Greenwashing case study — public data sources

This document lists publicly available sources used or recommended for the greenwashing labeled dataset. Each source has a URL and a human label (or "dataset"). Full text does not need to live in the repo; URL + label (and optional extracted signal counts) are enough. Attribution and license are noted where required.

1. Mendeley Data — ESG and Greenwashing (CC BY 4.0)

Field Value
URL https://data.mendeley.com/datasets/vv5695ywmn/1
DOI 10.17632/vv5695ywmn.1
License CC BY 4.0
Description Dataset used in research on ESG and greenwashing; multiple labeled items.
Download On the page, click "Download All" to get the full dataset. No API key required; manual download only.
Local path Unpacked dataset is in docs/case-studies/downloaded/DataGreenwash/. See DataGreenwash/README.md for file layout.

2. ClientEarth — The Greenwashing Files (greenwashing)

NGO analysis of fossil-fuel company advertising. Each profile is a greenwashing example (misleading green marketing).

URL Label
https://www.clientearth.org/projects/the-greenwashing-files/ (index)
https://www.clientearth.org/projects/the-greenwashing-files/aramco/ ActiveGreenwashing
https://www.clientearth.org/projects/the-greenwashing-files/chevron/ ActiveGreenwashing
https://www.clientearth.org/projects/the-greenwashing-files/drax/ ActiveGreenwashing
https://www.clientearth.org/projects/the-greenwashing-files/equinor/ ActiveGreenwashing
https://www.clientearth.org/projects/the-greenwashing-files/exxonmobil/ ActiveGreenwashing
https://www.clientearth.org/projects/the-greenwashing-files/ineos/ ActiveGreenwashing
https://www.clientearth.org/projects/the-greenwashing-files/rwe/ ActiveGreenwashing
https://www.clientearth.org/projects/the-greenwashing-files/shell/ ActiveGreenwashing
https://www.clientearth.org/projects/the-greenwashing-files/total/ ActiveGreenwashing

Source: ClientEarth, with DeSmog. No license specified; use for reference and attribution.

3. The Sustainable Agency — 20+ greenwashing examples (greenwashing)

Article listing recent greenwashing cases with links to rulings and news.

URL Label
https://thesustainableagency.com/blog/greenwashing-examples (index; 21 cases)

Individual case sources (rulings, news) are in greenwashing-labeled-sources.csv.

4. Genuine sustainability reports (GenuineSustainability)

Examples of sustainability reports often cited for transparency and GRI-aligned disclosure. Use as GenuineSustainability or similar when building a balanced set.

URL Label
https://www.apple.com/environment/pdf/Apple_Environmental_Progress_Report_2025.pdf GenuineSustainability
https://cdn-dynmedia-1.microsoft.com/is/content/microsoftcorp/microsoft/msc/documents/presentations/CSR/2025-Microsoft-Environmental-Sustainability-Report-PDF.pdf GenuineSustainability
https://sustainability.aboutamazon.com/2024-amazon-sustainability-report.pdf GenuineSustainability
https://www.gates.com/content/dam/gates/home/about-us/sustainability/sustainability-report-library/gates-2023-sustainability-report.pdf GenuineSustainability
https://www.stellantis.com/content/dam/stellantis-corporate/sustainability/csr-disclosure/stellantis/2023/Stellantis-2023-CSR-Report.pdf GenuineSustainability

Check each site for current report URL; links may change.

How to use

  1. Extend the labeled set: Add rows to greenwashing-labeled-sources.csv (url, human_label, source_name, notes).
  2. Mendeley dataset: If not already present, visit the Mendeley URL above and click "Download All"; unpack into docs/case-studies/downloaded/DataGreenwash/. Map their labels to our taxonomy (GenuineSustainability, UnintentionalMisrepresentation, SelectiveDisclosure, StrategicObfuscation, ActiveGreenwashing).
  3. Download public HTML (optional): Run ./scripts/download-greenwashing-sources.sh from the repo root to fetch ClientEarth profile pages and the Sustainable Agency article into docs/case-studies/downloaded/ for local analysis.
  4. Transformation rule: For each document, extract signal counts (vague claims, unsubstantiated comparisons, metrics without proof, baseline manipulation, nature imagery without data) and build a BehaviorSpace as in greenwashing-metrics.md. Then run GreenwashingCaseStudyTests or your evaluation pipeline and update the metrics page.