Open AccessEnvironmental ScienceBusinessPolitical Science

Sebastião Vieira de Freitas Netto, M. Sobral, Ana Ribeiro, Gleibson Robert da Luz Soares

2020.2.11Environmental Sciences Europe

DOI: 10.1186/s12302-020-0300-3

Abstract

Background The aggravation of environmental problems has led companies to seek the development and commercialization of green products. Some companies mislead their stakeholders through a phenomenon called greenwashing. Results This paper aims to explore the phenomenon of greenwashing through a systematic literature review in search of its main concepts and typologies in the past 10 years. This research has followed the proceedings of a systematic review of the literature, based on the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA). We identified a major classification of greenwashing: firm-level executional, firm-level claim, product-level executional, and product-level claim. Conclusion It was possible to highlight and catalog the types of the phenomenon. A structure based on such type has been observed in the literature.

Citation format

NETTO, Sebastião Vieira de Freitas, et al. Concepts and forms of greenwashing: A systematic review. Environmental Sciences Europe, 2020, 32: 1–12.