Proceedings of the Sustainability in emerging economies - Integrating business excellence in management education (SEE-IBEME-2024)

<Previous Article In Volume
Next Article In Volume>

Greenwashing in Thermal Power Plants: Sustainable Identity or Illusion?

Authors
Sharad Singh1, *, Ruchi Agarwal2
1Management Development Institute Gurgaon, Mehrauli Road, Sukhrali Gurgaon, 122007, India
2Management Development Institute Gurgaon, Mehrauli Road, Sukhrali Gurgaon, 122007, India
*Corresponding author. Email: efpm22sharad_s@mdi.ac.in
Corresponding Author
Sharad Singh
Available Online 6 May 2025.
DOI
10.2991/978-94-6463-696-3_3How to use a DOI?
Keywords
Greenwashing; ESG; Environment; emission; Sustainability
Abstract

Greenwashing is a phenomenon through which firms across various sectors present themselves as environment-friendly to meet the policy requirements and growing consumer demand for sustainability. This study examines certain greenwashing attempts in India’s thermal power generation sector through the lens of legitimacy and sustainability. The paper aims to explore solutions for avoiding greenwashing. The firms use methods tactically for selective disclosure of various parameters to enhance corporate image without substantive environmental actions. Considering parameters such as air emissions norms, Zero Liquid Discharge (ZLD) norms, and hazardous waste management, our findings reveal that the power-generating companies misreport or conceal data for compliance with environmental standards. By selectively disclosing information i.e. greenwashing, firms create a false image of sustainability, which strengthens their pragmatic legitimacy but risks substantial harm to the environment. This research concludes that there is a need for rigorous monitoring mechanisms to ensure that environmental claims align with actual practices, forcing organizations to adopt authentic and transparent environmental management practices. It also calls on organizations to embrace genuine and open environmental management strategies.

Copyright
© 2025 The Author(s)
Open Access
Open Access This chapter is licensed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/), which permits any noncommercial use, sharing, adaptation, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, as long as you give appropriate credit to the original author(s) and the source, provide a link to the Creative Commons license and indicate if changes were made.

Download article (PDF)

<Previous Article In Volume
Next Article In Volume>
Volume Title
Proceedings of the Sustainability in emerging economies - Integrating business excellence in management education (SEE-IBEME-2024)
Series
Advances in Economics, Business and Management Research
Publication Date
6 May 2025
ISBN
978-94-6463-696-3
ISSN
2352-5428
DOI
10.2991/978-94-6463-696-3_3How to use a DOI?
Copyright
© 2025 The Author(s)
Open Access
Open Access This chapter is licensed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/), which permits any noncommercial use, sharing, adaptation, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, as long as you give appropriate credit to the original author(s) and the source, provide a link to the Creative Commons license and indicate if changes were made.

Cite this article

risenwbib
TY  - CONF
AU  - Sharad Singh
AU  - Ruchi Agarwal
PY  - 2025
DA  - 2025/05/06
TI  - Greenwashing in Thermal Power Plants: Sustainable Identity or Illusion?
BT  - Proceedings of the Sustainability in emerging economies - Integrating business excellence in management education (SEE-IBEME-2024)
PB  - Atlantis Press
SP  - 16
EP  - 42
SN  - 2352-5428
UR  - https://doi.org/10.2991/978-94-6463-696-3_3
DO  - 10.2991/978-94-6463-696-3_3
ID  - Singh2025
ER  -