This article was originally published in the Brand Finance Sustainability Perceptions Index 2026.
We’ve all been seeing continuous signs of greenhushing – a silence on sustainability, or at least a decline in related communications. In January, the Financial Times reported that Nestlé’s CEO directly blamed the White House for his company’s ‘failure to talk enough about sustainability’. Regulation around Europe’s sustainability reporting is softening. Banking sector climate coalitions are weakening. Markets are less forgiving of ESG funds’ fluctuations. Consumers are less keen on potential premiums as cost-of-living demands more from their incomes.
And yet, the fundamentals show sustainability is not an option or a fad. A Harvard Business Review study in September 2025 showed that despite political pressure and some companies detracting from their climate commitments, 85% of companies surveyed have either maintained, reaffirmed or even accelerated their sustainability commitments.
This is consistent with the mood during the World Economic Forum in Davos, which took place four months later. Behind the headlines dominated by AI and geopolitics, what stood out most was not rhetoric, but reality. Across conversations and panels, there was clear evidence of businesses investing, innovating and delivering, often quietly, on climate, sustainable products and value chains, diversity and inclusion, and long-term resilience.
Industry leaders shared decarbonisation strategies being embedded into core business models, often due to the understanding that the status quo pose risks to future resource needs. New materials, processes and logistics solutions are emerging. Transition finance is evolving. None of this is easy, fast or cheap, but it is happening. And yet, much of this effort remains invisible outside ‘specialist’ sustainability circles and forums like Davos.
Sustainability does not lack ambition or action, it lacks visibility.
Silence can become a problem
Corporate restraint is understandable. In today’s political climate, particularly in more polarised societies, sustainability communication can be perceived as an ideological statement rather than a business one. The fear of being accused of greenwashing, or of taking a ‘side’ on sustainability themes, has pushed many companies into silence.
In Davos, I spoke to the head of diversity and inclusion of a leading global insurer who confirmed they did not cut on investment in that area, but do it quietly for fear of retaliation in their US operations.
But silence can become costly. Brands that fail to articulate what they are doing risk widening the gap between performance and perception, making it more difficult to recover recognition in the future and risking adverse impacts in brand strength and value over time. For example, our research shows that as a sector, professional services brands already have shown a consistent decline in associations with ‘contribution to positive causes’.
There is also a short-term risk that brands alienate employees who increasingly seek values alignment with their work and employers, business partners who still want (or need) to demonstrate their value chains are sustainable, and customers, who when given a choice of brands with similar attributes, will seek the ones more aligned with their beliefs.
Mutirão: action, not ideology
At COP30, Brazil brought the world the idea of mutirão, a collective effort to achieve something that will help a person, a community, or many. This is happening with sustainability to some extent, as businesses continue to invest in decarbonisation, green innovation, diversity, inclusion and good governance, building long-term resilience for their organisations and beyond.
But the beauty of a mutirão is the sense of community: people join because they feel inspired and want to be part of something. This is what increased sustainability silence fails to instil, as silence gives the impression that sustainability commitments and actions are going backwards, that there is no point in trying, and that the ones ‘fighting’ are alone. They are not.
Yes, we all need to do more and faster. Yes, some systems are broken beyond repair. But we should not allow these realities to prevent us from acknowledging the positive ones. The sustainability related advancements being made (even if not perfect) can inspire others. We need good news and a collective momentum to motivate and boost real-world progress, which builds resilience for brands, their organisations, and society. For that, we also need the silent warriors to speak up.
