Author
Assoc Prof Vidhi Madaan Chadda
Organisation/Institution
Faculty of Law, University of Delhi
Country
INDIA
Panel
Environmental Law
Title
Guarding Green Truths: Analysing India’s Legal Response to Greenwashing and ESG Transparency
Abstract
As the world grapples with climate change, as its fallout companies are under an increasing pressure from investors to develop green products and capitalize on them. Consumers are eager to buy only clean energy products and are even willing to pay more. As green markets, green products, green services proliferate the phenomenon of greenwashing has become prevalent. Green washing refers to the practice of promoting environmentally friendly image to deflect from a companies’ unfriendly activities in the environment. It seeks to satisfy the stakeholders expectations in terms of sustainability by making false and exaggerated claims about a product and its efficacy. The concept continues to evolve and represents a growing challenge to the work of policymakers, and scholars across countries. With the growth in the role of Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) considerations, investors, consumers and all other stakeholders make decisions regarding their interaction with a business based on ESG. There exists growing need for strengthened and streamlined framework for disclosures and compliances for corporate sustainability. Greenwashing becomes a possible challenge to ESG internalization. In this backdrop, there is a need to analyse the adequacy of the existing legal regime addressing greenwashing in India and also examine international practices and regulations on greenwashing. This becomes more pertinent especially since India is institutionalizing ESG and in the absence of comprehensive regime to curb greenwashing, it might not be able to effectively support and sustain this transition towards corporate sustainability. Indian regulators too, in the recent times have taken significant steps towards curbing this malpractice on one hand, and strengthen ESG compliances on the other. As global thrust towards standardization of ESG disclosures grips, the paper reflects on India’s response to this transformation, as it treads on this tight rope of trust and inclusivity.
Biography
Vidhi presently works with the Faculty of Law, University of Delhi, as an Associate Professor. She is a commerce and law graduate from the University of Delhi, India. Also, a fellow member of the Institute of Company Secretaries of India. She has obtained a Ph.D. in the area of Competition Law from the Faculty of Law, University of Delhi, India. She has a distinctive experience of practicing, researching, and teaching in the areas of Corporate Governance, Corporate Social Responsibility, Insolvency Laws, and Competition Regulation for over a decade. She has taught and trained at undergraduate, postgraduate, doctoral, and executive programmes in law, management, commerce, and public policy at eminent institutions. She is a resource person for a number of government and non-governmental institutions like the National Training Academy, the Ministry of Labour and Employment, the Institute of Chartered Accountants of India, the Institute of Company Secretaries of India. Vidhi currently researches in the policy and legal realm of business sustainability; explores contemporary challenges and opportunities in the Environment-Social-Governance domain. She was part of the Think 20- 2023-Task Force 2 on ‘Our Common Digital Future: Affordable, Accessible and Inclusive Digital Public Infrastructure’ during India’s G20 presidency. She has presented her research at national and international conferences and has numerous research publications to her credit. She has authored a commentary on the ‘Competition Act, 2002’ published by Bloomsbury Publishing and co-authored a practice handbook titled ‘Law and Procedures under NCLT and NCLAT’ published by Wolters Kluwer.
