Beyond the buzzwords: Why how you talk about sustainability matters more than ever

By: Pamela Gill-Alabaster

This article draws insights from a panel discussion I moderated at the 6th Annual Uplift Summit at Columbia University on November 15, 2024. Hosted by Women & Sustainability, the Uplift Summit brings together industry leaders, academics, policymakers, and students to accelerate climate solutions, gender equity, and sustainable innovation. Our panel, "Shaping the Narrative: Storytelling & Strategy in Sustainability," featured three experienced voices: Claudia Dreifus, science journalist and author; Kim Matsoukas, Director, Sustainability at Coach; and Alice Roche-Naude, Sustainability Strategy Director at Futerra. Together, we explored how powerful climate narratives shape the way companies think, act, and lead on sustainability, and how to communicate authentically without falling into greenwashing.

The language of sustainability is broken.

Ask most Americans what ESG stands for, and you might hear "eggs, sausage, and grits." That's not a joke—it's what recent Maslansky & Partners research found. When most of the country doesn’t understand your terminology, you have a communication problem.

But this isn't just about acronyms. It's about a fundamental disconnect between what companies are doing to create long-term value and how they're talking about it—or increasingly, not talking about it at all.

The Two-Sided Risk

Companies today find themselves walking a fine line between two extremes.

On one side sits greenwashing: Making claims you can't back up, or getting out over your skis with audacious goals that sound impressive, but lack substance. The reputational damage from being called out is real and lasting. Consumers have grown skeptical, with more than half worrying that brands engage in greenwashing, according to recent Kantar research.

On the other side is a newer phenomenon: greenhushing. A growing number of companies with science-based targets, for example, are keeping quiet about their progress. A study by South Pole found that around a quarter of companies simply choose not to talk about their science based targets. And marketers feel the same pressure: Forrester reports that 84% of CMOs want to say more about their sustainability work but hesitate because they’re worried about being accused of greenwashing.

The result? Organizations doing genuinely good work stay silent, leaving a vacuum filled by either skepticism or the loudest voices in the room, neither of which serves anyone's interests.

The Real Opportunity: Reframing, Not Retreating

The solution isn't to stop talking about sustainability. It's to talk about it differently.

This starts with replacing tree-hugging language with impact demonstration. Instead of leading with environmental attributes, lead with what matters to your stakeholders: value creation, risk management, innovation, and superior product performance.

Consider what different audiences actually care about:

• Investors want to know if you are protecting assets and anticipating disruptions, whether supply chain risks, regulatory changes, or reputational damage. They want to see how you're using these challenges as levers for growth and innovation, building resilience for an uncertain future. However, EY’s 2024 Institutional Investor Survey shows a widening “say–do” gap: Investors talk about the importance of sustainability, but many hesitate to act because they don’t trust the information they’re getting. Most say greenwashing is getting worse, and they report serious concerns about the materiality, comparability, and accuracy of current sustainability disclosures.

• Employees increasingly expect more than a paycheck. They want to work for organizations whose values match their own. In fact, companies that articulate clear values and purpose see ~40% higher retention than their peers. When talent can’t align with organizational values, that’s not just a soft cost, it’s a business problem.

• Consumers, particularly younger ones, want more than a badge of sustainability. According to research house NIQ, consumers want a product that performs and lasts. Even among consumers who care less about impact, quality and durability win. At the same time, Gen Z is increasingly shopping for brands whose values reflect their own.

• NGOs and civil society want to see evidence that you're managing your material impacts responsibly. They're watching not just what you say, but what you measure and report.

Simple Language, Complex Reality

Science itself poses one of the biggest challenges in sustainability communication. Climate impacts, biodiversity loss, and circular economy principles are genuinely complex topics that don't lend themselves to digestible soundbites 

But complex doesn't have to mean complicated.

The most effective sustainability stories translate abstract risks into relatable human realities. When one in three Americans has experienced a climate-related disaster in the past two years, you don't need to explain parts per million of carbon dioxide. You can connect the dots between business resilience and the flooding, fires, or extreme weather that people have lived through.

When talking about circularity, you don't need to diagram materials flows. You can talk about products designed to last, those that can be repaired instead of replaced, or those that retain their value over time. Coach's reframing of sustainability through the lens of craftsmanship and longevity is a perfect example: It strengthens their core value proposition rather than adding a separate "sustainability layer" that consumers tune out.

Building Authenticity Through Transparency

Here's what responsible reframing looks like in practice: It's honest about where you are, not just where you're heading. It reports progress against clear, time-bound goals, even when that progress is imperfect.

In an EY study, more than half of all consumers said they tend to have more trust for companies that publicly share long-term sustainability and corporate social responsibility goals. They don't expect perfection. They expect honesty.

Authenticity is built through pragmatic, responsible approaches to managing your business for the long term. It's backing up claims with third-party certifications and verifiable data. It’s about being clear about your methodology and boundaries.

From a journalist's perspective, credibility markers include clear, specific evidence; transparent methodology; third-party validation; and a willingness to discuss both successes and setbacks. The business case must be believable, not aspirational.

From Marketing Language to Material Disclosure

We're entering an era where sustainability communication is being reshaped by regulation, investor expectations, and public scrutiny. New disclosure requirements, like the EU's Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive, are turning sustainability into an auditable, material business practice.

This is good news.

When sustainability data must meet—or come closer to—the standards for financial data, it forces consistency and clarity. It rewards companies doing real work and places those engaged in window dressing at risk. It shifts the conversation from aspirational commitments to actual performance.

The companies that will thrive in this environment are those being straightforward about both progress and challenges, using clear metrics, leveraging robust data, and treating sustainability as a fundamental aspect of long-term business performance. 

The Path Forward

The narrative around sustainability doesn't need to be rewritten, but it does need to be reframed and better grounded. Stop leading with the moral imperative and start leading with the business case. Stop using insider jargon and acronyms and speak in language your stakeholders understand. 

Most importantly, don’t stay silent about good work out of fear. The risk of greenhushing may be less visible than the risk of greenwashing, but it's just as real. When companies doing substantive work stay quiet, they cede the conversation to skeptics.

The organizations that get this right will find that sustainability isn't a liability to manage or a marketing angle to exploit. It's a source of competitive advantage—one that creates value for investors, resonates with employees, delivers better products to customers, and builds resilience for whatever challenges lie ahead.

That's not tree-hugging. It’s just good business.