The Magazine of the HEC Lausanne Alumni Association

20.12.2023
Inside the Faculty

New approach proposes to improve CSR reporting and reduce greenwashing

How can we counter greenwashing and help save the planet?

A new systemic approach developed by Janet Su, PhD, Prof. Gaia Melloni (HEC Lausanne) and Ariela Caglio (Bocconi University) proposes to create a new framework useful to companies and other stakeholders to reduce greenwashing.

But why? Currently, most CSR reporting is done on a voluntary basis, so companies can communicate what suits them and avoid sanctions. The approach developed by these 3 researchers proposes a new standard in which organizations see themselves as "full members of a wider system". The researchers highlight 4 factors on which stakeholders can focus to create conditions aimed at reducing greenwashing:

  1. Stakeholder values
  2. Technology and access to corporate CSR information
  3. Awareness of greenwashing and sustainability issues
  4. Greater regulatory oversight

 

Discover more in a meeting with Janet Su