Greenhushing is emerging as a pivotal concept in the sustainability narrative. It is the practice of deliberately staying silent or withholding information about own sustainability efforts to avoid public scrutiny, criticism, or being accused of greenwashing. Large companies such as Walmart and Kraft Heinz have begun to remove or rewrite references to climate change on their websites.
Like greenwashing, greenhushing distorts the truth: messages are not being loyal to organizations’ actual achievements.
Aren’t there risks in under-communicating sustainability achievements?
Yes, there are losses in brand value. In its 2025 Sustainability Perceptions Index, Brand Finance identified a “Value Gap” (the difference between a brand’s actual performance on sustainability metrics and how it is perceived by consumers) of over USD 100 million for 98 of the top 500 brands. This means that brands with a large positive gap value, such as Microsoft, Red Bull, Gap, and Wolt, have significant opportunity to unlock brand value by improving their sustainability communication.
More needs to be done to develop narratives and communication strategies that allow organizations to avoid both greenwashing and brand value losses. Authenticity is about supporting messages with facts and behaviors.