The War on Greenwashing Is Backfiring
- Wildlife Works
- 2 days ago
- 4 min read
Updated: 12 hours ago
By Joyce Hu, Wildlife Works Global Director of Brand Marketing and Communications
The new U.S. administration’s rollback of environmental protections is already reverberating far beyond Washington. As regulatory pressure weakens, the climate burden shifts to corporations, and yet, many are quietly stepping back from their climate commitments.
Why? Because even talking about sustainability has become a minefield.
Relentless accusations of greenwashing, where companies are called out for misleading or exaggerated environmental claims, have triggered a new kind of PR strategy: inaction over scrutiny. Companies are abandoning net-zero targets or simply choosing not to report progress at all. This trend, dubbed greenhushing, has led us to a crisis of momentum.
When companies go quiet, progress and accountability disappear from public view. That makes it harder to inspire peers or pressure laggards, and it lowers the bar for what “good” even looks like. Greenhushing slows climate action at the very moment we need it to accelerate.
We’re stuck in a dangerous cycle: weak regulation has forced us to rely on voluntary corporate action. But hyper-scrutiny of that voluntary action leads to silence, inaction and stagnation.
Climate Progress Requires All Tools
Take the voluntary carbon market. It was created to fill the funding gap left by slow-moving government and philanthropic climate investments. Done right, it channels private-sector money directly to frontline communities protecting the planet’s last carbon-rich ecosystems—something many local communities depend on and are actively calling for.
But even this solution is under attack. Companies making meaningful climate investments are being lumped in with those using deceptive marketing slogans to appear more sustainable. But the data tells a different story. Independent research shows that companies purchasing high quality carbon credits are reducing their own emissions nearly twice as fast as those that don’t.
Critics argue that carbon credits distract from true decarbonization. But this is a false choice. The technology and political will needed for transformational decarbonization is taking more time than we have to develop. Companies are increasingly coming forward with the reality that their climate targets are out of reach - Microsoft being the latest.
Meanwhile, ecosystems that help stabilize our climate are being destroyed at alarming rates. Forests, in particular, are our climate’s first line of defense. They regulate the atmosphere, stabilize water cycles, and store massive amounts of carbon. Without them, even the most advanced decarbonization strategies will struggle to make a meaningful dent.
With technological innovation and regulatory frameworks for decarbonization still lagging, we need to advance climate solutions on every front. Companies have the wealth and the responsibility to both decarbonize their operations and invest in protecting nature to support global climate resilience.
The Problem: No Shared Definition of Sustainability
We need a more mature, nuanced conversation about what climate progress looks like and how it’s communicated. That means distinguishing performative gestures from sincere, if still imperfect efforts to drive change. Because worse than greenwashing is companies giving up altogether. This isn’t a free pass for greenwashing.
We must call out misleading environmental claims. But right now, our accountability culture is out of balance. We’re so focused on exposing flaws that we’re ignoring hard-won progress. And in doing so, we risk discouraging companies doing real work.
Take H&M, for example. Yes, it’s a fast fashion giant that deserves scrutiny. But it has also made meaningful moves, including phasing out coal across its supply chain. In 2024, the company reported a reduction in supplier factories using on-site coal boilers (from 118 in 2022 to 27) with a goal to eliminate them entirely by 2026. That’s real progress compared to their competitors. Yet when H&M shares these milestones, it’s often met with criticism, not support.
Part of the problem lies in the fact that our definitions of sustainability are still fragmented and unclear.
As Brittany Sierra of the Sustainable Fashion Forum points out, there’s no universal standard for what qualifies as sustainable. No consistent benchmarks. No agreed-upon metrics. In that kind of vacuum, everyone from brands to watchdogs gets to make up their own rules. That makes it easy to accuse a company of greenwashing, and just as easy for them to deny it.
Efforts to provide guidance like the Science Based Targets initiative (SBTi) can sometimes be perceived as either unachievable or lacking the clarity companies need to act confidently. That can leave businesses feeling uncertain, and understandably cautious.
A Call for Bold, Visible Leadership
To meet this moment, we need to ditch binary thinking. Climate action is not a choice between perfection or failure. It’s messy, incremental, and deeply human. We need to expect and allow messy solutions that reflect the complex world we live in.
As Christiana Figueres, the former UN climate chief, puts it: we must overcome the “paralysis of perfection.” Demanding flawless climate strategies in a flawed world is not just unrealistic. It’s self-defeating.
We’re at a crossroads. If government leadership falters, corporate leadership must step up. But if we keep penalizing imperfect progress, even the willing will walk away.
We need a reset: one that redefines what responsible climate leadership looks like, striking a balance between transparency and ambition. One that inspires bold commitments, not quiet exits. Because without visible, sustained, and courageous corporate action, we risk falling short of our climate goals.
That’s why we as consumers, investors, and advocates, must not only demand more. We must also recognize real progress when we see it. Because when companies step up, it works. But when we silence them, we all lose.
Sign the letter to businesses telling them that you support bold climate action: www.wildlifeworks.com/climateactionnow
