Environmental Sustainability Award Winners: Do They Communicate Their Environmental Performance Without Potential Greenwashing?

Sustainability awards are often seen as a mark of credibility and can help companies attract new customers, investors and partners. However, there is some question as to whether the companies that win sustainability awards—and therefore who ought to be genuinely committed to sustainability—correctly communicate their environmental performances according to internationally recognised principles for the fair use of environmental labels and claims such as those set by ISO standards. This study examined the web communication practices of a sample of 100 Italian companies that had won a sustainability award. Our findings showed that, while most of these companies boasted their environmental performance in several ways, they did not always follow the above-mentioned communication principles. This suggests that companies need further training and education on how to communicate their environmental performance correctly and in a substantiated manner, thus preventing the risk of greenwashing.