Greenwashing and responsible investment practices: empirical evidence from Zimbabwe

Abstract

Purpose This paper aims to explore the nature of responsible investment (RI) practices in Zimbabwe from the point of view of the institutional asset owners by investigating not only how they incorporate the ESG criteria when selecting investee companies but also the elements of greenwashing and impression management. Design/methodology/approach Based on semi-structured interviews conducted with Pension Fund Entities, Mutual Funds and Life Assurance companies, the authors used interpretive methodological approach to derive the symbolic RI techniques used. Findings This study discovered many symbolic acts of “greenwashing” and impression management as opposed to genuine concerns for ESG issues which are at the core of RI practice. RI is used as not only a systematic risk management instrument but also a symbolic marketing tool due to weak regulatory environment. Contrary to the significantly high public communication on RI, the actual links of the asset owners with the environmental impacts in investee companies is insignificant. The authors also found that there are clear distinctions between how foreign and local firms operating in the local economy engage on ESG matters. Practical implications This is likely to have practical implications for stewardship practices in developing jurisdictions where RI practices are puerile. Originality/value This paper contributes to the literature on RI dialogue by demonstrating the peculiarity of ESG engagement in a developing economy.

Covering sustainable finance: Role perceptions, journalistic practices and moral dilemmas

“…In the past few years, Sustainable Finance has become a buzzword in the financial sector, being portrayed as a powerful leverage to fight climate change (GSI Alliance, 2019). However, in some instances, the investment strategies and pervasive advertisement of seemingly ‘new and green’ investment products in the industry have been criticized by activists, scholars and policy makers for ‘greenwashing’ (Dupre and Roa, 2020; Hellsten and Mallin, 2006; Olatubosun and Nyazenga, 2019). Given the crucial role that financial news and journalists play in providing a forum for discussion, information and critique about this trend, this study sought to understand how journalists from six countries in Europe (AT, BE, CH, DE, NL, UK) describe their daily journalistic practices and how they perceive their journalistic role when covering SF.…”

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Rethinking luxury brands and sustainable fashion business models in a risk society

“…This explains the need for an industry-wide non-competitive collaboration to develop technologies that could be shared by many in the industry. Conversely, the non-specification of the measurement criteria of the scientific targets may encourage greenwashing and impression management which has plagued financial and corporate report world for quite a while now (see Solomon et al, 2013;Olatubosun and Nyazenga, 2019). The organisers of the "Fashion Pact" have however promised to publish how they meet the annual scientific targets through the Boston Consulting Group (BCG), but how they will source the data remains unclear.…”

Devil’s Advocate or Agenda Setter? The Role of Journalists Covering Sustainable Finance in Europe

“…What is more, an analysis by the "2 Degrees Investing Initiative" found that 85% of green themed funds make "unsubstantiated and misleading impact-related claims that violate existing market regulations" (Dupre and Roa 2019, 4), and Olatubosun and Nyazenga (2019) have found responsible investment practices in Zimbabwe being used as a symbolic marketing tool. These recent findings are in line with past criticism that has been raised by various scholars and experts with regard to sustainable and responsible investments for its lack of transparency (Schrader 2006), data availability and reporting (Ferrua Rotaru 2019), diverging definitions (Paetzold, Busch, and Chesney 2015), or inconsistent measurements of ESG ratings (Berg, Kölbel, and Rigobon 2020), and more recently a dilution of regulation of SF products on the European level (Webb 2021).…”