The impacts of firm-level and country-level variables on Environmental, social and corporate governance greenwashing

Öz

Abstract While ESG investments have increased in the last 10 years, stakeholders are curious about the correctness of the ESG claims of companies. Greenwashing (GW) is a conscious and selective information disclosure of firms to create a positive image in the eyes of the stakeholders. It limits the integration of ESG data into investments as the stakeholders lose their trust in that declarations. Unaudited sustainability reports, lack of standardization in disclosure rules of ESG data, and the absence of a global governance body to ensure the accuracy of reported ESG information increase the risk of GW behaviors. Purpose: The motivation of this study is to help out stakeholders to determine which company factors (size, profitability, board structure, governance model) and country factors (corruption, unemployment, wealth of the society) impact the ESG greenwashing behaviors within STOXX 600. Method: We implemented a panel regression model. The dataset covers STOXX 600 firms from 2009-2020. Findings: The results show that each ESG GW dimension is impacted by a different company and country variables. An increase in CSR committee and embedding sustainable factors into the Executive remuneration are two main factors that decrease all three dimensions of GW behaviors. Company governance and financial factors have more impact on the GW compared to the country factors. Originality: According to our knowledge, this is the first research that evaluates each greenwashing dimension at the firm and country levels.

Anahtar Kelimeler

• ESG greenwashing
• ESG disclosure
• ESG performance
• Institutional theory
• Signaling theory
• Legitimacy theory

Firma ve ulke faktorlerinin Cevresel-Sosyal ve Kurumsal Yonetim sonuclarini aklama (greenwashing) uzerine etkileri

Öz

Özet Surdurulebilir yatirimlar son 10 yilda hizla artarken. sirketlerin surdurulebilirlik ile ilgili yaptiklari beyanlarin dogrulugu ve guvenilirligi de paydaslar tarafindan daha cok sorgulanmaktadir. Yesilaklama (greenwashing) paydaslarin dusuncelerini ya da kararlarini sirket lehine cevirmeyi amaclayan, firmalarin bilincli ve secici sekilde yaptiklari faaliyetler ve aciklamalardir. Yesilaklama sisteme olan guveni zedelediginden, ESG verilerinin yatirimlara entegre edilmesini sinirlandirmaktadir. Surdurulebilirlik ile ilgili raporlarin denetimden gecirilmemesi, ESG verilerinin aciklanmasinda bir standardizasyon olmamasi, ESG ile ilgili bilgilerin dogrulugunu saglayacak global kurumlarin olmamasi greenwashing riskini daha da arttirmaktadir. Amac: ESG greenwashing'i etkileyebilecek firma ve ulke faktorlerini inceleyerek paydaslarin degerlendirmelerine yardimci olabilmektir. Yontem: Arastirmada panel data regresyon modeli uygulanmis, STOXX 600 de faaliyet gosteren firmalarin 2009-2020 yili verileri incelenmistir. Bulgular: Bu analiz sonucunda cevresel, sosyal ve kurumsal yonetim boyutlarindaki yesil aklama risklerinin her birinin firma ve ulke faktorlerden farkli derecede etkilendigi gorulmustur. Kurumsal Sorumluluk ile ilgili komitelerin varligi ve yonetici ucretlendirme politikalarina surdurulebilirlik ile iliskilendirilmesinin greenwashing risklerini her boyutta (E-S-G) dusurdugu gorulmustur. Diger taraftan ulke faktorlerinden ziyade firma faktorlerinin (hem yonetim hem de finansal), greenwashing riski yaratmada daha etkili oldugu bulunmustur. Ozgunluk: Literatur taramalarimiza gore, yesilaklama (greenwashing) boyutlarini firma ve ulke faktorleri acisindan inceleyen ilk calisma olmasi sebebiyle ozgunluk tasimaktadir.

Anahtar Kelimeler

• ESG Greenwashing
• ESG beyani
• ESG performansi
• Kurumsallik teorisi
• Sinyal teorisi
• Mesruiyet teorisi.

Destekleyen Kurum

Istanbul Ticaret Universitesi

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