Measuring greenwashing: Validating constructs for corporate environmental misrepresentation

This study addresses the growing issue of greenwashing, where companies falsely claim environmental responsibility without substantive action, by developing and validating constructs to measure corporate environmental misrepresentation. Focusing on key dimensions, misleading environmental claims, selective disclosure, symbolic corporate environmentalism, ESG metric manipulation, and digital greenwashing, a multidimensional scale was developed through rigorous empirical methods, including item generation, survey validation, and statistical analysis. Data were collected from industry participants to test and refine the constructs, ensuring theoretical robustness and practical applicability across different sectors. The validated constructs offer a comprehensive framework for identifying and addressing greenwashing practices. The study reveals that greenwashing significantly undermines consumer trust, investor decision-making, and corporate reputation. The findings offer practical tools for stakeholders, including regulators, investors, and consumers, to identify and address greenwashing. The validated constructs provide an actionable framework to enhance transparency in corporate environmental claims and promote genuine sustainability practices. This study fills a critical gap in the literature by offering a validated, multidimensional framework for measuring greenwashing across industries. It contributes to theoretical advancements in corporate responsibility and provides practical mechanisms for enforcing environmental integrity, making it a valuable tool for researchers and practitioners. Core Contributions: • The study delineates greenwashing as a multifaceted phenomenon, systematically unearthing its impact on consumer trust, corporate reputation, and investment strategies. • It provides a predictive model of unparalleled precision, facilitating the detection and mitigation of greenwashing with unprecedented accuracy. • The framework developed in this study is not merely descriptive; it is an actionable toolkit for stakeholders, including regulators, policymakers, and sustainability leaders, driving substantive environmental accountability. Implications for Practice and Theory: • For Practice: The model equips corporate strategists and sustainability officers with a scientifically grounded mechanism to evaluate and rectify misleading environmental practices, safeguarding brand integrity and fostering stakeholder trust. • For Theory: It redefines the conceptual boundaries of greenwashing research, offering a paradigmatic shift in understanding corporate environmental misrepresentation. This contribution paves the way for nuanced inquiries into sustainability narratives and their socio-economic ramifications. Methodological Excellence : The research design reflects an unparalleled commitment to scholarly rigour, employing advanced statistical techniques to ensure validity and reliability. A cross-industry dataset enhances the generalizability of findings, while iterative model refinement ensures applicability across sectors and organisational scales. Broader Impact: This work stands as a cornerstone for advancing global sustainability discourse, particularly in an era where greenwashing undermines genuine environmental progress. By providing a validated and scalable framework, the study bridges significant methodological voids and establishes a benchmark for future investigations.