Building trust through transparency: Why ‘greenhushing’ is a problem

Last summer, the Washington Post published an article about investment firm BlackRock scrubbing its climate commitments from its website. This was just one of many examples of prominent companies going silent on their climate pledges. A report cited in the same article found that among 1,200 large private companies, one in four had no plans to publicize their climate targets.

At the time, the question was what this meant for broader environmental, social, and governance (ESG) concerns, particularly because many of the companies in question control trillions of dollars in assets and are well-positioned to help the world avoid worst-case-scenario climate impacts. Or perhaps the silence was a reaction to the political climate of the time, when attacks on companies seemingly came from both the left and right, and even from executives themselves.

A year later, it’s difficult to say if things have changed. What’s evident, however, is a growing concern about companies not being entirely forthright with their emissions data, a practice known as “greenhushing.”

What is greenhushing—and why does it matter?

Greenhushing refers to a refusal to publish ESG information. It’s the opposite of greenwashing, which is when companies overstate their sustainability efforts.

Greenhushing typically occurs for one of two reasons: Companies either want to back away from increasingly unattainable climate goals but don’t want to admit to doing so publicly, or they aren’t changing anything fundamental about their green strategies but are seeing their peers attacked for greenwashing (or some other communications shortcoming) and don’t want to risk suffering the same fate.

Whatever the reason, companies that remain silent on their sustainability efforts are missing opportunities to tell good stories and subsequently connect with stakeholders and the public. In addition, forthcoming regulations on mandatory emissions reporting mean greenhushing may no longer be an option for companies. Therefore, practicing transparency about emissions is simply the ethical thing to do. It’s in everybody’s best interests to understand their climate impact, with some studies even showing consumer habits reflect this understanding.

What companies can do if they’re not communicating their green initiatives

Telling sustainability stories is a significant opportunity for companies to communicate with stakeholders. Companies looking to publicize their sustainability efforts for the first time can get off on the right foot by stress testing their green strategy, familiarizing themselves with new standards and reporting directives, and then developing a communications strategy that makes the most of their investments.

Stress test your green strategy

Green strategies typically refer to planning for environmental stewardship as well as meeting regulatory requirements and public preferences. According to EcoHedge, this means “assessing environmental impact across the business, setting green objectives, and implementing eco-friendly changes.”

It’s important that such strategies are both ambitious and realistic. Companies need to be clear about the story underpinning their strategies. Greenhushing sometimes occurs when it seems sustainability investments don’t come with a guaranteed ROI. Companies may panic or choose to hide their progress until the timing and environment are more suitable. This is all the more reason why transparency about green initiatives relies on having a clear, actionable strategy. 

Familiarize yourself with new standards and reporting directives

There are myriad guidelines and frameworks within the sustainability reporting landscape, and companies will need to be clear about which are most useful and relevant to their own industry.

That said, two major developments in the sustainability reporting landscape are likely to be top of mind for companies as regulatory bodies make some level of disclosure compulsory:

  • The EU’s Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive (CRSD) requires large companies and listed companies to regularly publish details of how their activities affect people and the environment.
  • As we covered in a previous blog post, the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) recently released a much-anticipated new rule that would require US companies to disclose losses from extreme weather events caused by climate change.

Meeting these new regulatory requirements will necessitate the gathering and analysis of a large volume of data across departments and business units. For both the CSRD and the new SEC ruling, the first reporting deadline—which will apply to a subset of the total number of companies that will eventually be within scope of the regulation—is in 2025, covering the 2024 fiscal year. The penalties for failing to comply with these regulations may be severe; companies that do not have a plan in place yet will need to move quickly.

Develop a communications strategy

With the previous two steps in place, companies can develop a communications strategy. This typically starts with an ESG report, which can require a significant investment of time and resources. However, an effective strategy will often go beyond this initial effort, with some companies reusing the content they created for the report as part of a broader campaign to share the story of how their efforts are making the world a cleaner, greener place.

Communications should be rigorous and honest, and companies should have the confidence to share both highs and lows. Where efforts fall short, companies can explain why. And initiatives can be updated based on changing targets or evolving regulations. In this way, communications can function as real-time reporting, explaining what the company has done, where it can improve, and what its future plans are.


Telling a story remains one of the most effective ways to organize data, communicate findings, and create a connection with real people. Companies that go the extra mile to accurately report on their emissions, to build trust related to what’s working and where work is still needed, will be well-positioned to navigate changing regulations and consumer sentiment.

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Allan elevates thought leadership with a veteran editor’s perspective on distinctive content and a journalist’s eye for trends in world events. He began his career as a writer and editor covering business, economics, and the environment for the Tallahassee Democrat, the Miami Herald, The New York Times, and The International Herald Tribune in Paris. Allan went on to work at McKinsey & Company for more than 20 years in Europe, Asia, and North America, where he specialized in emerging markets and shaped global thought leadership as editor in chief and editorial board member of the McKinsey Quarterly. At LEFF, Allan works with colleagues and clients to launch new projects, and he uses his expertise to support the professional development of LEFF’s team of editors.

 

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