When it comes to spreading a company's sustainability message, good intentions aren't enough. Heidi Buckhout, manager of sustainability with Guidehouse, tells what companies must do to avoid "greenwashing."

Greenwashing — the practice of talking about corporate sustainability without actually doing anything about it — has long been a problem. But Buckhout thinks the situation is improving. “Now people are starting to call out brands and companies for doing that,” she says.

In some cases, there are legal ramifications for being dishonest or disingenuous about a company’s sustainability efforts. As a result, Buckhout says, some companies are afraid to talk about the subject at all — a trend known as “greenhushing.”

Guidehouse recommends a middle path: “You talk about your sustainability journey, but you’re honest about it.” There’s a balance to be struck between aspiration and achievement, but silence is not an option. “If you’re not talking about it,” Buckhout says, “you’re probably not doing anything. People are going to ask why.”

Companies are being called upon, not only to embrace sustainability, but to make the effort part of the brand. Buckhout says more consumers are caring about the origins of the products they buy, even as they’re attracted by low prices. “We can be conscious consumers if we choose.”

There’s another reason why inaction on corporate sustainability is no longer an option today: regulation. In the U.S. and elsewhere, governments are moving to require that companies disclose their carbon emissions, at least those that fall under the Scope 1 and 2 categories. Scope 3 emissions, those generated by supply chain partners, aren’t included in the new public disclosure rule by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, Buckhout says, but that’s no reason to be complacent about this difficult measurement.