Study finds brands have to be environmentally responsible

02 May '15

3 min read

Consumers in India and Indonesia top the table in a study by the Nuremberg-based market research company GfK that reveals that three quarters of customers say brands have to be environmentally responsible.

The study showed close to two-thirds feel guilty when they do something that is not environmentally friendly. The same number of people claims to buy products and services that appeal to their beliefs, values or ideals.

The findings of the survey show how important environmental values are to people internationally, GfK said on its website.

GfK asked over 28,000 people aged 15 or older across 23 countries about how strongly they agree with specific statements. Over three quarters (76 per cent) agree that brands and companies have to be environmentally responsible, while just short of two thirds (63 per cent) say they feel guilty when they do something that is not environmentally friendly and only buy products and services that appeal to their beliefs, values or ideals.

This is in sharp contrast to the few who disagree with these statements. Only six per cent feel that brands do not have to be environmentally responsible, 14 per cent do not feel guilty when they do something that is not environmentally friendly and 11 per cent indicate that they do not only buy products and services that appeal to their beliefs.

With so much competition for consumers’ money, everything that brands can do to align with their customers will help them stand out and win loyalty. Consumers want to feel good about whom they spend their money with – and these findings indicate one way that brands can tune in to that desire, GfK said.

Consumers in India and Indonesia express the highest overall agreement with this statement (94 and 93 percent respectively). India and Indonesia also lead for numbers feeling guilty when they do something not environmentally sound, standing at 85 and 83 per cent respectively - while South Korea (41 per cent), Poland (38 per cent) and Sweden (37 per cent) bring up the rear.

And even in those countries with the lowest levels of agreement – Japan at 58 per cent and Sweden at 62 per cent – we are still seeing well over half of their consumers backing this statement. The countries that show the greatest intensity of support (those agreeing strongly that brands have to be environmentally responsible) are Brazil with 47 per cent, Turkey with 46 per cent and Russia with 40 per cent of consumers.

The response by consumers showed an even spread across all age groups, GfK said. (SH)

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