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The remarkable rise of ‘greenhushing’
Businesses once trumpeted their climate goals. Now they are quietly plugging away.
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In January, 10 attorneys-general wrote to America’s biggest financial firms threatening legal action if the companies did not change their climate and diversity policies.
PHOTO: AFP
The Economist
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Read the headlines and the easy conclusion is that big business has abandoned the fight against climate change. In the past two weeks, BP, an oil giant, sold its American onshore wind business; Jaguar Land Rover, a carmaker, has reportedly delayed the launch of its new electric Range Rover; and HSBC, a bank, left the Net-Zero Banking Alliance (NZBA), a group committed to lending in a greener way. But these bits of news are only part of the picture. Taken as a whole, companies are quietly making progress on their climate goals.
Consider a report published in March by PwC, an auditor. It found that of the 4,000-odd firms that reported climate commitments in 2024 to the CDP, a non-profit, only 16 per cent dialled back their goals, while 47 per cent stood by them and 37 per cent became more ambitious.
