Our thinking

Don’t hush it

14 October, 2022

Accusations of greenwashing are rife. Sometimes the charge of greenwashing is justified, but sometimes it is unfounded or just plain malicious. Many an axe has been sharpened on the accusation of greenwashing.  

This fraught atmosphere around greenwashing can be intimidating and difficult to navigate. Even with the best intentions, walking the line between cut-through messaging and borderline-greenwashing can be difficult, particularly for marketing teams trained to sell a story. With a difficult challenge and significant risks for falling short, some brands are choosing simply to walk away from communicating sustainability at all. This is the lesser-known activity of ‘greenhushing’.  

Greenhushing – under-claiming and under-communicating – is the opposite of greenwashing but almost as damaging. Failing to communicate sustainability beliefs, targets and ambitions not only puts companies at a disadvantage compared to their peers with investors, stakeholders and consumers who are all more engaged than ever on these topics, it also holds back progress. Communicating sustainability sets and raises broader expectations, encourages healthy competition within sectors, and shares best practice for making successful change. Without it, we face fragmentation that will hinder progress. 

We clearly don’t advocate greenwashing, but we can’t support greenhushing either. Be bold and forthright in your sustainability communications and use them to drive change. Of course, we can help you navigate the difficulties in this space as we’ve done with several clients, but start with this simple check: would you be happy for your critics to scratch the surface of what you’re saying? Strong sustainability communications start with strong actions. And if you’re proud of what you’re doing, don’t hush it.  

By Ben Wood