Do the greenwashing and corporate social responsibility are significant to mitigate the firm-level emissions: moderating role of environmental, social and governance indicators

This study investigates the impact of corporate strategies, including greenwashing, environmental, social, and governance integration, and corporate social responsibility environments, on sulfur dioxide emission reduction among 653 Chinese enterprises from 2008 to 2022. The research reveals that, while often perceived as superficial, greenwashing indirectly leads to genuine environmental actions under market and regulatory pressures, significantly reducing sulfur dioxide emissions. The interplay between greenwashing and environmental, social, and governance principles further accentuates this effect, as firms align their operations with environmental, social, and governance standards to avoid reputational risks, thereby contributing to emission reduction. The corporate social responsibility environment is also critical to corporate behavior toward sulfur emissions. In corporate social responsibility-oriented settings, firms face heightened expectations and regulatory demands, prompting them to adopt more effective sulfur emission reduction strategies. This study provides a nuanced understanding of the complex dynamics between corporate environmental strategies and actual emission outcomes, offering valuable insights for policymakers and industry stakeholders in guiding corporate behavior toward environmental sustainability.