Greenshouting on tour: What the world is saying about our Greenshouting Guide

As the daughter of a professional musician, I grew up around recording studios. I learned early on that getting the right mix is crucial: it makes your message strong, clear, and catchy. 

These days, many brands are continuing to do great work on social and environmental issues, but they’re struggling to find the right mix for their communications. Enter the Greenshouting Guide, a free guide to sustainability communications created in partnership with Creatives for Climate and Nice & Serious, which introduces ‘dials’ you can use to fine-tune your messaging.

Over the last few weeks, I’ve gotten to talk with marketers, creative leaders, and communicators about how the Greenshouting Guide is helping them find their voice, at a time when too many brands are going quiet on sustainability. Here’s a bit of what I’ve heard.

Words are powerful, and combating silence means finding a word to describe what we do want, not just what we don’t. If Greenwashing is what happens when brands say more than they do, and Greenhushing emerges when they go quiet and start doing more than they say, we must find a better balance.

Put simply, Greenshouting is telling honest, compelling stories about the work you are doing in sustainability. It’s about communicating the real steps you’re taking, and where you’ve fallen short. It’s driven by the desire to realize the benefit of the sustainability investments your company is actually making — not trying to get credit you haven’t earned, or avoid risk. It’s rooted in responsible claims and real evidence (better yet, based on verified third-party certifications, like B Corp). 

Done right, Greenshouting builds customer trust and brand loyalty.

The launch of the Greenshouting Guide, on March 30 at ChangeNOW in Paris, marked a turning point. Arriving at a moment when too many teams feel stuck between political pressure, anti-ESG narratives, and regulatory uncertainty, the Guide is empowering teams to act and communicate with confidence. Going quiet is not benign. When responsible brands are silent, misinformation fills the gap, public trust erodes, and the cultural momentum necessary to shift behavior slows. Over time, less talk leads to less impact, by reducing the perceived value and (ultimately) the investment companies make in sustainability. 

Greenshouting is about reversing this “doom loop” to ensure that efforts receive appropriate recognition and support.

Our launch events at ChangeNOW and B Corp Champions Retreat reached over 200 in-person attendees. Online, we reached thousands of practitioners across 87 countries, with over a thousand webinar registrations and more than 3,500 on-demand streaming sessions. 

Now that Greenshouting is out in the world, we’re getting feedback (the good kind!) and it’s exciting to hear how it’s landing in different countries and cultural contexts. Together with B Corp leaders from Patagonia, Tony’s Chocolonely, Formula E, Back Market, and ChangeNOW, we’ve started a global conversation about the path forward. Here’s some of what folks are saying:

“For brands trying to reach Gen Z, this matters more than ever. They’re actively choosing the brands that admit mistakes, show behind-the-scenes reality, and communicate progress openly, not just when things look good. That's GreenSHOUTING, and I believe it's one of the most important ideas in impact comms right now.” — Layla Smith, Brand & Campaign Strategist, Australia

"Sustainability comms is becoming as important as policy or innovation in driving climate action, the guide’s authors say. Case studies show that honesty and transparency is a strategy to cut through greenwashing risk. Companies that communicate both progress and shortcomings, such as outdoor gear brand Patagonia, tend to build stronger credibility.” — Robin Hicks, Deputy Editor, Eco-Business, Singapore

“The planet loses when we retreat and get small. I think we’re still finding our voices again, but I’m also seeing (and hearing!) brands get loud again. I end my Fast Company piece with this prediction: Courage will be the most important competitive advantage for businesses in 2026.” — Kate Williams, CEO, 1% for the Planet, United States

“Both Patagonia and Tony's Chocolonely showed that one of their most powerful tools for communication in sustainability continues to be the report. Yes, the report. But not understood as a PDF that "must be published", but as a narrative platform that expresses identity, tone, ambition and, above all, honesty.” — Max Bersimon, Director of Strategy, done!, Spain

“The audience engagement and thoughtful questions we received showed just how urgent this conversation is. We can't let fear of getting it wrong stop us from speaking up about the progress we're making.” — Marie Castelli, Head of Sustainability & Public Affairs, Back Market, France

“One of my biggest takeaways from being on this panel was that authenticity isn’t just a communications strategy, it’s operational. It shapes culture, leadership, decision-making and the way people experience your business long before they ever buy from you. There’s something powerful about people collectively deciding the systems we inherited aren’t the only way forward.” — Jonathan D. Hart, Owner & Design Director, Bigmouth Creative, United States

These personal responses and reflections were amplified by mainstream media coverage in the Financial Times’ Sustainable Views, Fast Company, and ELLE Japan, among others. In all, we saw millions of impressions across all six continents.

Working with our partners Creatives for Climate and Nice & Serious on the Greenshouting Guide has catalyzed a new phase of collaboration, building a broader coalition capable of shifting not just campaigns, but culture.

One sign that Greenshouting is spreading: Sistema B, our partner in Latin America, has just released Spanish and Portuguese translations of the Guide. We’re excited to expand access to these ideas and hear insights from our colleagues about how to adapt them for new contexts.

And we’re far from done. In the coming weeks and months, we’re working with our teams on the ground worldwide to expand our Greenshouting tour. Some places you can spot us:

• May 15: Nuovi Scenari: The B Corp Summit in Florence, Italy

• June 10: Sustainable Brands in San Diego, California, U.S.

• June 24-25: Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity in Cannes, France

• August: Sustainable Brands Ōtautahi in Christchurch, New Zealand

• September: Policymaker Roundtable in Brussels, Belgium, EU

We’re also building a workshop to bring Greenshouting to life in a more interactive format, designed to be activated within companies, agencies, and brands. If you’re interested in amplifying this work together, find me on LinkedIn, and let’s keep the conversation going.