Analyzing the Interconnection Between Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) Criteria and Corporate Corruption: Revealing the Significant Impact of Greenwashing

Greenwashing undermines the trustworthiness and integrity of environmental, social, and governance (ESG) reporting. It undermines disclosure quality, confuses decision making, destabilizes financial markets, and reduces the probability that people will trust the supplied information. This research utilizes a comprehensive literature review and bibliometric analysis to investigate the scholarly dialogue around ESG disclosure and strategies to counteract corporate “greenwashing”. This study’s objectives were achieved by bibliometric analysis, using the statistical programming tools R Studio R 3.6.0+, Biblioshiny 4.2.0, and VOSviewer 1.6.20. We acquired bibliometric data from the Scopus database for the period 2012–2024. We established the optimal sample size via the PRISMA methodology, including both inclusion and exclusion criteria. Greenwashing is a multifaceted issue that manifests in many forms, shapes, and intensities, as seen by the data. This obstructs the advancement of apparatus for prevention, quantification, and detection. Moreover, the results indicate that sustainable finance is adversely affected by greenwashing, particularly for green loans and green bonds. Moreover, the findings indicate that corporate greenwashing is a distinct kind of greenwashing.