Defining Greenwashing

Dumitrescu, Ariadna; Gil-Bazo, Javier; Zhu, Feng

doi:10.2139/ssrn.4098411

Cited by 12 publications

(14 citation statements)

References 37 publications

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Section: Discussion and Analysismentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The literature discusses incentives for large asset management firms to increase their profits promoting sustainable corporate initiatives which is described as greenwashing when corporate communication does not meet realty (Lashitew, 2021; Dumitrescu et al , 2022). As a result, greenwashing re-routes financial capital, and consequently, hinders advancements in reaching SDGs (Dumitrescu et al , 2022). With our study, we aim to contribute to the literature as publications regarding sustainable investment engagements through critical lens, are still comparatively rare (Massa et al , 2021; Buchter, 2020).…”

Section: Discussion and Analysismentioning

confidence: 99%

“…In 2021, according to research by the NGOs Reclaim Finance and Urgewald, BlackRock held investments worth US$85bn in coal companies, a year after it promised to sell most of its shares in producers of the fossil fuel (Jasper, 2021) BlackRock told a British parliamentary committee that it would not stop investing in coal, oil and gas, and that its role was not to "engineer a specific decarbonization outcome in the real economy." (Muvija and Gregorio, 2022) BlackRock told the UK committee to remain long-term investments on behalf of clients in carbonintensive sectors (Muvija and Gregorio, 2022) BlackRock continues to invest in and support fossil fuel companies, including Texas fossil fuel companies, as stated in a memo, signed by Dalia Blass, BlackRock's head of external affairs (Kerber, 2022) Op (Lashitew, 2021;Dumitrescu et al, 2022). As a result, greenwashing re-routes financial capital, and consequently, hinders advancements in reaching SDGs (Dumitrescu et al, 2022).…”

Section: Development Of Research Propositionsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…(Muvija and Gregorio, 2022) BlackRock told the UK committee to remain long-term investments on behalf of clients in carbonintensive sectors (Muvija and Gregorio, 2022) BlackRock continues to invest in and support fossil fuel companies, including Texas fossil fuel companies, as stated in a memo, signed by Dalia Blass, BlackRock's head of external affairs (Kerber, 2022) Op (Lashitew, 2021;Dumitrescu et al, 2022). As a result, greenwashing re-routes financial capital, and consequently, hinders advancements in reaching SDGs (Dumitrescu et al, 2022). With our study, we aim to contribute to the literature as publications regarding sustainable investment engagements through critical lens, are still comparatively rare (Massa et al, 2021;Buchter, 2020).…”

Section: Development Of Research Propositionsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Greenwashing related to asset management implies that investors’ money is not managed according to their sustainable finance values and aims. Thus, greenwashing affects the sustainable allocation of financial capital and thus, hampers the advancement of the renewable energy, environment and the society (Dumitrescu et al , 2022).…”

Section: Sustainable Finance and Asset Managementmentioning

confidence: 99%

See 4 more Smart Citations

BlackRock, Inc. (USA): An environmentally sustainable asset investor as it claims to be?

Glowik,

Bhatti,

Chwialkowska

2023

CPOIB

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Purpose Against the background of sustainable finance, this study aims to address whether global asset management firms started transforming toward more environmentally friendly investment policies according to the Agenda for Sustainable Development launched by the United Nations General Assembly in 2015. Design/methodology/approach The authors apply qualitative, explorative research methods through the development of the case study of BlackRock, Inc. (USA). Addressing sustainable finance, the authors compare the opposite to the editorial page (op-eds) communication strategy of BlackRock against real life for the period from 2015 until today. Findings The op-eds communication strategy by BlackRock is multi-faceted targeting to develop a leading sustainable reputation supported by fine-grained relationships to business and policy makers. This study empirically proves that there is a discrepancy between BlackRock’s op-eds communication contends concerning sustainable finance and the reality. Among others this study found that BlackRock still invests in fossils and increasingly launches passively managed funds with limited transparency standards in terms of sustainable finance. Research limitations/implications This study contributes to the corporate social responsibility literature focusing on fossil energy and sustainable finance. As BlackRock did not reply to the authors’ requests for conducting interviews, the authors rely on a broad range of secondary sources including material provided by non-governmental organizations. This study proposes that research should be amplified by further empirical studies among various sustainable finance stakeholders based on the research propositions the authors have developed as a result of this study. Practical implications This research provides empirical evidence for business executives and policy decision-makers involved in the energy industry, corporate ethics and global financial asset management. Social implications This study provides insights toward sustainable finance policies of BlackRock with corresponding outcomes related to global climate change and its impact on societies. Originality/value This study delivers empirical evidence on the energy transformation from fossils toward renewables against the background of sustainable finance strategies of large asset management enterprises such as BlackRock which is rare to find in the literature.

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Section: Discussion and Analysismentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Discussion and Analysismentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Development Of Research Propositionsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Development Of Research Propositionsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Sustainable Finance and Asset Managementmentioning

confidence: 99%

See 3 more Smart Citations

BlackRock, Inc. (USA): An environmentally sustainable asset investor as it claims to be?

Glowik,

Bhatti,

Chwialkowska

2023

CPOIB

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

Environmental preferences and sector valuations

Jourde,

Stalla-Bourdillon

2024

Rev World Econ

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Spotting Portfolio Greenwashing in Environmental Funds

Abouarab,

Mishra,

Wolfe

2024

J Bus Ethics

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This paper examines greenwashing practices in environmental funds. We utilize a unique data set of US equity mutual fund holdings between 2012 and 2021 to calculate the funds’ carbon footprints. Using a difference-in-differences analysis, we find that, following their commitments to sustainability, environmental funds fail to reduce their carbon footprints relative to a matched group of conventional funds. We also find, using an event study, a significant increase in the flows of environmental funds in response to these commitments. The combination of the failure to reduce carbon footprints and the surge in inflows provides evidence of greenwashing by environmental funds, raising concerns about their fiduciary duty. Our findings also show that greenwashers tend to initially have low flows and high portfolio carbon emissions suggesting that they announce their commitments to sustainability just to attract investors.

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Defining Greenwashing

Cited by 12 publications

References 37 publications

BlackRock, Inc. (USA): An environmentally sustainable asset investor as it claims to be?

BlackRock, Inc. (USA): An environmentally sustainable asset investor as it claims to be?

Environmental preferences and sector valuations

Spotting Portfolio Greenwashing in Environmental Funds

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