What is greenwashing – a scoping review of greenwashing definitions and development of the Need-for-Balance Model

Abstract

As organizations are under increasing pressure to demonstrate environmental responsibility, concerns about greenwashing have grown considerably. Despite its significance, there is no consensus on its definition, which complicates both research and mitigation efforts. To address this gap, we conducted a scoping review of 332 articles published across 174 journals, analyzing 646 definitions of greenwashing. While terminology varies, common themes emerge, and two main types of definitions can be distinguished: outcome-oriented and process-oriented definitions. Based on our findings, we define greenwashing as a discrepancy between environmental communication and actual environmental practices, whereby organizations portray themselves, their products/services, or their processes as greener than they are; this discrepancy arises through the communication of false, vague, irrelevant, or selective information. Furthermore, we propose the ‘Need for Balance Model’, which distinguishes between greenblushing/greenhushing, on the one hand, and greenwashing, on the other.