Do You Feel Like a Greenwasher? Analysing Environmental Management Practices Under Perceived Greenwashing by Managers

Abstract

In recent years, escalating societal expectations for corporate environmental responsibility have intensified the scrutiny of sustainability initiatives. Consequently, organisations have adopted diverse environmental management practices (EMPs) to signal environmental commitment and bolster their sustainability profiles. However, this study reveals that a notable share of managers perceive their own firms' environmental actions as greenwashing, reflecting internal scepticism regarding the authenticity of such practices. Using survey data from 174 Spanish managers, this research examines the influence of various EMPs on perceived greenwashing by managers. Contrary to theoretical expectations, the findings reveal that EMPs—encompassing both internal‐oriented (e.g., operational practices, eco‐innovation and clean energy) and external‐oriented practices (e.g., environmental reporting and product certifications)—are not significantly associated with perceived greenwashing by managers. Notably, our findings show that supply chain practices—particularly suppliers' public commitment to environmental criteria and supplier certifications—were significantly associated with lower perceived greenwashing, contradicting theoretical expectations that external‐oriented practices would increase such perceptions. Overall, these results indicate that widely adopted EMPs do not systematically shape internal perceptions of authenticity, highlighting a disconnect between practice adoption and internal authenticity perceptions. While EMPs exhibit limited effects, the supply chain model provides somewhat more interpretable insights, as it yields one statistically significant and theoretically informative relationship, particularly regarding supplier certifications. By focusing on managerial perceptions, this study offers a novel perspective on corporate greenwashing and underscores the importance of authentically integrating EMPs to strengthen organisational credibility and advance sustainability.