arbiter
JournalsAccount

Effects of Mandatory Carbon Reporting on Greenwashing

Jody Grewal et al.

The Accounting Review2026https://doi.org/10.2308/tar-2023-0247article
FT50UTD24AJG 4*ABDC A*
Weight
0.50

Abstract

We study the effects of mandatory environmental reporting on greenwashing. Our setting is a regulation in the United Kingdom requiring firms to report carbon emissions, or mandatory carbon reporting (MCR). Measuring greenwashing as the discrepancy between companies’ external carbon-related discussions in corporate social responsibility (CSR) reports and their underlying carbon performance, we find MCR leads to a decline in three types of greenwashing: excessive length, over-optimism, and vague commitments, relative to performance. MCR also curtails greenwashing in other (noncarbon) environmental disclosures, suggesting a spillover from MCR to firms’ broader environmental reporting. Drivers are shown to include higher expected reputational and regulatory risks for noncarbon issues after MCR, and a governance spillover, where the governance resources allocated to MCR also benefit noncarbon reporting. Data Availability: Data are publicly available from sources indicated in the text. JEL Classifications: M41; Q56; G38; Q54.

Open via your library →

Cite this paper

https://doi.org/https://doi.org/10.2308/tar-2023-0247

Or copy a formatted citation

@article{jody2026,
  title        = {{Effects of Mandatory Carbon Reporting on Greenwashing}},
  author       = {Jody Grewal et al.},
  journal      = {The Accounting Review},
  year         = {2026},
  doi          = {https://doi.org/https://doi.org/10.2308/tar-2023-0247},
}

Paste directly into BibTeX, Zotero, or your reference manager.

Flag this paper

Effects of Mandatory Carbon Reporting on Greenwashing

Flags are reviewed by the Arbiter methodology team within 5 business days.

Evidence weight

0.50

Balanced mode · F 0.40 / M 0.15 / V 0.05 / R 0.40

F · citation impact0.50 × 0.4 = 0.20
M · momentum0.50 × 0.15 = 0.07
V · venue signal0.50 × 0.05 = 0.03
R · text relevance †0.50 × 0.4 = 0.20

† Text relevance is estimated at 0.50 on the detail page — for your query’s actual relevance score, open this paper from a search result.