Corporate responsibility or corporate illusion? An integrative review analysis of the Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) shortcomings and greenwashing in Sub-Saharan Africa

This study examines how environmental, social, and governance malpractices manifest as selective disclosure and weak assurance, enabling greenwashing across corporations in sub–Saharan Africa, and delineates governance and policy levers to curb these behaviors. Following integrative review standards, the study screens Scopus and Web of Science outputs and synthesizes 22 peer-reviewed studies published between 2014 and 2024 using a transparent PRISMA-informed pipeline and thematic coding to ensure replicability and analytic depth. The evidence shows that greenwashing is driven by regulatory gaps, voluntary compliance regimes, and narrative heavy self-reporting, while quality of integrated reporting is unevenly translated into real performance, signalling persistent decoupling between disclosure and outcomes; the preponderance of studies identifies governance weaknesses and selective disclosures as recurrent enablers across sectors including certification schemes and the built environment, corroborating the dominance of symbolic over substantive implementation in many African settings. The review argues for stronger ESG legislation, independent third-party auditing, and digital monitoring tools to restore investor confidence, protect public trust, and align corporate behaviour with the Sustainable Development Goals in sub-Saharan Africa