Green narratives or greenwashing? An ecological discourse analysis of IKN-related discourses Narasi hijau atau greenwashing? Analisis wacana ekologis terhadap wacana terkait IKN
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Abstract
This research aims to determine whether the IKN-related discourses produced by the Indonesian government constitute a green narrative that promotes ecological conservation and protection or are merely greenwashing strategies designed to gain public acceptance. Fifty-two articles taken from the Indonesian government’s official website about IKN, https://ikn.go.id/ are the data source of this research. Utilizing AntConc and NVivo software, the researchers investigate the word frequency of environmentally related lexical choices and complete an analysis of the six-taxonomy of greenwashing. The results reveal that five greenwashing strategies are prominent: attention deflection, deceptive manipulation, decoupling, selective disclosure, and inefficient public voluntary programs. These strategies reflect the gap between environmental claims and actions, with the government focusing on technological solutions while downplaying or omitting critical ecological issues such as deforestation, biodiversity loss, and indigenous displacement. This research makes a valuable contribution to the field of ecolinguistics by emphasizing the need for a critical examination of governmental environmental narratives, particularly in situations where ecological claims are used to justify large-scale development. This analysis could be further developed in the future by integrating indigenous perspectives, ecological data, and longitudinal monitoring of IKN's environmental impact.
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Rahayu, F. E. S., Hasyim, M., & Arifin, M. B. (2025). Green narratives or greenwashing? An ecological discourse analysis of IKN-related discourses . Diglosia: Jurnal Kajian Bahasa, Sastra, Dan Pengajarannya, 8(4), 1025-1038. https://doi.org/10.30872/diglosia.v8i4.1483
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Álvarez-García, O., & Sureda-Negre, J. (2023). Greenwashing and education: An evidence-based approach. Journal of Environmental Education, 54(4), 265–277. https://doi.org/10.1080/00958964.2023.2238190
Andreoli, T. P., & Minciotti, S. A. (2023). Attention and skepticism to greenwashing: Analysis of influence on consumer behavior. Revista de Administração da UFSM, 16(4), Article e6. https://doi.org/10.5902/1983465973743
Becker-Olsen, K., & Potucek, S. (2013). Greenwashing. In Encyclopedia of corporate social responsibility (pp. 1318–1323). Springer.
Bothello, J., Ioannou, I., Porumb, V. A., & Zengin-Karaibrahimoglu, Y. (2023). CSR decoupling within business groups and the risk of perceived greenwashing. Strategic Management Journal, 44(13), 3217–3251. https://doi.org/10.1002/smj.3532
Buil, P., Roger-Loppacher, O., & Marimon, F. (2014). The impact of SMS messages on young people’s participation in recycling campaigns. Comunicación y Sociedad, 27(1), 161–182. https://doi.org/10.15581/003.27.36009
De Freitas Netto, S. V., Sobral, M. F. F., Ribeiro, A. R. B., & Soares, G. R. L. (2020). Concepts and forms of greenwashing: A systematic review. Environmental Sciences Europe, 32(1), Article 19. https://doi.org/10.1186/s12302-020-0300-3
Delmas, M. A., & Burbano, V. C. (2011). The drivers of greenwashing. California Management Review, 54(1), 64–87. https://ssrn.com/abstract=1966721
Ebhuoma, E. E. (2024). Indigenous knowledge and natural infrastructure resilience to climate change in developing countries: A bibliometric analysis. Frontiers in Environmental Economics, 3. https://doi.org/10.3389/frevc.2024.1295690
Furlow, N. E. (2010). Greenwashing in the new millennium. The Journal of Applied Business and Economics, 10(6), 22–25. https://www.lucs.lu.se/fileadmin/user_upload/project/lucs/KKEG-22/kkeg22_littsem-3_greenwashing-in-the-new-millennium.pdf
Gong, H., & Liu, L. (2018). Ecological discourse analysis of an UN environmental story in terms of transitivity process. Advances in Language and Literary Studies, 9(3), 67–73. https://doi.org/10.7575/aiac.alls.v.9n.3p.67
Gorovaia, N., & Makrominas, M. (2025). Identifying greenwashing in corporate-social responsibility reports using natural-language processing. European Financial Management, 31(1), 427–462. https://doi.org/10.1111/eufm.12509
Guo, R., Zhang, W., Wang, T., Li, C. B., & Tao, L. (2018). Timely or considered? Brand trust repair strategies and mechanism after greenwashing in China—From a legitimacy perspective. Industrial Marketing Management, 72, 127–137. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.indmarman.2018.04.001
Janz, F., Jordanow, S., Heidenreich, S., & Schäfer, J. (2025). Shades of green deception—An empirical examination into the consequences of greenwashing of innovations. Creativity and Innovation Management, 34(2), 312–332. https://doi.org/10.1111/caim.12639
Kameo, Y. A. G. (2024). Mountains and women’s struggle in Southeast Asian short stories: A case study of ecofeminism. Diglosia: Jurnal Kajian Bahasa, Sastra, dan Pengajarannya, 7(4), 583–592. https://doi.org/10.30872/diglosia.v7i4.1050
Lyon, T. P., & Maxwell, J. W. (2005). Greenwash: Corporate environmental disclosure under threat of audit. Journal of Economics & Management Strategy, 20(1), 3–41. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1530-9134.2010.00282.x
Mansyur, S. A., Lukmana, I., Isnendes, R., & Gunawan, W. (2021). Eco-critical discourse analysis of the Indonesian President’s statement at the 21st Conference of the Parties in Paris. REiLA: Journal of Research and Innovation in Language, 3(2), 105–114. https://doi.org/10.31849/reila.v3i2.6285
Marquis, C., Toffel, M. W, & Zhou, Y. (2016). The globalization of corporate environmental disclosure: Accountability or greenwashing? Work in Progress. https://workinprogress.oowsection.org/2016/03/22/the-globalization-of-corporate-environmental-disclosure-accountability-or-greenwashing/
Pearson, J. (2010). Are we doing the right thing? Leadership and prioritisation for public benefit. The Journal of Corporate Citizenship, 37, 37–40. https://doi.org/10.9774/GLEAF.4700.2010.sp.00006
Poole, R. (2016). A corpus-aided ecological discourse analysis of the Rosemont Copper Mine debate of Arizona, USA. Discourse and Communication, 10(6), 576–595. https://doi.org/10.1177/1750481316674775
Purwaramdhona, A. B. (2025). Penggunaan analisis korpus melalui aplikasi AntConc dalam penelitian karya sastra. Diglosia: Jurnal Kajian Bahasa, Sastra, dan Pengajarannya, 8(2), 359–374. https://doi.org/10.30872/diglosia.v8i2.1198
Rahayu, F. E. S., Hasyim, M., Arifin, M. B., Lukman, L., Zamruddin, M. P., Mubarok, A., & Setyoko, A. (2025). Framing the future: An ecolinguistic analysis of government and media discourses on Indonesia’s New Capital (IKN). International Journal of Environmental Sciences, 11(4). https://theaspd.com/index.php/ijes/article/view/2175
Siano, A., Vollero, A., Conte, F., & Amabile, S. (2017). “More than words”: Expanding the taxonomy of greenwashing after the Volkswagen scandal. Journal of Business Research, 71, 27–37. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jbusres.2016.11.002
Smith, V. L., & Font, X. (2014). Volunteer tourism, greenwashing and understanding responsible marketing using market signalling theory. Journal of Sustainable Tourism, 22(6), 942–963. https://doi.org/10.1080/09669582.2013.871021
Stibbe, A. (2014). An ecolinguistic approach to critical discourse studies. Critical Discourse Studies, 11(1), 117–128. https://doi.org/10.1080/17405904.2013.845789
Stibbe, A. (2015). Ecolinguistics: Language, ecology and the stories we live by. Routledge.
Suawi, I. A., & Diedong, S. (2025). Environmental narratives and representations: A review. Ghana Journal of Development Studies, 22(1). https://doi.org/10.4314/gjds.v22i.6
Sumartini, S., Qomariyah, U. U., & Prabaningrum, D. (2025). Issues of women and nature in Indonesian novels: A study of feminism. Diglosia: Jurnal Kajian Bahasa, Sastra, dan Pengajarannya, 8(3), 767–782. https://diglosiaunmul.com/index.php/diglosia/article/view/1235
Talpur, S., Nadeem, M., & Roberts, H. (2024). Corporate social responsibility decoupling: A systematic literature review and future research agenda. Journal of Applied Accounting Research, 25(4), 878–909. https://doi.org/10.1108/JAAR-08-2022-0223
Yang, Z., Nguyen, T. T. H., Nguyen, H. N., Nguyen, T. T. N., & Cao, T. T. (2020). Greenwashing behaviours: Causes, taxonomy and consequences based on a systematic literature review. Journal of Business Economics and Management, 21(5), 1486–1507. https://doi.org/10.3846/jbem.2020.13225
Yuniawan, T., Rokhman, F., Rustono, R., & Mardikantoro, H. B. (2017). The study of critical eco-linguistic in green discourse: Prospective eco-linguistic analysis. Jurnal Humaniora, 29(3), 291–300. https://doi.org/10.22146/jh.v29i3.27441
Zhang, B., Sandaran, S. C., & Feng, J. (2023). The ecological discourse analysis of news discourse based on deep learning from the perspective of ecological philosophy. PLoS ONE, 18(1), Article e0280190. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0280190
Zhdanava, A., Kaur, S., & Rajandran, K. (2021). Representing nonhuman animals as equals: An ecolinguistic analysis of vegan campaigns. Journal of World Languages, 7(1), 26–57. https://doi.org/10.1515/jwl-2021-0003
Zioło, M., Bąk, I., & Spoz, A. (2024). Literature review of greenwashing research: State of the art. Corporate Social Responsibility and Environmental Management, 31(6), 5343–5356. https://doi.org/10.1002/csr.2842