A new report from Getty Images has found that 86% of Australian consumers believe businesses should leverage their resources to enhance societal and environmental conditions, though 78% question the authenticity of brands' environmental claims. Two-thirds of these consumers express doubts about companies' genuine commitment to sustainability.

The report, titled 'Sustainability at the Crossroads', was published through Getty Images' VisualGPS global insights platform. It identifies a trend termed 'greenhushing,' where brands opt for silence regarding their sustainability initiatives due to fears of backlash or uncertainty about effective communication.

The report also indicates a preference for realistic over idealised imagery, with 74% of ANZ consumers desiring visuals that depict the environmental impacts of climate change. Additionally, 72% of ANZ consumers want to see visuals illustrating how companies and governments are addressing climate change, rather than isolated campaign efforts.

The potential role of artificial intelligence in addressing climate issues is noted, with 75% of ANZ consumers believing AI could positively impact the climate crisis within the next five years. However, only 41% perceive AI as having a positive effect on energy efficiency.

Senior Vice President of Creative at Getty Images, Dr. Rebecca Swift, said: "What years of studying sustainability imagery has shown me is that the commercial focus on sustainability surges in times of cultural urgency and recedes in moments of economic pressure or shifting priorities. We are now in that period of pull back, but this new VisualGPS research tells us that consumer expectations are louder and more urgent than ever. People want to see real action, and they want to believe in the impact they are seeing. Visual storytelling is a key vehicle for answering this call."

The report suggests that brands should incorporate sustainability into their core values and communicate this through honest and clear visuals. The research underpinning these findings was conducted via global VisualGPS consumer surveys between July 2022 and July 2024, encompassing 25 countries with sample sizes ranging from 5,300 to 7,000 respondents.