Greenhushing refers to the act in which a company intentionally refrains from publicly disclosing or downplays its eco-friendly activities or sustainability targets. A neologism combining ‘Green’ (eco-friendly) and ‘Hushing’ (keeping silent), it is the opposite concept of Greenwashing, in which a company exaggerates an eco-friendly image without actually engaging in green management. As stakeholder scrutiny and demands regarding greenwashing have intensified, it is a kind of avoidance strategy created as a backlash by companies that find it difficult to meet stringent standards.
After the 2024 U.S. presidential election, the federal government strengthened its stance of easing ESG regulations, and some Republican state governments defined ESG as an ideological issue and expressed opposition. Accordingly, to avoid becoming political targets, companies have sometimes quietly pursued ESG strategies or refrained from disclosing them altogether.
[Greenhushing Ⓟ ESG.ONL/ESG Today]
As a concrete example, Meta, which had been publishing climate change response reports, has recently been reducing official mentions related to climate, and Amazon has removed the specific timeline from its goal of achieving carbon neutrality by 2040. According to the ‘2024 Net Zero Report’ by the Swiss carbon finance consulting firm South Pole, the greenhushing phenomenon is widespread across countries, but not all companies have reduced their sustainability efforts. Approximately three-quarters of the 1,400 companies across 12 countries surveyed reported that they were investing more funds than before in reducing carbon emissions, yet disclosed that eco-friendly companies were more reluctant to report publicly because they face greater scrutiny the greener they are.
Corporate greenhushing indicates that a company is passive about ESG activities including environmental issues. If the greenhushing phenomenon spreads, consumers become unable to judge corporate sustainability, weakening the foundation for ethical consumption, while investors lose critical ESG data and become unable to compare ESG management across companies. Long-term silence ultimately has a negative impact on both the relationship between consumers and companies and trust in corporations and policies.
To prevent greenhushing, legal protections and benefit structures related to disclosure must be established so that companies can continue ESG management. This is because companies need to build quantified, data-based ESG reporting systems for responsible communication.
by Editor O