Corporate Greenwashing: Are Environmental Claims Just Empty Promises?

by Andrew Isaacs and Natàlia Costa i Coromina
01 Oct 2022

Greenwashing is a term that describes the situation where a company’s environmental claims exceed what the corporation is accomplishing through its environmental efforts. Trust in corporate entitles comes into question since consumers, investors, employees, and other interested parties can’t be certain which environmental claims represent real impact on addressing climate change, and which claims are inconsequential. This case study includes examples of corporate environmental efforts. These examples and associated case study questions are designed to support students in assessing whether greenwashing is being committed by a corporation, and the form in which it may be occurring.

Learning Objectives

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1) Understand the origin and patterns of corporate greenwashing 2) Learn some of the essentials of how to tell greenwashing from actual, consequential climate action

Details

Pub Date: October 1, 2022

Discipline: Corporate Social Responsibility

Subjects: Green marketing, Green business, Greenpeace, Marketing ethics, Unethical marketing practices, Environmental performance, Environmental policy, Environmental responsibility, Environmental stewardship, Environmental sustainability, Corporate image, Corporate reputation, Global corporate citizenship

Product #: B6015-PDF-ENG

Industry: Beverages, Petroleum products, Packaging, carton, and container industries, Shipping

Geography: United States, California

Length: 5 page(s)