Companies Tread Lightly on Climate Talk as Political Winds Shift
BELLEVUE, WA – With the political landscape changing, many companies are quietly adjusting how they discuss their environmental initiatives. This trend, known as “greenhushing,” involves downplaying or avoiding public discussion of climate-friendly actions to mitigate potential backlash.
One example of this shift is Caelux, a California-based startup producing high-efficiency glass for solar panels. According to CEO Scott Graybeal, the company has altered its messaging since the re-election of a leader who has shown skepticism towards climate action. Instead of focusing on carbon-free electricity, Caelux highlights job creation and manufacturing, aligning with the administration’s priorities.
“With any messaging, you have to tailor your message to the audience and to gain the most receptivity you can,” Graybeal explained.
This strategy reflects a broader trend where companies are avoiding the phrase “climate change” in discussions, even as they continue developing and deploying environmentally sound solutions. This reticence is partially driven by concerns about political repercussions and, in other regions, regulatory scrutiny.
Research from Connected Impact, a UK-based firm, highlights this pattern. Their analysis of the largest public companies in Britain found that 63 out of 100 were under-promoting their environmental work. In the United States, this tendency was even more pronounced, with 67 major public and private firms engaging in greenhushing.
“People were under-communicating and under-promoting what they were doing,” said Lucy Walton, CEO of Connected Impact.
Jennifer Holmgren, CEO of LanzaTech Global Inc, which converts carbon dioxide into feedstock, echoes this sentiment. She plans to emphasize job creation and economic growth. “I think we have to stop talking about, ‘Everything we do is climate change,’ because it’s almost like there’s a visceral reaction to those words,” she says. “This isn’t a good time to put a red flag in front of the bull.”
This shift comes as some large corporations have scaled back their commitments. For example, six of the largest US banks cut ties with the Net-Zero Banking Alliance, a United Nations-backed initiative. Also, companies are hesitant to publicly display their interest in decarbonization.
Matthew Blain, a principal at Voyager, a US venture firm that invests in climate tech startups, notes that heavy-emitting industries are increasingly nervous about discussing their low-carbon technologies due to fear of political and reputational damage.
European companies also face challenges, as regulators have increased scrutiny of environmental claims, with penalties for greenwashing. This has made companies hesitant to publicize their efforts. Some industry experts view greenhushing as a pragmatic tactic to keep decarbonization efforts moving forward.
Edward Maibach, a professor at George Mason University specializing in climate change communication, argues that the most important thing is that products succeed, regardless of the marketing language. “A rose by any other name would smell as sweet,” Maibach says.
