Buy now, save the planet later
Sustainability has a prioritization problem
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The data you’re about to see might make you uncomfortable. It might even contradict data you’ve seen elsewhere, but we’re confident in what it’s telling us, and it’s a global story.
Cracks in the consumer sustainability narrative can no longer be ignored, and they’re about to become even deeper and wider.
Ask an individual if they care about the environment, and the chances are they’ll confirm. Given the weight of scientific evidence in favor of climate change, the evident loss of biodiversity, natural disasters, and public outrage, it would be very controversial to say otherwise.
Ask millions of individuals on an ongoing basis if they care about the environment, and you can start to read between the lines and see the bigger patterns. As is often the case with our data, the truth isn’t just found in what our respondents tell us - it’s also in how those responses change over time or between groups.
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In the vast majority of countries we track, fewer people now tell us helping the environment is important to them compared to pre-pandemic. In every country we track, the number of people who say they expect brands to be eco-friendly has also shrunk in the last few years.
A quick Google search can dig up countless recent studies or news headlines which might contradict that. But the data you’re looking at tells the same story in many completely different countries, at different points in time, and the gradual trend lines are unmistakable.
This is one of many declining sustainability-related trend lines all pointing in the same direction; including interest in environmental issues, self-reported recycling, willingness to spend more on eco-friendly products, and environmental optimism. All have diminished in at least 20 or more countries.
On many fronts, we’re calling into question a lot of what we “know” about the fight against climate change. The market research industry has often failed to represent the problem in the cold light of day, the much-hyped ESG criteria has come under intense fire from many directions for its supposed contradictions, and the idea that consumer demands and choices set the agenda for sustainability is increasingly controversial.
Consumer choices are often framed as one of the most important drivers of change, but those same actions are far from free - they have many constraints bearing down on them.
