What you see is not what you get: ESG scores and greenwashing risk

IF 7.4 2区经济学 Q1 BUSINESS, FINANCE

Finance Research Letters Pub Date : 2025-01-07 DOI:10.1016/j.frl.2024.106710

Manuel C. Kathan, Sebastian Utz, Gregor Dorfleitner, Jens Eckberg, Lea Chmel

引用次数: 0

Abstract

This paper shows that ESG scores capture a company’s greenwashing behavior. Greenwashing accusations are most prevalent among large companies with high ESG scores. We empirically employ a novel theoretical model that distinguishes between the communication of a company’s environmental efforts (apparent environmental performance) and its actual environmental impact (real environmental performance). The correlation of the apparent (real) environmental performance with ESG scores is significantly positive (negative). Therefore, ESG scores are unsuitable for measuring real environmental impact. Thus, investors focusing on high ESG-rated companies may unknowingly increase their greenwashing risk exposure, and academics may use misleading information to assess greenwashing risk.

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你所看到的并不是你所得到的：ESG评分和洗绿风险

本文表明，ESG分数反映了一家公司的“漂绿”行为。对“漂绿”的指责在ESG得分高的大公司中最为普遍。我们在经验上采用了一种新的理论模型，该模型区分了公司环境努力（表面环境绩效）与其实际环境影响（实际环境绩效）之间的沟通。表观（真实）环境绩效与ESG得分呈显著正（负）相关。因此，ESG分数不适合衡量真实的环境影响。因此，关注esg高评级公司的投资者可能会在不知不觉中增加其“漂绿”风险敞口，而学者可能会使用误导性信息来评估“漂绿”风险。

本文章由计算机程序翻译，如有差异，请以英文原文为准。

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来源期刊

Finance Research Letters BUSINESS, FINANCE-

CiteScore

11.10

自引率

14.40%

发文量

863

期刊介绍： Finance Research Letters welcomes submissions across all areas of finance, aiming for rapid publication of significant new findings. The journal particularly encourages papers that provide insight into the replicability of established results, examine the cross-national applicability of previous findings, challenge existing methodologies, or demonstrate methodological contingencies. Papers are invited in the following areas: Actuarial studies Alternative investments Asset Pricing Bankruptcy and liquidation Banks and other Depository Institutions Behavioral and experimental finance Bibliometric and Scientometric studies of finance Capital budgeting and corporate investment Capital markets and accounting Capital structure and payout policy Commodities Contagion, crises and interdependence Corporate governance Credit and fixed income markets and instruments Derivatives Emerging markets Energy Finance and Energy Markets Financial Econometrics Financial History Financial intermediation and money markets Financial markets and marketplaces Financial Mathematics and Econophysics Financial Regulation and Law Forecasting Frontier market studies International Finance Market efficiency, event studies Mergers, acquisitions and the market for corporate control Micro Finance Institutions Microstructure Non-bank Financial Institutions Personal Finance Portfolio choice and investing Real estate finance and investing Risk SME, Family and Entrepreneurial Finance