Human resource management systems shaping the greenwashing and greenhushing paradox in corporate environmental sustainability

Corporate sustainability communication is increasingly characterised by two opposing failures: greenwashing (over-claiming environmental performance) and greenhushing (strategically suppressing genuine achievements to avoid scrutiny). This systematic literature review synthesises findings from 88 peer-reviewed publications published between 2012 and 2025 to explore how Human Resource Management (HRM) systems encompassing recruitment, training, performance management, culture-building, and sustainability communication influence organisations’ ability to achieve credible versus symbolic environmental sustainability. Drawing on the AMO (Ability Motivation Opportunity) framework, signalling theory, the paradox perspective, and green psychological climate theory, the review reveals five integrated thematic clusters: (1) Green HRM (GHRM) as a driver of substantive environmental performance; (2) the greenwashing paradox, wherein symbolic HR practices reinforce misleading environmental claims; (3) greenhushing as an emerging phenomenon in HR communication strategy, theoretically well-developed but still empirically nascent; (4) dark-side and boundary-condition effects of GHRM, including employee burnout and coercive green monitoring; and (5) the ESG HRM credibility nexus in the context of escalating disclosure regulation. The review provides a conceptual mapping of antecedents, mediators, and consequences of the GHRM greenwashing nexus, with implications for consumer trust, employee behaviour, organisational performance, regulatory compliance, and employee well-being. We use the TCCM (Theory Context Characteristics Methodology) approach and 12 priority gaps to formulate a structured future research agenda. The findings have implications for HR professionals, sustainability managers and policy makers in the new post-CSRD regulatory landscape. Businesses are being increasingly pushed to demonstrate their environmental actions are real. Some overstate their green credentials (greenwashing) and others deliberately don’t talk about their actual environmental success (greenhushing). This review looks at the Human Resources (HR) role of a company, which is responsible for hiring, training and managing employees, and how they are central to both issues. We examine 88 academic studies from 2012 to 2025 to demonstrate that HR systems that truly invest in environmental skills, motivation and culture result in actual sustainability gains. But HR practices that are put in place for show and not for real can exacerbate greenwashing. We also discover that when employees are overwhelmed with environmental demands, without adequate support, they become burnt out and engage in box-ticking. Based on our findings, HR managers, sustainability officers and regulators should consider HR data as a crucial piece of evidence for the validity of environmental claims.