In New Zealand, climate reporting laws aimed at enhancing transparency are having an unintended effect: promoting 'greenhushing', where companies deliberately limit what they disclose about their climate actions.

Unlike greenwashing, which exaggerates environmental efforts, greenhushing reflects a cautious silence driven by fear of criticism or accusations of greenwashing.

Research into the reporting regime, introduced in 2021, shows that organisations are often hesitant to communicate their climate initiatives, even as they comply with statutory disclosure requirements.

Many banks and financial institutions rely on standardised climate scenarios to assess risks, yet uncertainty in these projections complicates decision-making.While some measures like sustainable finance targets are straightforward to implement, embedding climate risk into core policies remains limited.Regulatory requirements for independent assurance add another layer of scrutiny, further encouraging silence.

The shift in 2025 to raise the reporting threshold to organisations with over NZ$1 billion in assets has also reduced coverage, leaving fewer entities accountable.

Analysts warn that if climate disclosures remain overly cautious, the regime may fail to achieve its goal of influencing financial decisions and guiding capital allocation towards a low-emissions economy.

For meaningful impact, organisations must integrate climate analysis into board-level decisions and clearly communicate how these risks inform investments, even amid uncertainties.