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Recent years have seen a rapid rise in the number of firms publicly touting the environmental merits of their products or their operational practices. This is driven by the changing societal concern and public discourse around environmental issues. What was once an infrequent conversation has emerged as a moral obligation. While the number of "green" products available in the market has grown, these conditions have also resulted in firms deliberately misleading consumers about their environmental performance or the environmental benefits of their products, a condition commonly known as "greenwashing."

This paper will argue that the urgency to address our rapidly deteriorating environment requires that tangible steps be taken to control incidents of greenwashing. It examines the merits and drawbacks associated with government's taking an active role in the regulation of greenwashing and argues that the current regulatory instruments being used by governments to address greenwashing are not likely to be successful in addressing the problem. Finally, the paper proposes a new regulatory instrument where governments and interested stakeholders work together to collect and disseminate information on sustainable business practices and the impact of goods and service production on the environment.

Over the last decades, the idea of sustainability revolution has gradually taken over. In management perspective, the affirmation of this paradigm has determined the need for organizations to adopt new appropriate digital strategies for the sustainability communication. This study aims to assess the compliance of requirements of CSR communication on corporate websites of Welsh companies. A pilot study was conducted on a sample of 50 organizations classified in the Wales Top 300 of the year 2017. Corporate websites have been analyzed through an operational model able to identify the core dimensions of online sustainability communication (Orientation, Structure, Ergonomics, Content; OSEC), sub-dimensions, such as stakeholder engagement and governance tools, and measurable items. Moreover, the OSEC model detects any sign of greenwashing on websites. Welsh companies achieve higher values of OSEC on the “orientation” and “ergonomics” dimensions, rather than the “structure” and “content”. Results show several weaknesses in digital CSR communication on websites, above all, in the adoption of governance functions, in the implementation of CSR reporting and in the development of stakeholder engagement tools. The pilot study offers some useful guidelines for Welsh communication managers and consultants, in order to improve the online sustainability communication through corrective actions in critical areas, and avoid greenwashing. Furthermore, the study allows to identify best practices in terms of effective actions of sustainability communication. This study provides first empirical evidences focused on CSR disclosure in Wales that constitutes a business context not yet widely investigated.

The chapter focuses on implementing the concept of environmental marketing in the framework of the development of a green economy in Russia to achieve sustainable development goals. In the current context, the idea of an ecological lifestyle is becoming not only a fashionable trend but also a behavioral norm; it is reflected by economic indicators of eco-product consumption. Consumers pay more attention to the climatic characteristics of products. The demand for low-carbon products has not yet formed in most industries, but end-consumer needs are increasing in line with the general rise in awareness of environmental issues. The authors consider the problem of greenwashing on the way of development of responsible environmental marketing. A considerable number of misleading advertising and unconfirmed promises make it impossible for the consumer to distinguish between the illusion of environmental friendliness and responsible environmental policies of companies. Responsible business management and an environmental marketing agenda can now significantly impact a company’s reputation, its market capitalization, and the consumer behavior of customers. The positive effect of environmentally responsible behavior through the implementation of green marketing programs is the attraction of customers focused on eco-products and a new generation of investors who support the responsible investment trend. Promoting eco-innovations based on companies’ active marketing activities is a prerequisite for developing a green economy in Russia. The results of the activities of environmentally responsible companies show the reality and relevance of the introduction of ecomarketing. The goal of implementing a green economy is to balance the interests of the economy and the interests of society in the long term. In turn, environmental marketing can implement this concept based on the offer of goods and services that consider the needs of consumers and the need to reduce the negative impact on the environment.

Currently, environmental concern, as well as other issues such as corporate social responsibility (CSR) or socially responsible investment, is leading many companies to implement “greenwashing” behaviors. In this chapter, the factors concerning “greenwashing” will be analyzed, and the relationship between those behaviors and deficient sustainability reports will be examined. This study will be approached from the point of view of the Spanish reality, paying special attention to listed companies, specifically to those which are listed on the IBEX 35 Index. In order to achieve that objective, this chapter analyzes the sustainability reports of six companies listed on the IBEX 35 Index belonging to different sectors: energy, oil, consumer goods, financial services, basic materials, industry and construction, and technology and telecommunications. Moreover, greenwashing in plastic industry will be analyzed. Finally, we draw conclusions about the relationship between “greenwashing” and CSR.

How can heterotopias facilitate anti-hegemonic counternarratives in a context designed to deceive environmentally conscious consumers? This chapter uses a layered account autoethnography to provide thick descriptions that highlight personal challenges of working within a heterotopia. We trace one employee’s journey at an archetypal store “Terra Step” and her struggles with personal beliefs juxtaposed with the store’s environmental friendly narrative. It evaluates how a heterotopic environment can influence the lives of those who function both inside and outside of the heterotopia. Of particular interest is the way these heterotopic counternarratives masked environmental waste at the store. Terra Step’s use of story to camouflage capitalistic intentions created a short-term socialization of employees that ultimately dissipated shortly after departure from the store. This chapter contributes to bodies of literature in heterotopias, storytelling, narratives, and sustainability. It is of value to academic researchers, managers, entrepreneurs, and environmentalists.