The ‘Greenwashing’ Gap by Anika Agrawwal

The ‘Greenwashing’ Gap by Anika Agrawwal

Introduction

1.1 Defining Greenwashing and the Nature of the Gap

Greenwashing refers to misrepresenting actual sustainable practices or activities to promote

a false sense of responsibility. More accurately, it can be defined as a discrepancy between environmental communication and actual environmental practices, whereby organisations portray themselves, their products and services, or their processes as greener than they are. This discrepancy arises through the communication of false, vague, irrelevant, or selective information. A systematic review published in Environmental Sciences Europe frames greenwashing as something emerging at the intersection of two firm behaviours: specifically poor environmental performance and communication that sugarcoats it. This drift can occur through many channels, including selective emphasis on minor achievements, omission of larger harms, or the use of language crafted to imply progress that has not actually occurred. Because greenwashing is difficult to reduce to a single observable act, the boundaries of this gap remain contested among researchers, which is part of why a literature survey examining natural language processing approaches to greenwashing detection turns to the Oxford English Dictionary for a working definition, describing the phenomenon as the act of misleading the public by falsely representing a company, product, or individual as environmentally responsible. This broader framing captures how the deception can be calculated and strategic in some cases, while in others it may arise from a company’s genuine but poorly substantiated attempt to convey its sustainability efforts to a public that is increasingly attentive to environmental claims.

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