Exploring Greenwashing in Sport: A Scoping Review

Abstract

Organizations are increasingly prioritizing green, or pro-environmental, goods and services due to the heightened urgency of environmental concerns. However, this trend has given rise to instances of greenwashing, or deceptively marketing pro-environmental claims with or without intention (Delmas & Burbano, 2011). Greenwashing has been present in marketing campaigns for several decades and is gaining attention in sport organizations, though scholarly exploration remains limited. This study utilizes Arksey and O’Malley’s (2005) framework for a scoping review to investigate the extent of green marketing in sport and potential greenwashing occurrences. Analyzing scholarly literature from 1990 to 2022 resulted in 34 articles for synthesis. Despite growing public awareness, most greenwashing in sport research is closely tied to recreation and tourism. Identified themes, such as social leveraging, highlight knowledge gaps at the intersection of sport marketing and sport ecology, urging further scholarly inquiry in this area.