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SDGwashing: a critical view of the pursuit of SDGs and its relationship with environmental performance

Author

Listed:
  • Vera Ferrón Vílchez
  • Pablo Ortega Carrasco
  • Francisco Antonio Serrano Bernardo

Abstract

The sustainable development goals (SDGs) provide a strategic vision and future-oriented plan that companies, regulators and society in general are challenged to face. However, companies’ contribution to the achievement of SDGs is questioned by some critical voices. In the business context, SDGwashing refers to positively pursuing a contribution to some SDGs while ignoring the negative impact of others. The objective of this research is to study whether there is an association between pursuing SDGs of a different nature and environmental performance. Are companies pursuing the more environmental-focused SDGs, the ones with better environmental performance, compared to companies pursuing more social-focused SDGs? Thus, this work examines whether multinationals that pursue more environmental-focused SDGs have a similar level of environmental performance to those that make efforts to pursue more social-oriented SDGs. This study analyzes whether SDGwashing exists in relation to environmental performance by studying its relationship with two relevant variables of literature on environmental management: outcome-based environmental performance (through GHG emissions) and process-based environmental performance (through CDP scoring). Using a sample of multinational firms listed on the FTSE 100 index, we applied an ANOVA test and logistic regression to show whether the pursuit of both more environmental-focused SDG and more social-focused SDGs was associated with environmental performance. The results of this study offer a significant contribution to academic literature on SDGs. Our findings show that the organizational profile of multinational companies that pursue more environmental-focused SDGs differs from the organizational profile of multinationals that are pursuing more social-oriented SDGs, in terms of environmental performance. This offers empirical evidence by showing that SDGwashing exists in international business.

Suggested Citation

  • Vera Ferrón Vílchez & Pablo Ortega Carrasco & Francisco Antonio Serrano Bernardo, 2022. "SDGwashing: a critical view of the pursuit of SDGs and its relationship with environmental performance," Journal of Environmental Planning and Management, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 65(6), pages 1001-1023, May.
    • Handle: RePEc:taf:jenpmg:v:65:y:2022:i:6:p:1001-1023
    DOI: 10.1080/09640568.2022.2033960
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    Citations

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    Cited by:

    1. Jonathan Morris & Edeltraud Guenther, 2024. "Can the Sustainable Development Goals support nexus thinking in companies? The case of water," Business Strategy and the Environment, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 33(2), pages 679-691, February.
    2. Rodolfo Damiano & Loredana Picciotto, 2026. "Mentioning Sustainable Development Goals in Large Hotel Companies' Sustainability Reports: Signals of Substantive or Symbolic Commitment," Corporate Social Responsibility and Environmental Management, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 33(1), pages 115-128, January.
    3. Roberta Costa & Luigi Tiburzi & Gustavo Morales‐Alonso & Armando Calabrese & Francesco Rosati, 2025. "SDG walking or washing? A cross‐sectoral analysis of business contribution to the SDGs," Business Strategy and the Environment, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 34(3), pages 3561-3576, March.
    4. Santi Gopal Maji & Archana Haloi, 2025. "Corporate Sustainable Practices, Institutional Factors, and Sustainable Development Goals: Evidence From Asian Emerging Markets," Sustainable Development, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 33(S1), pages 381-398, November.
    5. Marco Ghitti & Gianfranco Gianfrate & Lorenza Palma, 2024. "The agency of greenwashing," Journal of Management & Governance, Springer;Accademia Italiana di Economia Aziendale (AIDEA), vol. 28(3), pages 905-941, September.
    6. Giuseppe Maria Bifulco & Carlo Caserio & Francesca di Donato & Sara Trucco, 2025. "Does Sustainable Performance Matter for Nonfinancial Disclosure Readability? A Fog Index Analysis on Italian‐Listed Companies," Business Strategy and the Environment, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 34(5), pages 5601-5623, July.
    7. Maria Chiara Demartini & Sara Trucco & Valentina Beretta, 2026. "Sustainability Reporting and Performance: Do Italian Companies Manage Their Narratives in Mandatory Settings?," Business Strategy and the Environment, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 35(2), pages 2434-2452, February.
    8. Irene Chu & Mayank Sewak & Rohit Trivedi, 2024. "Market or Community? An Institutional Logics Interpretation of how MNE Subsidiaries Respond to Mandated Social Innovation in India," Management International Review, Springer, vol. 64(3), pages 459-487, June.
    9. Chonlawan Thammaraksa & Caroline Herlev Gebara & Michael Zwicky Hauschild & Caroline Aggestam Pontoppidan & Alexis Laurent, 2024. "Business reporting of Sustainable Development Goals: Global trends and implications," Business Strategy and the Environment, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 33(6), pages 5445-5462, September.

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