As firms’ environmental and social initiatives face rising political pushback and authorized threats, sustainability leaders have a troublesome communications option to make: keep quiet or communicate up. It’s simple to see why a rising variety of organizations are selecting the previous and deliberately under-communicating their sustainability efforts—or shutting down communications altogether. Companies face stress from all sides of the political spectrum—from conservative backlash towards ESG and “woke capitalism” to progressive scrutiny over unsubstantiated claims and greenwashing. On this extremely charged setting, staying quiet can seem to be the most secure approach to mitigate threat. Nonetheless, it is a short-sighted technique.
