To dispel suspicions of “greenwashing,” many companies have adopted more rigorous corporate sustainability communication (CSC) practices, such as reporting an increased amount of numerical, third-party verified data. This has led to claims that greenwashing is declining. In this conceptual article, we propose a more nuanced diagnosis, arguing the importance of distinguishing between two types of greenwashing: Type I, that is, CSC practices by which companies exaggerate the extent to which they engage in actions described as socially or environmentally desirable; and Type II, that is, CSC practices by which companies falsely suggest that their actions contribute to the macro-level goal of sustainability. While Type I greenwashing may have declined, Type II greenwashing remains insufficiently conceptualized and countered, thus posing a major obstacle to mainstreaming sustainability. We identify key features of Type II greenwashing, theorize three discursive devices through which it operates, and outline ways to thwart it.
Feix et al. (Tue,) studied this question.