. Using the Attitude-Behavior-Context theory as a framework, ten hypotheses were developed and tested with a sample of 348 Palestinian consumers who had purchased organic or green foods in the West Bank. The findings indicate that greenwashing has a negative impact on green purchase intention, and this relationship is mediated by green brand loyalty and love, but not by green skepticism. Green brand love and loyalty also significantly influence green purchase intention, while green skepticism does not. The study highlights the importance of reducing greenwashing to increase green purchase intention, brand love, and loyalty, and offers practical evidence to help practitioners address this issue. The results have implications for firms seeking to reduce skepticism and increase organic food purchases, with recommendations for future research in developing countries.
Forestry offsets, recognized for their diverse environmental and social co-benefits, are gaining a growing interest as nature-based solutions to combat climate change. Despite Canada’s extensive forest resources, its potential for carbon credit remains largely untapped. This study aims to unveil the prevailing challenges in developing forestry offsets in Canada and propose potential solutions, drawing on insights from in-depth semi-structured interviews (SSIs) with 23 experts in the field. A qualitative thematic analysis highlighted 14 challenges under four major frequently discussed themes: methodological (37%), social (29%), economic (22%), and implementation challenges (12%). Our findings highlighted the urgency of addressing key obstacles, including the impermanent nature of forestry carbon offsets, substantial public knowledge gaps, uncertainties in the cost-effectiveness impacting financial viability, and the need for enhanced capacity for project implementation. Building on the discussions on the identified challenges, this study further presented a comprehensive analysis of the future directions for Canada, emphasizing the importance of addressing key methodological issues, enhancing public and Indigenous education and engagement, and leveraging advanced technologies and innovative approaches like ton-year accounting for economic viability. This paper delivers pivotal insights that have the potential to shape the direction and integrity of the forestry offset markets in both Canada and globally.
yeşil iddialar ile tüketicinin yanıltılması ve/veya aldatılmasına ilişkin kurgulanmış reklam örneklerine yer verilen kitap özetle çevreci iddiaların satış arttırıcı bir enstrüman olarak nasıl kullanıldığı ifade edilmeye çalışılmaktadır
This study proposes an innovative approach to rebuilding consumer trust following the negative impact of greenwashing, which often leads to a conflicted relationship between corporations and consumers. Through a novel integration of previously unconnected concepts, such as trustworthiness dimensions (Integrity, benevolence, and competence), credibility, empathy, forgiveness, consumer trust repair, revived brand equity, and repurchase intention, this study offers a nuanced and enhanced understanding of the consumer trust repair process. The current research seeks to integrate disparate concepts and theories into a cohesive whole, resulting in a modified version of the consumer trust repair process. Prior studies have examined the phenomenon of consumer trust repair in a relatively narrow and parochial manner and have failed to provide a holistic process-based model. This study, however, attempts to provide a comprehensive, process-based model of consumer trust repair. Through this holistic approach, this research makes a valuable and meaningful contribution to the field of consumer trust repair, providing brand managers with a deeper understanding of the consumer trust recovery process, which has been largely ignored in previous studies. This unique and comprehensive approach will surely capture readers' attention, as it offers a fresh perspective on a crucial issue facing the business world today.
Aşırı üretim ve tüketim doğal kaynakların azalmasına ve ekolojinin bozulmasına neden olmaktadır. Bu tahribatın ortadan kaldırılmasına yönelik uygulamalar, ürünün tüm kullanım süresi boyunca çevresel etkisi en aza indirilen “yeşil ürün” kavramını ortaya çıkarmaktadır. Pek çok marka/ürün, kendilerinin “yeşil” olduğunu iddia eden iletişim mesajlarını kullanmaktadır. Bu durum, işletmelerin çevresel uygulamaları ya da ürünün çevresel faydaları konusunda tüketicileri yanıltması olarak ifade edilen “yeşil yıkama” kavramının ortaya çıkmasına neden olmuştur. Bu gelişmeler, tüketicilerin “gerçek yeşil ürünler” ile “yeşil görünen ürünler” arasında kafa karışıklığı yaşamasına sebebiyet vermektedir. Bu kapsamda araştırmada, tüketicilerin yeşil yıkama algısının yeşil marka değeri üzerindeki etkisinin incelenmesi, ayrıca bu etkide yeşil algılanan risk ve yeşil kafa karışıklığının aracılık rolünün belirlenmesi amaçlanmaktadır. Bu amaç doğrultusunda yeşil ürün satın almış olan tüketicilerden oluşan örneklem grubundan kolayda örnekleme yöntemi kullanılarak çevrimiçi anket yöntemiyle 547 veri elde edilmiştir. Ankette tüketicilere ait demografik sorular ve yeşil ürün tercihleriyle ilgili sorular bulunmaktadır. Bunun yanında, tüketici yeşil yıkama algısını (YYA), yeşil algılanan riski (YAR), yeşil kafa karışıklığını (YKK) ve yeşil marka değerini (YMD) değerlendirebilecek ölçeklerden yararlanılmıştır. Veriler SPSS 24 ve MPLUS8 programları ile analiz edilmiştir. Araştırma sonucunda YYA’nın YAR, YKK ve YMD üzerinde anlamlı etkisi olduğu, YYA’nın YMD üzerindeki etkisinde YKK’nın aracılık rolünün olduğu görülmektedir.
More cities have started trajectories to become climate neutral, especially for their territorial emissions. However, while cities are also targeting consumption-based emissions, whether their plans are sufficient to become climate neutral from both a territorial and a consumption-based perspective remains unclear.
We designed a conceptual framework based on a literature review of urban climate mitigation and reviewed mitigation–related documents from nine Swedish cities. We found a strong political will and solid targets but gaps in the plans and actions mostly related to transport, construction and food. Municipal governments use “soft” policy instruments to meet climate targets; at times, economic instruments contradict the vision. Our evaluation indicates a disconnect between intent and outcomes.
More regulatory instruments must be deployed to become climate-neutral, and economic incentives must be aligned with the vision. Understanding how climate mitigation strategies affect resources within the city will be necessary to ensure the acceptance and uptake of climate action plans. Collaboration with superordinate governments, within and outside national borders, will be essential to align on policy and policy instruments.
There is a growing global trend of environmental, social and governance (ESG) reporting to promote business transparency. In Southeast Asia, the Global Reporting Initiative (GRI) Standards 305 is popularly adopted by public-listed companies for greenhouse gas (GHG) emission reporting. However, mitigation actions that link corporate GHG emission to Natural Climate Solution (NCS) through tropical forest conservation are relatively absent in the region. This discussion paper explores how the gap can be reconciled. We use the “what if” predictive argument to discuss NCS potential worth USD1,529.8 billion in Southeast Asia. The key strength of the company-led NCS (CNCS) approach is flexibility that considers niche tropical ecosystems, ecological co-benefits and business operation variability. The "bottom-up" option is likely better received as stakeholders will have better control of the finances, scale, pace, governance and transparency. Though this discussion paper deals mainly with Southeast Asia, the principles are universal and provides insights for furthering conversation around decarbonizing the global economy.
This study investigated the relationship among green enjoyment, green brand love, green intrinsic motivation, and green purchase intention. Data were collected from 26 August to 16 September 2022, through a questionnaire survey distributed online, and quantitative instruments were applied to analyze the data. A total of 302 randomly selected samples from consumers with experience of green consumption were analyzed. The data were analyzed using descriptive statistics and confirmatory factor analysis. The results revealed that the content, discriminant, and convergent validity and reliability of the model were satisfactory. Global model analysis of green intrinsic motivation revealed acceptable results. Moreover, structural equation modeling indicated a satisfactory model fit to the standard sample data. Finally, the study revealed that green intrinsic motivation positively influences green enjoyment, green brand love, and green purchase intention. Green enjoyment positively affects green brand love and green purchase intention. Furthermore, green enjoyment and green brand love mediate the positive relationship between green intrinsic motivation and green purchase intention.
Voluntary carbon offsetting (VCO) programmes are an initiative to reduce global carbon emissions and are increasing in popularity among companies, despite controversies and debates regarding the effect of offsetting activities on carbon emissions. VCO has become an important aspect of the sustainability and marketing strategies of companies. Few studies have researched the consumer aspect of companies using carbon offsetting in marketing. This study explores the knowledge, attitudes and behavioural intentions of young Danish consumers towards carbon offsetting. Qualitative interviews with 25 young Danish consumers were conducted based on the theory of planned behaviour, which was used as a conceptual framework. The results of the study indicate that the young consumers have little knowledge of VCO and perceive the topic as complicated and difficult. This contributes to distrust and negative perceptions of carbon offsetting programmes. In conclusion, guidance for companies to communicate carbon offsetting programmes is provided.
Konaklama işletmelerinin hayatlarını sürdürebilmeleri ve rekabet ortamında
ayakta kalabilmeleri için değişen koşullara ve iklim değişikliğine karşı tüm
uygulamalarını geliştirmeleri önemlilik arz etmektedir. Özellikle çevreye zarar
veren sektörler arasında yer alan konaklama işletmeleri, yeşil uygulamalar ile hem
çevreye karşı olan olumsuz davranışlarını değiştirebilme hem de iklim değişikliğine
karşı doğayı dengede tutabilme imkânı kazanmaktadır. Ancak bu sayede çevre
dostu, yeşil otel olabilmekte ve kendisine yeşil marka algısı yaratma imkânı
sağlamaktadır. Konaklama işletmelerinin çevre dostu bir politika benimsemeleri
ve buna yönelik yeşil yönetim ve yeşil pazarlama unsurlarını geliştirmeleri,
işletmelerin çevresel duyarlılık konusunda yetersiz kaldığı söylenebilmektedir.
Bunun için, sadece yeşil uygulamaların kullanımı ya da benimsenmesinin yanında
hem çalışanların hem de müşterilerin katkı sağlaması gerekmektedir. Özellikle
değişen tüketici beklentileri de göz önüne alındığında, tüketicilerin çevreye duyarlı,
yeşil uygulama ve ürünleri tercih ettikleri görülmektedir. Böylece tüketiciler, yeşil
tüketicilere dönüşmekte ve yeşil satın alma davranışı göstermektedirler.
Bu bölümde öncelikle yeşil marka, yeşil marka değeri ve unsurları, yeşil
markanın sağladığı faydalarına değinilmiştir. Daha sonra turizmde yeşil marka ve
LEED sertifikasına sahip yeşil otel örnekleri incelenmiş, LEED Sertifika kriterleri
üzerinde durulmuştur.
Today threats arising from environmental problems bring about an increased sensitivity at the global level. In this period, where production, consumption, and investment decisions are reshaped in line with environmental sensitivities, the number
and the variety of labels and reporting initiatives regarding the environmental performance of businesses and products have increased. There is also an observed increase in
‘greenwashing’ practices, where businesses deliberately give a deceptive impression about their environmental impacts or benefits. In line with its transition to a green and
circular economy objective, The European Union (EU) has announced several interrelated initiatives under the European Green Deal and the 2020 Circular Economy Action Plan.
The ‘Initiative on Substantiating Green Claims’ aims to ensure that information regarding the environmental performance of businesses and products are reliable, comparable,
and verifiable across the EU, while it also aims to prevent deceptive claims. The latest development in this area has been the proposal to introduce new consumer rights and a ban on greenwashing in the new circular economy package announced by the Commission on 30 March 2022. Examining the
scope and possible effects of the initiative launched by the EU, this study evaluates the role of the fight against greenwashing, which will be strengthened by this initiative, in ensuring green transition and sustainability.
The ‘Initiative on Substantiating Green Claims’ aims to ensure that
information regarding the environmental performance of businesses and products are reliable, comparable, and verifiable across the EU, while it also aims to deal with deceptive claims and greenwashing practices. Providing reliable information on environmental impacts is crucial under the scope of the new EU legislation such as the EU Taxonomy Regulation as well. Hence,
the use of standard methodologies for environmental footprint calculations stands out more. As of 30 March 2022, the latest development has been the announcement of a new circular economy package by the Commission, which puts ‘sustainable products’ in the center. Through this package, the Commission
also tabled a legislative proposal to empower consumers in the green transition, which introduces targeted amendments to horizontal EU consumer law to provide enhanced protection against greenwashing practices along with better information on product durability and repairability. Moreover, the environmental
impacts and sustainability features of products along the value chains would be provided in digital product passports within the scope of the ‘Sustainable Product Policy Initiative’. In addition, the Commission is working on proposing more specific rules on green claims relying on the product and organization’s environmental footprint methods, with adoption planned in autumn 2022.
It is desired that consumers remain active proponents of this green transition in the EU, and all these rules are envisaged to prevent deceptive information and greenwashing. As misleading and vague claims are prohibited, more reliable and truly eco-friendly products and businesses will come to the fore instead of products and businesses ‘acting as if green’. Conscious consumers will be able to choose products that are really better in terms of environmental performance and impacts; products with longer life and non-toxic features; products that consume less energy, create less waste, and products that are more recyclable. Similarly, investments would be directed to the right businesses, and so green businesses will have a competitive advantage. Hence, through these efforts, an impetus is expected for green transition. On the other hand, no matter how environmental-friendly the products are, if the industry continues to grow in terms of investment and consumption, this time through the promotion of the green products, environmental pressure will continue in the long run and the impact of these efforts will be limited in terms of sustainability. To sum up, while the Initiative on Substantiating Green Claims is promising in terms of transforming consumption patterns in a more sustainable direction, it is crucial that the rate of production and consumption must be slowed down for sustainability; otherwise, a vicious circle will continue under the ‘green’ image of the system, in which economic sustainability overtakes environmental sustainability.
Günümüzde çevre sorunlarından kaynaklanan tehditler, küresel düzeyde artan
bir duyarlılığı da beraberinde getirmektedir. Üretim, tüketim ve yatırım kararlarının çevre
hassasiyetleri doğrultusunda yeniden şekillendiği bu dönemde, işletmelerin ve ürünlerin
çevresel performansına ilişkin etiket ve raporlama girişimlerinin sayısı ve çeşitliliği
artarken, işletmelerin kasıtlı olarak çevresel etkileri veya faydaları hakkında aldatıcı bir
izlenim verdikleri ‘yeşil yıkama’ uygulamalarında da bir artış olduğu gözlemlenmektedir.
Yeşil ve döngüsel ekonomiye geçiş hedefi doğrultusunda Avrupa Yeşil Mutabakatı ve
2020 tarihli Döngüsel Ekonomi Eylem Planı altında birbiriyle bağlantılı pek çok girişimi
başlatan Avrupa Birliği’nde (AB), Yeşil İddiaların Doğrulanması Girişimi ile işletmelerin ve
ürünlerin çevresel performansına ilişkin bilgilerin AB genelinde güvenilir, karşılaştırılabilir
ve doğrulanabilir olması, yeşil yıkama ile mücadele edilmesi ve aldatıcı iddiaların önüne
geçilmesi hedeflenmektedir. Bu alanda son gelişme ise, Komisyon tarafından 30 Mart
2022 tarihinde açıklanan yeni döngüsel ekonomi paketinde yeni tüketici haklarının
getirilmesini ve yeşil yıkamanın yasaklanmasını öngören düzenleme önerisi olmuştur.
Ulusal düzeyde de parlamentoların, hükümetlerin, kamu kurumları ile denetim ve gözetim otoritelerinin önemli sorumluluklar üstlenmesi gereken bir alanda atılacak adımların
Türkiye için de önemli avantajlar sağlayacağı; yeşil ticarette rekabeti sürdürebilmesi ve
yeşil dönüşüm hedefini gerçekleştirebilmesine katkı sağlayacağı açıktır. AB tarafından
başlatılan girişimin kapsamını ve olası etkilerini inceleyen bu çalışma, temel olarak bu
girişimle güçlenecek olan yeşil yıkama ile mücadelenin yeşil dönüşümü ve sürdürülebilirliği sağlamada üstleneceği rolleri değerlendirmektedir.
Introducing or advertising different brands in the market in a way that is different from reality by means of green, environmentally friendly, harmless means that it affects the consumer psychologically. This misinformation has a negative effect on the confidence of the companies that act ethically in this regard, as well as harming the confidence of consumers and the multitude of environmental claims that do not reflect reality. For this reason, it is very important to distinguish real environmentalism and fake environmental activities. The aim of this study is to understand what greenwash means, to raise awareness on environmental awareness and to determine the effects of greenwash on brand equity for consumers. The main mass of the study consists of automobile owners living in the city of Erzurum. As a sampling method, convenience sampling method was used from random sampling methods. Data were collected by face to face survey method. A total of 500 questionnaires were applied; as a result of the elimination of missing, incorrect and faulty surveys, 408 questionnaires were taken into consideration. The research data obtained as a result of the survey were analyzed with structural equation model. As a result of the study, greenwash has negative effect on green trust, green satisfaction and green perceived quality; green trust, green satisfaction and green perceived quality have positive effects on word-of-mouth and also word-of-mouth has positive effect on brand equity.
We assess the communications of 37 airlines on their own websites regarding voluntary carbon offsets (VCO) to determine the extent to which they are either trustworthy or misleading. We propose an innovative coding framework that captures the trustworthy or misleading attributes of the messages as they are applied to: i) the type of claim (product, process, fact or image), and ii) the nature of the claim (fibbing, hidden trade-off, no proof, vagueness, irrelevance, lesser of two evils or worshiping false labels). We deploy a quantitative, multi-method approach that combines content analysis and discrete choice modelling, and we corroborate the taxonomy developed with lexical analysis. We identify the various factors that affect the pattern of 56% of claims being trustworthy and 44% being misleading. We demonstrate how a combined study of the trustworthy or misleading characteristics of communications provides more learning opportunities than studying either individually.
ResearchGate has not been able to resolve any references for this publication.