Abstract
This dissertation examines the impact of greenwashing on corporate reporting obligations within South Africa’s corporate law framework. Greenwashing, the practice of making false, exaggerated, or misleading claims about a company’s sustainability performance, undermines the credibility of corporate disclosures and poses significant risks to stakeholder trust and market integrity. This study investigates how existing provisions of the Companies Act 71 of 2008 (the 2008 Companies Act), the King V Report on Corporate Governance, and related regulatory instruments address this issue, and whether they provide adequate mechanisms to deter and sanction misleading disclosures in corporate reporting.
Adopting a qualitative, doctrinal methodology, the study analyses statutory provisions, case law, and regulatory frameworks to assess the scope and limitations of current reporting obligations. The findings reveal that although South Africa promotes transparency through integrated reporting, its frameworks remain largely voluntary and principle-based, and therefore inadequate to deter or penalise greenwashing effectively.
The study recommends targeted legislative reform to embed ESG reporting obligations within the 2008 Companies Act, make the King V Report on Corporate Governance principles legally binding, and establish independent verification and enforcement bodies. By strengthening the regulatory foundation for corporate reporting, South Africa can ensure that disclosures reflect genuine sustainability performance rather than reputational compliance.