IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/p/arx/papers/2407.00751.html
   My bibliography  Save this paper

Crosswashing in Sustainable Investing: Unveiling Strategic Practices Impacting ESG Scores

Author

Listed:
  • Bertrand Kian Hassani
  • Yacoub Bahini

Abstract

This paper introduces and defines a novel concept in sustainable investing, termed crosswashing, and explore its impact on ESG (Environmental, Social, and Governance) ratings through quantitative analysis using a Multi-Criteria Decision Making (MCDM) model. The study emphasises that this specific form of greenwashing is not currently considered in existing ESG assessments, potentially leading to an inflated perception of corporate ethical practices. Unlike traditional greenwashing, crosswashing involves companies strategically investing in sustainable activities to boost Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) scores while preserving nonsustainable core operations. By unveiling the nuances of crosswashing, the research contributes to a more nuanced understanding of sustainable investing, offering insights for improved evaluation and regulation of corporate environmental and ethical responsibilities.

Suggested Citation

  • Bertrand Kian Hassani & Yacoub Bahini, 2024. "Crosswashing in Sustainable Investing: Unveiling Strategic Practices Impacting ESG Scores," Papers 2407.00751, arXiv.org.
    • Handle: RePEc:arx:papers:2407.00751
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://arxiv.org/pdf/2407.00751
    File Function: Latest version
    Download Restriction: no
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Michael A. Urban & Dariusz Wójcik, 2019. "Dirty Banking: Probing the Gap in Sustainable Finance," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 11(6), pages 1-23, March.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Michael Grote & Dariusz Wojcik & Matthew Zook, 2024. "Sticky substance with sticky power: Oil in global production and financial networks," Environment and Planning A, , vol. 56(2), pages 436-453, March.
    2. Wang, Kai-Hua & Zhao, Yan-Xin & Jiang, Cui-Feng & Li, Zheng-Zheng, 2022. "Does green finance inspire sustainable development? Evidence from a global perspective," Economic Analysis and Policy, Elsevier, vol. 75(C), pages 412-426.
    3. Olaf Weber & Rezaul Karim Chowdury, 2020. "Corporate Sustainability in Bangladeshi Banks: Proactive or Reactive Ethical Behavior?," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(19), pages 1-18, September.
    4. Zhang, Yunhan & Gabauer, David & Gupta, Rangan & Ji, Qiang, 2024. "How connected is the oil-bank network? Firm-level and high-frequency evidence," Energy Economics, Elsevier, vol. 136(C).
    5. Magdalena Zioło & Iwona Bąk & Anna Spoz, 2023. "Theoretical framework of sustainable value creation by companies. What do we know so far?," Corporate Social Responsibility and Environmental Management, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 30(5), pages 2344-2361, September.
    6. Arthur Hughes & Michael A. Urban & Dariusz Wójcik, 2021. "Alternative ESG Ratings: How Technological Innovation Is Reshaping Sustainable Investment," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(6), pages 1-23, March.
    7. Juan Camilo Mejia-Escobar & Juan David González-Ruiz & Eduardo Duque-Grisales, 2020. "Sustainable Financial Products in the Latin America Banking Industry: Current Status and Insights," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(14), pages 1-25, July.
    8. Diego P. Guisande & Maretno Agus Harjoto & Andreas G. F. Hoepner & Conall O’Sullivan, 2024. "Ethics and Banking: Do Banks Divest Their Kind?," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 192(1), pages 191-223, June.
    9. Zsuzsanna Győri & Yahya Khan & Krisztina Szegedi, 2021. "Business Model and Principles of a Values-Based Bank—Case Study of MagNet Hungarian Community Bank," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(16), pages 1-27, August.
    10. Ozili Peterson. K., 2021. "Making Sustainble Finance Sustainable," Financial Internet Quarterly (formerly e-Finanse), Sciendo, vol. 17(3), pages 64-70, September.
    11. Maria Cristina Zaccone & Matteo Pedrini, 2020. "ESG Factor Integration into Private Equity," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(14), pages 1-16, July.
    12. Monk, Alexander & Perkins, Richard, 2020. "What explains the emergence and diffusion of green bonds?," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 145(C).
    13. Felipe Arias Fogliano de Souza Cunha & Erick Meira & Renato J. Orsato, 2021. "Sustainable finance and investment: Review and research agenda," Business Strategy and the Environment, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 30(8), pages 3821-3838, December.
    14. Francisco Javier Forcadell & Elisa Aracil & Fernando Úbeda, 2019. "The Influence of Innovation on Corporate Sustainability in the International Banking Industry," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 11(11), pages 1-15, June.
    15. Francisca Sempere-Ripoll & Sofia Estelles-Miguel & Ronald Rojas-Alvarado & Jose-Luis Hervas-Oliver, 2020. "Does Technological Innovation Drive Corporate Sustainability? Empirical Evidence for the European Financial Industry in Catching-Up and Central and Eastern Europe Countries," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(6), pages 1-19, March.
    16. Wilson, Christian & Caldecott, Ben, 2023. "Investigating the role of passive funds in carbon-intensive capital markets: Evidence from U.S. bonds," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 209(C).
    17. Magdalena Ziolo & Beata Zofia Filipiak & Iwona Bąk & Katarzyna Cheba, 2019. "How to Design More Sustainable Financial Systems: The Roles of Environmental, Social, and Governance Factors in the Decision-Making Process," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 11(20), pages 1-34, October.
    18. Maldonado-Guzmán, Gonzalo & Pinzón-Castro, Sandra Yesenia & Juárez-del Toro, Raymundo, 2023. "Lean manufacturing is the financial performance and sustainable finances problems solution?," TEC Empresarial, School of Business, Costa Rica Institute of Technology (ITCR), vol. 17(3), pages 1-19.

    More about this item

    NEP fields

    This paper has been announced in the following NEP Reports:

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:arx:papers:2407.00751. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: arXiv administrators (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://arxiv.org/ .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.