Greenwashing And Corporate Accountability In India: Rethinking ESG Claims Through The Lens Of Consumer And Securities Law
Taiseem Rafique Ahmed Chachadi, University Law College & Department of Studies in Law, Bangalore University, Bengaluru, Karnataka, India
ABSTRACT
Companies now talk about the environment constantly, in annual reports, advertisements, investor presentations and on their websites, and ESG has moved from a voluntary extra to something that shapes how capital is allocated. Greenwashing is the legal problem that follows: an environmental impression that is stronger than the evidence behind it. India has no single statute on the subject. SEBI regulates sustainability reporting through the BRSR and BRSR Core frameworks and has issued specific rules for ESG funds and green bonds, the CCPA issued its 2024 Guidelines on misleading environmental claims under the Consumer Protection Act, 2019, and the Companies Act, 2013 governs CSR. This essay argues that the real weakness lies less in a shortage of rules than in the way they sit apart from one another. A company can make different environmental statements to consumers, investors and regulators without any one regime noticing the mismatch. The essay proposes that claims be tested on specificity, evidence, proportionality, internal review and consistency across channels, and that SEBI and the CCPA coordinate more closely. The credibility of ESG in India will depend less on how much companies disclose than on whether people can verify and rely on what is disclosed.
Keywords: Greenwashing; ESG; Corporate Accountability; Sustainability; BRSR; Consumer Protection; Securities Regulation; Corporate Governance; Environmental Claims.
