Do management climate change concerns mitigate greenwashing? Evidence from China

In this study, we investigate whether management climate change concerns (MCCCs) have an effect on the greenwashing behavior of listed firms. We construct a score to measure MCCCs, which is computed via the informational content of the Management Discussion and Analysis (MD&A) sections in annual reports that contain climate-change-related words (phrases). We employ a panel dataset that comprises Chinese companies listed on the A-share market between 2015 and 2021 to examine the effect of MCCCs on greenwashing behavior via panel regression analysis. We find that the number of management concerns regarding climate change have increased, which has mitigated greenwashing behavior. The in-depth integration of MCCCs directly inhibits greenwashing through the corporate governance structure. Additionally, the effects are more evident among enterprises in non-highly polluting industries, enterprises with strong innovation ability, enterprises in eastern China, and enterprises in strongly competitive markets.