Skip to content
Beyond greenwashing: Aligning consumer ethics with corporate sustainability in hospitality marketing
WebinarOnline

Beyond greenwashing: Aligning consumer ethics with corporate sustainability in hospitality marketing

  • 09:00–09:45 UK time45 minutes
  • Online, on Zoom, inside ScholardemiaRegister, then join on this page from 08:50. How to join
  • Convened by Prof. Eugenia WickensOrganised by Scholardemia

How can hospitality businesses communicate real sustainability progress without greenwashing? This session focuses on evidence, trust and honest limits.

FreeRegistration not open

Registration isn’t open at the moment.

Follow the series to hear when registration opens.

Capacity not published

Save

About this event

Speaker update, 2 October 2026: Speakers and the chair will be announced once confirmed.
Consumer research consistently records strong support for sustainable travel, yet purchasing decisions remain shaped by price, convenience, habit and limited access to reliable information. This webinar examines how environmental labels, marketing narratives and service design influence guest trust and brand credibility. It considers the gap between stated ethical preferences and actual behaviour without treating consumers as solely responsible for changing the tourism system. Ethical marketing should support informed choice while recognising that businesses retain responsibility for the environmental and social consequences of their operations.
Panellists will explore how specific claims, comparable impact measures and verification by independent parties can strengthen confidence in hospitality brands. The discussion will examine the relationship between marketing and operations, including how evidence should be gathered before a claim is published and how organisations should communicate when targets are delayed or missed. Attention will also be given to selective disclosure, vague future commitments and the use of imagery or language that creates an impression of performance beyond what available evidence supports.
Participants will receive a structured framework for assessing whether promotional communications are clear, relevant and proportionate to verified achievements. They will learn to identify the scope of a claim, test the quality of supporting evidence and distinguish meaningful progress from routine compliance. The session will also consider how corrective communication, accessible reporting and credible complaints procedures can protect consumer agency. These tools will help researchers and practitioners align sustainability communication with accountable corporate practice rather than relying on aspiration alone. This strengthens trust across markets.

How to join

This webinar runs on Zoom. You join it here on Scholardemia, where the meeting opens inside the page with the chat, questions and polls beside it. You do not need a Zoom account or a Zoom link.

  1. RegisterFree, with your Scholardemia account.
  2. Come back on the dayThe room opens at 08:50 on Friday 28 May. We email you reminders with the Join button 24 hours and 1 hour before.
  3. Press JoinSign in with the same account. The meeting opens here, with questions, polls and the group chat beside it.

Use an up-to-date Chrome, Edge, Safari or Firefox. Allow sound when your browser asks, and use headphones if you can.

Scholardemia
Sign inCreate account

Beyond greenwashing: Aligning consumer ethics with corporate sustainability in hospitality marketing

WebinarOnlineSession 25 of 29

How can hospitality businesses communicate real sustainability progress without greenwashing? This session focuses on evidence, trust and honest limits.

  • 09:00–09:45 UK time08:00 UTC
  • Online, on Zoom, inside Scholardemia · 45 minutesRegister, then join on this page from 08:50. How to join
  • Convened by Prof. Eugenia WickensOrganised by Scholardemia

About this webinar

Speaker update, 2 October 2026: Speakers and the chair will be announced once confirmed.
Consumer research consistently records strong support for sustainable travel, yet purchasing decisions remain shaped by price, convenience, habit and limited access to reliable information. This webinar examines how environmental labels, marketing narratives and service design influence guest trust and brand credibility. It considers the gap between stated ethical preferences and actual behaviour without treating consumers as solely responsible for changing the tourism system. Ethical marketing should support informed choice while recognising that businesses retain responsibility for the environmental and social consequences of their operations.
Panellists will explore how specific claims, comparable impact measures and verification by independent parties can strengthen confidence in hospitality brands. The discussion will examine the relationship between marketing and operations, including how evidence should be gathered before a claim is published and how organisations should communicate when targets are delayed or missed. Attention will also be given to selective disclosure, vague future commitments and the use of imagery or language that creates an impression of performance beyond what available evidence supports.
Participants will receive a structured framework for assessing whether promotional communications are clear, relevant and proportionate to verified achievements. They will learn to identify the scope of a claim, test the quality of supporting evidence and distinguish meaningful progress from routine compliance. The session will also consider how corrective communication, accessible reporting and credible complaints procedures can protect consumer agency. These tools will help researchers and practitioners align sustainability communication with accountable corporate practice rather than relying on aspiration alone. This strengthens trust across markets.

How to join

This webinar runs on Zoom. You join it here on Scholardemia, where the meeting opens inside the page with the chat, questions and polls beside it. You do not need a Zoom account or a Zoom link.

  1. RegisterFree, with your Scholardemia account.
  2. Come back on the dayThe room opens at 08:50 on Friday 28 May. We email you reminders with the Join button 24 hours and 1 hour before.
  3. Press JoinSign in with the same account. The meeting opens here, with questions, polls and the group chat beside it.

Use an up-to-date Chrome, Edge, Safari or Firefox. Allow sound when your browser asks, and use headphones if you can.

Convenor

Prof. Eugenia Wickens

Convenor

OTS Academy

United Kingdom

Professor Eugenia Wickens edits the Journal On Tourism & Sustainability (JOTS) and the Journal of Tourism and Hospitality Education (JTHE), and chairs Scholardemia webinar sessions. Her research covers tourist experience and typologies, tourism routes and rural development, volunteer tourism, and event and cultural tourism. Formerly Reader in Tourism at Buckinghamshire New University, she has helped plan tourism education in Malaysia, Cambodia, Laos, Nepal, Serbia, Greece, Ireland and Turkey.

Scholardemia profileORCIDGoogle Scholar

Organised by Scholardemia.

Committee

Organising Committee

Operational leadership and event delivery team.

Prof. Eugenia Wickens

Convenor

OTS Academy

United Kingdom

Professor Eugenia Wickens edits the Journal On Tourism & Sustainability (JOTS) and the Journal of Tourism and Hospitality Education (JTHE), and chairs Scholardemia webinar sessions. Her research covers tourist experience and typologies, tourism routes and rural development, volunteer tourism, and event and cultural tourism. Formerly Reader in Tourism at Buckinghamshire New University, she has helped plan tourism education in Malaysia, Cambodia, Laos, Nepal, Serbia, Greece, Ireland and Turkey.

Scholardemia profileORCIDGoogle Scholar

Scholardemia

Organizer

Event committee

Who’s going

The attendee directory unlocks after you join

Register, join the waitlist, or use the participant dashboard your event role gives you to browse attendees and start event messaging.

Next in this series

All 29 sessions
  1. Fri 4 Jun13:00Climate-resilient tourism: From academic models to on-the-ground innovation in luxury eco-resortsSession 26
  2. Fri 11 Jun09:00Cultural tourism at a crossroads: Authentic Indigenous experiences, commodification and critical dialogueSession 27
  3. Fri 18 Jun09:00The smart tourism revolution: AI, e-tourism and the future of personalised travel experiencesSession 28
  4. Fri 25 Jun14:00Forecasting the future of travel: Economic models, policy impacts and navigating global uncertaintiesSession 29