The DOI matches its Crossref record; 1 of the 1 references it cites were found in a registry or an index.
Sustainability, the Green Transition, and Greenwashing: An Overview for Research and Practice
Open accessAbstract
Against the backdrop of increasing regulatory and societal pressure on firms to transition their activities toward more ecological sustainability, our contribution examines the role of greenwashing in corporate communication. We introduce the reader to current regulations, developments, and practices in the area of sustainability reporting. We also provide guidance for practitioners and researchers on how to detect greenwashing in single instances of communication as well as in large samples of firm-level observations. We then go on to summarize the existing evidence that greenwashing holds predominantly negative consequences for firms. We also explore potential motives behind the practice of greenwashing. Finally, we provide guidelines for firms on their communication strategies and how to avoid unintentionally misleading their stakeholders and being accused of greenwashing. Transparency along a firm’s entire supply chain is key in this regard, and digital innovations—such as blockchain—might prove to be integral tools for combatting the practice of greenwashing.
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“it remains a foundational reference in the contemporary academic literature on the subject (Vieira de Freitas Netto et al. 2020; Bernini et al. 2023; Breuer et al. 2024, 80) and continues to be employed as an analytical tool in current research”
From Green Labels, Red Flags: Comparative Legal Pathways to Environmental Legitimacy in the European Union and the People’s Republic of China (2025) · cites this paper as Breuer et al. 2024
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Delmas, M. A., & Burbano, V. C. (2011) · California Management Review · doi:10.1525/cmr.2011.54.1.64 · Cited by 3,441
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Metadata
- Authors
- Breuer, W., Hass, M., Knetsch, A., & Seefried, E.
- Affiliations
- RWTH Aachen University (DE)
- Corresponding author
- Hass, Manuel
- Venue
- Transformation Towards Sustainability
- Publisher
- Springer International Publishing
- Published
- 2024
- Pages
- 75-91
- OpenAlex
- W4396876702
- Cited by
- 11
- References
- 1
- Citations by year
- 2026: 5 · 2025: 4 · 2024: 2
- FWCI
- 23.49
- Type
- book chapter
- Language
- en
- Open access
- hybrid
- doi.org
- Licence
- Locations
- Springer eBooks (publishedVersion, cc-by)
- RWTH Publications (RWTH Aachen) (submittedVersion, other-oa)
- RWTH Publications (RWTH Aachen)
- Topics
- Social Sciences › Business, Management and Accounting › Strategy and Management › Corporate Social Responsibility Reporting
- Social Sciences › Business, Management and Accounting › Marketing › Environmental Sustainability in Business
- Social Sciences › Business, Management and Accounting › Strategy and Management › Sustainable Supply Chain Management
- Keywords
- greenwashing, green transition, corporate sustainability communication, sustainability reporting, greenwashing detection, supply chain transparency, blockchain, corporate communication strategy, stakeholder trust
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