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  • March–April 2016
  • Article

Scrutiny, Norms, and Selective Disclosure: A Global Study of Greenwashing

By: Christopher Marquis, Michael W. Toffel and Yanhua Zhou
Under increased pressure to report environmental impacts, some firms selectively disclose relatively benign impacts, creating an impression of transparency while masking their true performance. We identify key company- and country-level factors that limit firms' use of... View Details
Keywords: Disclosure Strategy; Disclosure; Environmental Performance; Environmental Strategy; Environment; Symbolic; Reporting; Corporate Disclosure; Integrated Corporate Reporting; Corporate Social Responsibility and Impact
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  • 13 Feb 2023
  • News

Are Companies Actually Greener—or Are They All Talk?

Keywords: Greenwashing
  • 17 Jan 2024
  • Research & Ideas

Are Companies Getting Away with 'Cheap Talk' on Climate Goals?

Companies regularly set ambitious climate goals, but these plans often end up like many people’s New Year’s resolutions: unmet aspirations that quietly fizzle out. While companies often gain positive media attention by trumpeting plans for reducing greenhouse gas... View Details
Keywords: by Tim Gray
  • 22 Apr 2024
  • Research & Ideas

When Does Impact Investing Make the Biggest Impact?

23 percent less economic output—$9,400 per capita—than those of mainstream companies. Impact-only investments may require more patience, with a roughly 25 percent longer time to reach success. “It's not simply greenwashing in the sense... View Details
Keywords: by Rachel Layne
  • 24 May 2021
  • Op-Ed

Can Fabric Waste Become Fashion’s Resource?

COVID-19 has broken fashion’s supply chain. As a result, an already wasteful industry has become more wasteful. Even before the pandemic, the global apparel industry was producing about 92 million tons of textile waste a year. That’s about one garbage truck’s worth of... View Details
Keywords: by Geoffrey Jones and Shelly Xu; Fashion
  • 09 Apr 2007
  • Research & Ideas

Industry Self-Regulation: What’s Working (and What’s Not)?

accusations that it claimed to do something but then failed to deliver on it. This charge is called greenwashing when the claims are related to the environment, but similar charges are also being levied at firms that adopt codes of... View Details
Keywords: by Martha Lagace
  • 14 May 2024
  • Blog Post

Creating Emerging Markets Sustainability Series - How to Build a Culture of Intrapreneurship

products and services, large companies have bought into the success of the trend by making bold “100% sustainable” statements about their business models. However, concerns over greenwashing – a term referring to misleading claims about... View Details
  • 03 Dec 2018
  • Research & Ideas

How Companies Can Increase Market Rewards for Sustainability Efforts

ESG principles, according to the paper. Such a big pool of potential investments can make it difficult for investors to distinguish between companies paying lip service to ESG, known as greenwashing or goodwashing, from those that truly... View Details
Keywords: by Rachel Layne
  • 06 Dec 2021
  • News

The Sparkles in Our Skies

Bain, consumers—perhaps wary of greenwashing in the notoriously opaque industry—have thus far not discerned the difference between the sustainability of the two methods of production. With Aether, Hagemann hopes to change that. Convincing... View Details
Keywords: April White; Nonstore Retailers; Retail Trade
  • 24 Dec 2013
  • First Look

First Look: December 24

across sectors and reduced private-sector rents. Download working paper: http://ssrn.com/abstract=2365524 Scrutiny, Norms, and Selective Disclosure: A Global Study of Greenwashing By: Marquis, Christopher, and Michael W. Toffel... View Details
Keywords: Carmen Nobel
  • 28 Jul 2015
  • First Look

First Look: July 28, 2015

negative impact on innovation at targeted firms: firms substantially reduce their innovative activity after settling with NPEs (or losing to them in court). Download working paper: https://www.hbs.edu/faculty/Pages/item.aspx?num=47648 Scrutiny, Norms, and Selective... View Details
Keywords: Carmen Nobel
  • 09 Dec 2021
  • News

Higher Returns

all the things, do all the right things, and then tell the world how great you are at it. Right? That's legitimate. That's not greenwashing. Greenwashing refers to people saying that they’re doing things and they're not actually doing... View Details
  • 20 Jan 2015
  • First Look

First Look: January 20

Scrutiny, Norms, and Selective Disclosure: A Global Study of Greenwashing By: Marquis, Christopher, and Michael W. Toffel Abstract—Under increased pressure to report environmental impacts, some firms selectively disclose relatively benign... View Details
Keywords: Sean Silverthorne
  • 15 Dec 2015
  • First Look

December 15, 2015

Publisher's link: https://www.hbs.edu/faculty/Pages/item.aspx?num=50235 forthcoming Organization Science Scrutiny, Norms, and Selective Disclosure: A Global Study of Greenwashing By: Marquis, Christopher, Michael W. Toffel, and Yanhua Zhou... View Details
Keywords: Carmen Nobel
  • 22 Apr 2014
  • First Look

First Look: April 22

Greenwashing By: Marquis, Christopher, and Michael W. Toffel Abstract—Under increased pressure to report environmental impacts, some firms selectively disclose relatively benign impacts, creating an impression of transparency while... View Details
Keywords: Sean Silverthorne