From strong aspirations to greenhushing - while managing legitimacy and risk. A study on how institutional pressures under the EU Green Claims Directives shape the future of corporate sustainability communication

Abstract

The emergence of the EU’s Green Claims Directive has reshaped the institutional conditions for corporate sustainability communication. While prior research has emphasized symbolic compliance and decoupling between talk and action, less attention has been paid to the reverse: when organizations act but deliberately tone down their communication. This thesis investigates how one of Sweden’s largest ports responds to increasing regulatory pressure by transitioning from visionary sustainability messaging to strategic silence. Based on institutional theory and qualitative data from interviews and archival material, the study traces a movement from aspirational talk to greenhushing, where fear of being accused of greenwashing becomes a guiding force. At the core of this shift lies a legitimacy dilemma: to be perceived as legitimate, the port must act, and be seen to act, on sustainability. Yet visibility also increases exposure to scrutiny and sanctions. Silencing communication offers short-term protection but may lead to long-term irrelevance. The study contributes to research on institutional responses to sustainability regulation by conceptualizing greenhushing as a form of communicative decoupling. It shows how organizations manage legitimacy under uncertainty by withdrawing the narratives that once mobilized change.