Green Hushing: The Silent Strategy Skewing Corporate Climate Action

You may have heard of greenwashing, a marketing tactic where companies exaggerate their environmental claims. But have you heard of green hushing?

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Green hushing happens when companies choose to under-report or hide their climate goals from public view to evade scrutiny.

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Although the term was introduced around 2008, it gained recent attention when Swiss consultancy South Pole conducted an analysis of 1,200 sustainability-minded companies to assess their progress in their climate journey.

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The study revealed a concerning trend: a quarter of these companies are not publicizing their climate goals and are engaging in green hushing.

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Why are companies engaging in green hushing?

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In 2023, consumers filed two lawsuits against Coca-Cola, alleging that the company had misled them about the recyclability of its Dasani water bottles, claiming them to be 100% recyclable. An environmental watchdog called out Dutch airline KLM for its misleading tagline, "Be a hero, fly CO2 zero." Personal care brand Burt’s Bees faced scrutiny for advertising that it obtains its ingredients from nature and uses responsible sourcing methods.

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These well-known brands are facing class action lawsuits from environmental activists and groups for touting their commitment to sustainability. Companies worry about these lawsuits and tarnished reputations and choose not to communicate their climate goals at all.

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They feel that talking about sustainability goals increase the expectation of people, which leads to more scrutiny. They believe that it is better to remain silent and engage in green hushing rather than being labeled as greenwashers.

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The political situation in the U.S. is also contributing to green hushing

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In 2022, Texas banned local and state government entities from doing business with firms that boycott fossil fuels.

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In December 2022, Florida pulled out $2 billion worth of its assets managed by BlackRock Inc. because Blackrock has developed strong environmental, social, and corporate governance (ESG) portfolios.

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As a result, investment giants like Blackrock and Vanguard have scrubbed references to their climate pledges on their websites.

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The impact of green hushing on corporate climate action

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While crackdowns on greenwashing are important, green-hushing is not an ideal way for companies to address these challenges.

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When bigger companies share their climate actions, it has a knock-on effect on other companies to create change and take more climate action. If these companies go silent, the fight against the climate crisis might lose its momentum.

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As climate disclosures become mandatory in the EU and the U.S. in the next few years, larger companies in these regions will be compelled to share their progress on addressing climate issues. They will then have fewer options to engage in green hushing.