04-09-2026IMPACT COUNCIL

The problem with Earth Month isn’t greenwashing

It’s the silence of the brands getting it right.

[Photo: Getty Images]

The Fast Company Impact Council is an invitation-only membership community of top leaders and experts who pay dues for access to peer learning, thought leadership, and more.

Every April, the internet fills up with green logos, limited-edition packaging, and pledges that will be quietly retired by May. We’ve gotten good at calling that out. Greenwashing is understood, documented, and increasingly prosecuted. What we talk about less is the other problem: the brands that are actually doing the work, but have stopped saying so.

Both are failures. Just different kinds.

Here’s what’s actually happening. The share of S&P 100 companies using “ESG” in their sustainability report titles dropped from 40% in 2023 to just 6% in 2025. But the work hasn’t stopped. According to a 2025 EcoVadis study, 87% of U.S. companies have actually increased sustainability spending even with regulatory uncertainty. They’re doing it, they’re just not saying it. PwC called it an “era of quiet progress.” I’d call it fear. Greenwashing lawsuits are real, regulatory scrutiny is tightening, and overclaiming—even when the underlying work is solid—has become a liability. So the brands with the most credibility have gone silent, and the ones with the least credibility have filled the space.

When........

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