Raising the bar: Connecting research and industry to cut greenwashing

A/Prof Mukesh Garg, 2026

Purpose

Associate Professor
Mukesh Garg.

As Research Partner for the Confederation of Indian Textile Industry (CITI) Sustainability Awards in 2024, 2025 and 2026, and a member of the European Accounting Association (EAA) Sustainability Reporting Committee since 2023, Dr Mukesh Garg has sought to strengthen sustainability reporting by connecting academic research with industry practice. His objective has been to promote transparent, decision-useful and high-quality sustainability reporting while supporting responsible management practices. Through these complementary roles, he has contributed to advancing sustainability reporting in both industry and the international academic community, ensuring that emerging research informs organisational practice and that practical challenges inform future research.

Practice

In his role with CITI, Mukesh contributed to the development and independent evaluation of the annual Sustainability Awards for the whole of the Indian textile industry's value chain, by reviewing sustainability reports, assessing organisations against recognised sustainability reporting principles, and providing evidence-based feedback for improvement – which helped improve comparability, reduce greenwashing and motivate enhancement of sustainability practices across several participating organisations. He worked closely with CITI leadership, industry participants and program stakeholders to ensure the framework was practical and relevant, developing award categories, guiding application requirements, and contributing to environmental, social, and governance capability-building through evaluation feedback and executive education initiatives. As a member of the EAA Sustainability Reporting Committee since 2023, he has contributed to discussions on emerging sustainability reporting issues, supported knowledge sharing among accounting academics across Europe and internationally, and promoted research that informs sustainability reporting policy and practice through participation in EAA symposiums and submissions to international standard-setters on sustainability reporting.

Output

The immediate result was a rigorous and credible evaluation process for participating organisations in the CITI Sustainability Awards, encouraging improvements in sustainability disclosures, lowering greenwashing, and improving sustainability governance. Drawing on his research on sustainability disclosures, climate risk and corporate behaviour – particularly in areas such as voluntary ESG reporting, net-zero commitments and governance responses to external shocks – Mukesh developed a structured and evidence-based assessment framework for the CITI Sustainability Awards for 2024, 2025 and 2026. His involvement in the EAA Sustainability Reporting Committee further strengthened the dissemination of emerging sustainability reporting knowledge among academics, international standard-setters and practitioners, creating stronger links between research, education and professional practice.

Outcome

CITI Sustainability Awards participating organisations benefited from constructive feedback that encouraged improvements in sustainability governance, reporting quality and organisational accountability. The awards encouraged companies to benchmark themselves against leading practices. At the same time, Mukesh's work through the EAA Sustainability Reporting Committee has contributed to international collaboration on sustainability reporting research and facilitated the exchange of ideas between universities, standard setters and professional bodies.

Impact

The long-term impact extends beyond individual organisations. By improving sustainability reporting practices and promoting transparency, these activities support better decision-making by investors, regulators, customers and the broader community. Between 2024, 2025 and 2026, reporting consistency and comparability improved significantly among participating CITI organisations: 45-plus organisations applied in 2025, and more than 150 in 2026, each submitting structured, evidence-backed applications demonstrating enhanced transparency, governance and climate risk awareness. The framework also reduced greenwashing by requiring verifiable documentation across all award categories. The combination of industry engagement through CITI and international leadership through the EAA Sustainability Reporting Committee demonstrates how academic expertise creates measurable societal impact, enhancing the reputation of Monash Business School as a global leader in responsible management education and sustainability research.