Unmasking greenwashing through the role of gender diversity and CSR committees in driving real sustainability in Chinese firms

Greenwashing, the deliberate overstatement of a firm’s environmental performance, undermines stakeholder trust and threatens the credibility of corporate sustainability reporting. This study examines how three board attributes, gender diversity, independence, and directors’ international experience, influence greenwashing among Chinese listed firms, and whether Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) committees strengthen these governance effects. Drawing on 4,312 firm-year observations from 2016 to 2023, sourced from the CSMAR, Bloomberg, and Refinitiv (Asset4) databases, greenwashing is measured as the gap between a firm’s disclosed and actual ESG performance. The results indicate that board gender diversity, independence, and international experience are each associated with lower greenwashing, and that CSR committees strengthen these effects, reinforcing corporate accountability and disclosure quality. These findings offer empirical evidence that internal governance mechanisms, not only external regulation, shape firms’ environmental integrity, with implications for policymakers and corporate leaders seeking to improve the credibility of ESG reporting.