Greenhushing in The Upside Down

We live in unusual times.

I could be referring to practically anything about our current world, but what is most bewildering to me, it is how virtue has been made into something sinister, and how destructive behaviors are being portrayed as virtuous.

It’s like we’re living in the upside down.

If you’re unfamiliar with the concept, it comes from the Netflix show “Stranger Things”, where the main characters are forced to deal with a dark mirror world of their own – the “upside down”. This world is filled with monsters and confusion, but the viewer comes to discover that the upside down is truly a mirror of the more typical reality, as many of the creatures are created by the truly frightening – the real-world fiends who will destroy everything in service of power.

In these interesting times, the hits keep on coming.

“Leaders” in tech with the wealth that should allow them to stand tall instead find themselves constantly bowing. Not to be outdone though increasingly an afterthought, Bill Gates published “Three tough truths about climate.” In it, he minimizes the risk climate poses to civilization, tries to reframe it as one of many issues facing the developing world, and claims we should prioritize human welfare over climate.

I appreciate needing to redirect climate work to effective ends. There’s plenty of waste. I also agree with the need to focus on human wellbeing.

But Mr. Gates knew exactly how this would be interpreted – as the walk-back from climate commitment that it is. He intentionally ignores that the greatest beneficiaries of emissions reductions are those most on the margins today. These are the very people who will pay the greatest costs on failing to prevent our worst climate outcomes. And yes, climate has the potential to end civilization – just think about the three nuclear states of India, Pakistan, and China, all with recent border conflicts and all facing severe risks from climate.

Frankly, I have no idea why the climate world cares what Bill Gates has to say. I stopped caring when I learned that his wife divorced him for spending time with Jeffrey Epstein, both after she had told him it was a bad idea and also after Epstein had been convicted of child prostitution.

The only reason I even bring him up is because I think he’s an example of the symptom of the upside-down reality we live in – reframing cowardice as conviction or withdrawal as prudence. While his work in many ways has been admirable, like other “leaders”, he’s quick to bend.

In more immediate terms, I think that this is an example of something that has been troubling me for the past few months – how quickly the rest of us are to bend, too. I’m talking about the epidemic of “greenhushing”.

If you’re not familiar with greenhushing, it’s the upside-down version of greenwashing. Greenhushing is about hiding the good work that it has done because you are afraid of being seen a responsible steward of resources and a considerate member of your communities.

A lot of words come to mind, but the main one is cowardice.

This isn’t prudence. It’s fear.

And how on Earth did we get so scared to talk about doing the right thing?

Don’t be afraid. Be proud.

At its core, sustainability is about a fundamental value that the vast majority of humans believe in – that we should both care for the natural world that enables our existence and brings us meaning, but also that every organization should live to waste not so they’ll want not.

Need some proof? Here’s some:

1. You’re part of the huge majority of companies. Only 8% of respondents to a report by Teneo are reducing their ESG commitments. 92% of respondents are maintaining or expanding their commitment to ESG.
2. 70% of respondents to a PwC survey found that looking into sustainability helped them to make better strategic decisions.
3. A different PwC survey of consumers found that there’s a 10% premium consumers will pay for sustainable products, even in the face of inflation. More than four out of five respondents were willing to pay a premium for clearly articulated sustainable products.
4. A 2024 peer-reviewed paper – “ESG Reporting: Impacts, Benefits, & Challenges” - Shows that transparency through ESG reporting can strengthen accountability, stakeholder trust, and ethical business practices

As a parent, I tell my kids that doing the right thing is almost always the better thing for you in the long run, even if it feels uncomfortable in the near-term. That’s as true in sustainability as in any other field.

But there’s also a bigger problem in hiding virtuous behavior – you’re losing the power of example and the chance to be a leader. It’s the same reason a parent would want their children to hang out with good influences – examples matter.

To highlight the power of example, during my time in the Navy Reserve, I provided final military honors at the funerals of veterans, from all walks of life and across Colorado. During the pandemic, I had to travel to a small town in Eastern Colorado to do one such funeral. I arrived in streetwear and wearing a mask, as the pandemic was still raging. For the unmasked crowd of people in that, I could not have looked like more of an outsider. After quickly changing into uniform but still wearing a mask, that full and unmasked church went to one where three-quarters were masked. No one said a thing about it.

What that experience taught me is:

1. Example is powerful. One person, in a position of respect, can change the behaviors of hundreds.
2. People know what the right thing to do is. Sometimes they just need social permission to do it.
3. People are afraid of looking different. They’ll risk the safety of themselves and their loved ones for that fear. Most everyone had a mask; they just chose not to wear it.

So, knock it off with the greenhushing.

Ignore the non-leaders who are telling you climate isn’t as big a deal as it really is for the planet or your business.

And most importantly – keep working on climate and sharing it.

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