Developing a Diagnostic Assessment Matrix for Jurisprudential Accountability and Regulatory Enforcement of Environmental Misrepresentation

• Sunday Sunday

  Ladoke Akintola University of Technology

  Author

Environmental misrepresentation—commonly termed greenwashing—has emerged as a significant regulatory challenge, yet existing enforcement frameworks lack standardized diagnostic instruments for determining when corporate sustainability claims cross the threshold from permissible puffery to actionable misrepresentation. This study addresses the gap between theoretical conceptualizations of greenwashing and the practical needs of regulators by developing a Diagnostic Assessment Matrix (DAM) that integrates jurisprudential accountability criteria with regulatory enforcement triggers. Drawing on a systematic synthesis of 111 greenwashing measurement studies and doctrinal analysis of EU and UK enforcement frameworks, the research employs a design-based methodology to construct and validate a multi-criteria scoring instrument. The matrix operationalizes five diagnostic dimensions: claim specificity, evidence substantiation, organizational fault attribution, harm materiality, and regulatory escalation thresholds. Validation against 47 adjudicated greenwashing cases demonstrated 89.4% classification accuracy in distinguishing enforcement-worthy violations from non-actionable claims, with strong inter-rater reliability (κ = 0.82). The findings indicate that enforcement effectiveness is substantially enhanced when diagnostic criteria explicitly incorporate institutional blameworthiness rather than focusing solely on claim falsity. The study contributes a replicable assessment framework for regulatory bodies and advances the integration of corporate criminal liability theory with environmental governance practice.

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