The orchestra, not the violin

Most companies are getting sustainability communications wrong.

Not because they don't care. Not because they lack data. But because they're stuck between two traps.

Greenwashing — saying too much, claiming too much, promising too much. We've all seen the backlash.

Greenhushing — saying nothing. Staying quiet. Hoping nobody asks difficult questions.

Neither works.

And here's what makes it more complex: most companies now have sustainability and finance teams working hard on rigorous disclosures. The data is there. The reporting frameworks are there.

But the communications strategy hasn't kept up.

Executives are making public statements that don't align with what's in the annual report. Social media is still running purpose-led narratives that belong to a different era. Internal teams are telling a different story to employees than the one going out to investors.

That misalignment is a reputational risk hiding in plain sight.

With UKSRS expected to come into effect in 2027, the scrutiny on what UK companies say publicly — not just what they report — is about to intensify.

My focus is helping communications teams get ahead of this. Not the disclosures themselves — that's the job of your finance, accounting, sustainability and legal teams. But the coherent communications strategy that sits around them.

The orchestra, not the violin.

Because getting the reporting right is only half the job. Communicating it credibly is the other half.