Greenwashing in Japanese Corporations: Measurement, Determinants, and Financial Reporting Impacts

“漂绿”被定义为提供误导性的正面环境披露。本研究以2018年至2019年的429家日本企业为样本，考察了“绿色清洗”的程度是否受到企业治理和保证的影响，并提出了五个主要结论。环境信息披露与实际环境绩效正相关。被观察到有高“漂绿”风险的公司可能会少报其披露，这些公司可能会使用第三方担保。保证只能有效地缓解非漂绿公司的担保-业绩不对称。现有的公司治理在遏制绿色清洗方面是无效的，这表明需要制定更有效的法规、标准和做法。

Greenwashing is defined as the presentation of misleading positive environmental disclosures. This study examines whether the extent of greenwashing is influenced by corporate governance and assurance using a sample of 429 Japanese companies from 2018-2019 and presents five key findings. Environmental disclosure is positively associated with actual environmental performance. Firms observed with high risk of greenwashing are likely to understate their disclosures, and those firms are likely to use third-party assurance. Assurance is only effectively in mitigating the disclosures-performance asymmetry for non-greenwashing companies. Existing corporate governance is ineffective in curbing greenwashing, indicating a need to develop more effective regulations, standards, and practices.