.png){kind=logo}
.webp)
Friendly lessons from me, Mike Smith, founder, CEO, and your resident sustainability translator here at Aclymate — on how we can measure, reduce, and report our climate impact together.
As the year winds down, I tend to reflect a little more. Not just on emissions numbers or targets, but on behavior. What makes people act, what makes them freeze, and what gives them the confidence to move forward together.
In a recent article I wrote called Greenhushing in the Upside Down, I explored a trend I’m seeing more and more in business: companies that are doing real, credible sustainability work but choosing not to talk about it.
That silence isn’t accidental. It’s driven by fear. Fear of backlash. Fear of being misunderstood. Fear of operating in politically charged times where saying the wrong thing can feel riskier than saying nothing at all.
This phenomenon has a name: greenhushing. And while it may feel safer in the short term, it’s a real problem in the long run.
When companies stop sharing progress, we lose momentum. We lose learning. And we lose the collective confidence that meaningful climate action is still possible even when the noise is loud and the politics are messy.
Leadership, especially now, doesn’t require perfection. It requires honesty, transparency, and the willingness to say: here’s what we’re doing, here’s what we’re learning, and here’s where we still need to improve.
That’s how trust is built with customers, partners, employees, and peers.
If your company has made sustainability progress this year, don’t let it disappear into a year-end folder.
Here’s a simple, low-risk way to combat greenhushing:
Sustainability communication doesn’t need to be loud, it just needs to be honest.
Want help getting it right? Read: What Is Greenhushing?
One of the best antidotes to greenhushing is third-party validation.
Frameworks like SBTi, CDP, EcoVadis, CSRD, GRI, ISSB, TCFD, GHG Protocol, and ISO-aligned standards give companies a way to communicate progress without hype — because the credibility comes from independent review, not marketing language.
At Aclymate, we help companies navigate and report across these frameworks — whether that means building a compliant carbon inventory, responding to customer and investor questionnaires, preparing for regulations like CSRD, or earning credible third‑party certifications. And if you’re not sure which certification or reporting framework is right for your business, we’ll help you make that decision based on your size, industry, customers, and goals.
When your targets and data are validated against recognized standards, sharing progress becomes less risky, more responsible, and far more trusted.
In another recent piece I wrote, Friends & Sociopaths, I reflected on something that’s easy to overlook in business and climate work alike: we don’t do hard things alone.
Progress — personal or professional — happens in community. Friends, colleagues, peers, and partners help us reality-check fear, stay grounded, and keep going when it would be easier to retreat.
Sustainability works the same way. When companies see others like them taking action — imperfectly, honestly, and publicly — it becomes easier to move forward together.
Silence isolates. Community sustains.
Greenhushing may feel like self-protection, but over time it slows the very progress we need.
The businesses that will lead the next phase of climate action aren’t the loudest — they’re the clearest. They measure carefully, act responsibly, and communicate honestly.
And they don’t do it alone.
Mike’s Take: Greenhushing in the Upside Down
Read: What Is Greenhushing?
Read: How to Avoid Greenhushing in a New Era of ESG
Talk to Us: Book a Demo
If you received this email from a colleague, subscribe here to get monthly sustainability lessons, tools, and stories from Aclymate — your sustainability team.
Thanks for spending a few minutes with me this month.
If you ever want to talk through how to communicate your sustainability work clearly, credibly, and without fear, my team and I are here to help.
Warmly,
Mike Smith
Founder & CEO, Aclymate
Climate Dad