THINK
Greenwashing, Green Hushing, or Genuine?
Sort real-sounding corporate climate statements into greenwashing, green hushing, or genuine progress.
- Type
- Activity
- Difficulty
- Beginner
- Length
- 8 min activity
Greenwashing is claiming more climate progress than you have made. Green hushing, which the episode describes as a growing trend, is doing climate work but deliberately saying little about it. Both make it harder to see what is really going on.
The statements below are fictional, but each is modelled on the kinds of things companies say. Sort each one, then read a suggested take. Thoughtful people may disagree, which is the point.
SORT THE STATEMENT
Which description fits best?
'Our new bottle is eco-friendly!' The bottle is the same plastic as before, with a green leaf added to the label.
A manufacturer cuts its factory emissions by a third over five years, but removes the word 'ESG' from its annual report and stops publishing a separate sustainability report.
A retailer publishes its full emissions, including its suppliers, sets a dated reduction target, and reports each year whether it hit the milestone, including the years it missed.
An airline says it is 'carbon neutral' because it bought cheap offsets, while its fuel use keeps rising.
A bank quietly leaves an international climate alliance but keeps its clean energy lending team and says nothing publicly about its climate goals.
The key habit: judge what a company does and reports over time, not the label it puts on itself.