Corporate socioenvironmental report and greenwashing: analysis of a Brazilian mining company

Abstract

This case study analyzes the corporate socioenvironmental report (CSR) of a Brazilian company to identify potential vulnerabilities of the practice of greenwashing. Based on consultation of the relevant literature obtained from the databases of the CAPES Periodical Portal, SPELL, and Google Scholar, it was possible to identify the assumptions for the occurrence of greenwashing, arranged in categories for analysis. The study is qualitative and exploratory in nature, employing reflexive thematic analysis of the company’s disclosures and the information obtained from newspapers in light of the pertinent legislation. The results partially confirmed the hypotheses in the sense that it is possible for greenwashing to occur related to the CSR. The results also indicated that the process of independent verification of the reports has a limited effect to counteract this potential practice. The singularity of this study is the interdisciplinary approach and analysis of publicly available information about a determined period compared to the content of the CSR. The triangulation of the information can contribute to a better understanding of the CSR and foster reflection on the role of corporate environmental communication and the need for better reporting of non-financial information.