Fallacies in Sustainability: a Systematic Review

Abstract

Objective: To analyze the trends of academic productions on the fallacies enunciated in the sustainable discourse.   Method: The procedures of an systematic review were used, with the help of Rayyan® software in the selection and organization of articles, then, through a qualitative analysis, the themes were separated into approaches and the fallacies mentioned were verified.   Results and conclusion: Four types of fallacious approaches were identified in the context of business debate, namely: the quality of information; the identification of fallacies; fallacious behavior and impression management. This last approach being the fallacious theme most associated with corporate sustainability.   Research implications: The research aims to contribute to the improvement of preparers in disclosures, emphasizing the importance of consistent disclosure. In addition to allowing the user of the information to become aware of possible fallacious methods, the accuracy of the stakeholders in the analysis can be increased and, finally, emphasize the socio-environmental responsibility of companies before society.   Originality/value: Addressing this topic has become relevant given the non-standard scenario regarding corporate sustainable disclosures, in addition to the recent proposal under consideration for an international standard on these aspects.