IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/pop/procee/v11y2023p527-538.html

Educational needs in green education: a survey-based exploration among Romanian students

Author

Listed:
  • Miruna-Elena ILIESCU

    (National University of Political Studies and Public Administration, Bucharest, Romania)

Abstract

This paper aim aligns with recommendations from recent research, exploring greenwashing education among Romanian socio-economic students. The study aims to contribute insights into the specific educational needs within the social fields concerning greenwashing and discern the potential implications for consumer behavior in this context. The current study builds upon preceding research conducted by the author, where professionals in ecological fields underscored the prevalence of deceptive practices, leading to the misleading of urban consumers. The limited comprehension of green claims and regulatory nuances among urban inhabitants emerged as a salient contributing factor. Employing a survey-based methodology, the research captures practical insights from students in socio-economic fields. The 16-question questionnaire explores participants' perceptions and knowledge on green claims. Preliminary findings indicate varying levels of awareness and experiences with greenwashing among Romanian students. The survey data provides insights into factors influencing the recognition of deceptive environmental claims, their impact on consumer choices, and perceived corporate responsibility. The study's implications extend to academics, researchers, and practitioners interested in sustainable communication and consumer behavior. For smart city development, addressing students' greenwashing awareness gaps is crucial. Integrating sustainability into urban education can empower citizens for informed choices. At the community level, combating greenwashing requires targeted programs fostering environmental literacy. Hence, in academia, identified gaps highlight the need for integrated greenwashing modules, preparing future professionals for sustainability challenges. This research offers a nuanced perspective on greenwashing by centering on Romanian students' perceptions. Its value lies in informing interventions, policies, and education efforts to combat greenwashing, fostering an informed and sustainable consumer base. The insights contribute uniquely to the Romanian context, enriching the global discourse on sustainable practices and consumer awareness.

Suggested Citation

  • Miruna-Elena ILIESCU, 2023. "Educational needs in green education: a survey-based exploration among Romanian students," Smart Cities International Conference (SCIC) Proceedings, Smart-EDU Hub, Faculty of Public Administration, National University of Political Studies & Public Administration, vol. 11, pages 527-538, June.
    • Handle: RePEc:pop:procee:v:11:y:2023:p:527-538
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://scrd.eu/index.php/scic/article/view/516/478
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://scrd.eu/index.php/scic/article/view/516
    Download Restriction: no
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Ioannis Ioannou & George Kassinis & Giorgos Papagiannakis, 2023. "The Impact of Perceived Greenwashing on Customer Satisfaction and the Contingent Role of Capability Reputation," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 185(2), pages 333-347, June.
    2. David Coen & Kyle Herman & Tom Pegram, 2022. "Are corporate climate efforts genuine? An empirical analysis of the climate ‘talk–walk’ hypothesis," Business Strategy and the Environment, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 31(7), pages 3040-3059, November.
    3. Szerena Szabo & Jane Webster, 2021. "Perceived Greenwashing: The Effects of Green Marketing on Environmental and Product Perceptions," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 171(4), pages 719-739, July.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Jiacai Xiong & Zelin Yang & Lijuan Xiao & Yushu Zhu, 2025. "Environmental judicial reform and corporate greenwashing: evidence from China’s environmental public interest litigation pilot," Humanities and Social Sciences Communications, Palgrave Macmillan, vol. 12(1), pages 1-16, December.
    2. Antonios Persakis & Theodoros Nikolopoulos & Ioannis C. Negkakis & Athanasios Pavlopoulos, 2025. "Greenwashing in marketing: a systematic literature review and bibliometric analysis," International Review on Public and Nonprofit Marketing, Springer;International Association of Public and Non-Profit Marketing, vol. 22(4), pages 957-992, December.
    3. Xuejiao Ma & Xiaojun Ma & Wei Fei & Qichuan Jiang & Yiwei Zhang, 2026. "Stop Where it Should Stop: Board Faultlines, Stakeholder Supervision and Greenwashing Behaviors of Firms," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 203(2), pages 313-340, January.
    4. Sajid, Muhammed & Zakkariya, K.A. & Suki, Norazah Mohd & Islam, Jamid Ul, 2024. "When going green goes wrong: The effects of greenwashing on brand avoidance and negative word-of-mouth," Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services, Elsevier, vol. 78(C).
    5. Huang, Kuo-Jui & Bui, Dien Giau & Hsu, Yuan-Teng & Lin, Chih-Yung, 2024. "The ESG washing in banks: Evidence from the syndicated loan market," Journal of International Money and Finance, Elsevier, vol. 142(C).
    6. Xiong, Jiacai & Yang, Zelin & Wang, Qing Sophie, 2025. "Can non-punitive regulation curb corporate greenwashing?Evidence from a word embedding model," Research in International Business and Finance, Elsevier, vol. 76(C).
    7. Xuanhao Hu & Ziyang Yu & Hong Fan & Junbin Wan, 2025. "How GDP Manipulation by Local Government Affects Corporate Greenwashing in China," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 17(8), pages 1-23, April.
    8. Liao, Feimei & Sun, Yinghao & Xu, Shulin, 2023. "Financial report comment letters and greenwashing in environmental, social and governance disclosures: Evidence from China," Energy Economics, Elsevier, vol. 127(PB).
    9. Carlos Ignacio Gallo Aguila & María del Pilar Castro Arellano & Marco Antonio Rodríguez Vega & Eliana Maritza Barturen Mondragón & María del Pilar Quezada Castro & Guillermo Alexander Quezada Cast, 2024. "Trends in Scientific Production on Greenwashing based on Scopus (1990-2023)," International Journal of Energy Economics and Policy, Econjournals, vol. 14(4), pages 464-471, July.
    10. Yannopoulou, Natalia & Chandrasapth, Koblarp & Bian, Xuemei & Jin, Boyi & Gupta, Suraksha & Liu, Martin J., 2024. "How Disinformation Affects Sales: Examining the Advertising Campaign of a Socially Responsible Brand," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 182(C).
    11. Yi Zhang & Huiming Zhang & Kai Wu & Danyun Shen, 2024. "Governance of Greenwashing Behaviors: A Perspective of Heterogeneous Firm Types," Energies, MDPI, vol. 17(6), pages 1-15, March.
    12. Zhuyun Xie & Yue Liu & Yang Liu & Lu Xu, 2025. "Unveiling greenwashing dynamics: exploring the nexus between transparent corporate practices, employee perspectives, and ethical leadership impact," Environment, Development and Sustainability: A Multidisciplinary Approach to the Theory and Practice of Sustainable Development, Springer, vol. 27(9), pages 21541-21565, September.
    13. Sadiq, Mohd & Fazal-e-Hasan, Syed Muhammad & Ahmadi, Hormoz & Mortimer, Gary & Murdy, Samantha & Dann, Susan, 2026. "Consumer hope and sustainable consumption: Integrating structural and configurational insights," Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services, Elsevier, vol. 88(C).
    14. Matthew J. Spaniol & Evita Danilova-Jensen & Martin Nielsen & Carl Gyldenkærne Rosdahl & Clara Jasmin Schmidt, 2024. "Defining Greenwashing: A Concept Analysis," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 16(20), pages 1-17, October.
    15. Zhifeng Zhang & Fariha Sami & Irfan Ullah & Sami Ullah Khan & Salahuddin Khan, 2024. "Analyzing the green marketing approaches and their impact on consumer behavior toward the environment in China: a logistic regression approach," Environment, Development and Sustainability: A Multidisciplinary Approach to the Theory and Practice of Sustainable Development, Springer, vol. 26(11), pages 29453-29474, November.
    16. Misra, Shekhar & Mishra, Saurabh, 2026. "Environmental, social, and governance performances, media sentiments, and shareholder wealth," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 203(C).
    17. Kumar, V. & D. Hollebeek, Linda & Sharma, Amalesh & Rajan, Bharath & K Srivastava, Rajendra, 2025. "Responsible stakeholder engagement marketing," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 189(C).
    18. Guosen Miao & Guoping Chen & Fan Wang & Anupam Kumar Das, 2023. "The Effect of Corporate Greenwashing on Employees’ Environmental Performance: Person–Organization Values Fit Perspective," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 15(4), pages 1-19, February.
    19. Jiang, Yongni & Yang, Pianpian & Zhang, Lu & Wang, Maotian, 2025. "Impact of green innovation openness and green innovation radicalness on firm performance: Evidence from China," International Review of Financial Analysis, Elsevier, vol. 105(C).
    20. Hu, Zinan & Borjigin, Sumuya, 2025. "Climate information disclosure quality and systemic risk in the U.S. banking industry," Journal of Financial Stability, Elsevier, vol. 79(C).

    More about this item

    Keywords

    ;
    ;
    ;
    ;

    JEL classification:

    • O35 - Economic Development, Innovation, Technological Change, and Growth - - Innovation; Research and Development; Technological Change; Intellectual Property Rights - - - Social Innovation

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:pop:procee:v:11:y:2023:p:527-538. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Professor Catalin Vrabie (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://edirc.repec.org/data/fasnsro.html .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.