• Sea change: More and more companies will focus on providing sustainable products made from recycled ocean plastic, taking targeted action:
  • In Spring 2017, Adidas launched the new editions of the popular UltraBoost shoe, all made from ocean plastic.
  • Procter & Gamble committed to introduce 25% recycled plastic across 500 million bottles sold annually on the company’s haircare brands.
• At the same time, consumers are increasingly more aware of the impact of ocean plastic on wildlife and on their own health  Tweet This!, and of the importance of recycling. According to the research:
  • 66 per cent of Polish consumers prefer to drink water from a recyclable bottle.
  • Over half of UK fish consumers would be interested in sustainable alternatives.
  • 72 per cent of UK consumers would buy products with packaging made from recycled plastic.

• Transparency: As consumer distrust towards governments and media is spreading to companies, the latter will have to demonstrate greater transparency and openness regarding product ingredients, packaging and sourcing, as well as manufacturing processes. According to the research:
  • No less than half of Europeans agree that the enhanced ability of consumers to communicate and find information through the internet and social media puts pressure on companies to be more transparent.
  • One out of five 20- to 24-year-olds in the UK would like online retailers to publish videos showing how shoes and clothes are made.

References:

This article was compiled using a publication by Mintel. For the sake of readability, we did not use brackets or ellipses but made sure that the extra or missing words did not change the publication’s meaning. If you would like to quote these written sources from the original please revert to the link below:

http://www.mintel.com/european-consumer-trends/

The post Mintel research: Key 2018 consumer trends relate to sustainability appeared first on SustainCase - Sustainability Magazine.

According to a new, international study by Unilever, of 20,000 adults from five countries – Brazil, India, Turkey, the United Kingdom and United States – a third of consumers (33 percent of those surveyed) would choose to buy from sustainable brands, i.e. brands they believed to be socially and environmentally beneficial.

Key findings include:

• This trend (purpose-led purchasing) is more noticeable among consumers in emerging markets, as compared to developed ones: 53 percent of consumers in the United Kingdom and 78 percent in the United States said they felt better when purchasing sustainable products, compared to 88 percent in India and 85 percent in Turkey and Brazil.

• Over one in five (21%) of respondents said they would actively choose brands provided these brands made their sustainability features clearer, with both their packaging and marketing. This means that a possible unexploited opportunity of €966 billion out of a €2.5 trillion total market for sustainable goods is out there, for brands that will choose to make their sustainability credentials clear.

Unilever’s own financial performance testifies to the scale of the aforementioned opportunity: among the company’s hundreds of brands, Unilever’s Sustainable Living brands (which integrate sustainability into both their purpose and products) grew 30 percent faster than the rest of the business, accounting for nearly half of Unilever’s growth in 2015.

According to Keith Weed, Unilever’s chief marketing and communications officer, this research “confirms that sustainability isn’t a nice-to-have for businesses  Tweet This!”. “In fact,” he continues, “it has become an imperative. To succeed globally, and especially in emerging economies across Asia, Africa and Latin America, brands should go beyond traditional focus areas like product performance and affordability. Instead, they must act quickly to prove their social and environmental credentials and show consumers they can be trusted with the future of the planet and communities, as well as their own bottom lines”.

References:

This article was compiled using a press release by Unilever. For the sake of readability, we did not use brackets or ellipses but made sure that the extra or missing words did not change the press release’s meaning. If you would like to quote these written sources from the original please revert to the link below:

https://www.unilever.com/news/press-releases/2017/report-shows-a-third-of-consumers-prefer-sustainable-brands.html

The post Major Unilever Research: Potential untapped opportunity of €966 billion out of a €2.5 trillion total market for sustainable goods – 20,000 adults from five countries appeared first on SustainCase - Sustainability Magazine.

According to the 2015 Cone Communications Millennial CSR Study, based on the findings of a survey among 1,003 18- to 34-year-olds, Millennials show strong support, in a number of ways, for Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) efforts by companies. More specifically:

• 91% of Millennials would change brands to a cause-related one  Tweet This! (of comparable quality and price)

• 87% of Millennials would buy environmentally or socially beneficial products and 59% bought such a product in the past year

• 88% of Millennials would stop buying products from a company with bad business practices

• When deciding what to buy or where to go shopping, 81% of Millennials take into account a company’s social and environmental initiatives

• 70% of Millennials would pay more for sustainable products

• A company supporting a social or environmental cause would be seen more positively by 93% of Millennials

• For 86% of Millennials companies should not just make profits but tackle social and environmental issues

• 81% and 82% of Millennials, respectively, would like companies to report on their progress in their CSR efforts and generate and communicate outcomes

References:

This article was compiled using a study by Cone Communications. For the sake of readability, we did not use brackets or ellipses but made sure that the extra or missing words did not change the study’s meaning. If you would like to quote these written sources from the original please revert to the link below:

http://www.conecomm.com/research-blog/2015-cone-communications-millennial-csr-study

The post Cone Communications research: Millennials embrace CSR appeared first on SustainCase - Sustainability Magazine.

In 2015 American insurance company Aflac & LightSpeed GMI conducted a survey, in which 6,000 consumers and 355 investment professionals were asked their views about Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) programs and initiatives by businesses. Key findings were as follows:

• 79% of consumers believed companies committed to ethical business practices outperformed others in their sector

• 81% of consumers would choose to buy from a company involved in philanthropic activities constantly – not only in difficult times

• 92% of millennials (18- to 34-year-olds) would prefer to buy from a company committed to business ethics

• 69% of consumers would invest in an ethical company

• A company’s commitment to CSR and corporate ethics is the second highest priority – after salary – for consumers, as regards a potential employer

• 75% of consumers would prefer to work for a company with solid CSR practices

• 82% of millennials, and 74% of all consumers, would strive to be employed by a company recognized for its commitment to ethical business practices

References:

This article was compiled using a survey by American insurance company Aflac & LightSpeed GMI. For the sake of readability, we did not use brackets or ellipses but made sure that the extra or missing words did not change the survey’s meaning. If you would like to quote these written sources from the original please revert to the link below:

https://www.philanthropy.com/items/biz/pdf/AflacCorporateSocialResponsibility.pdf

The post Aflac & LightSpeed GMI survey: 79% of consumers believe companies committed to ethical business practices outperform others in their sector appeared first on SustainCase - Sustainability Magazine.

Over 30,000 consumers in 60 countries were polled about their purchasing behaviour with 66 per cent of them prepared to pay more for sustainable brands—an 11% increase from the previous year.

This upward trend is expected to continue as Millennials, one of the largest generations in history, are about to move into their prime spending years. 73 per cent of them are willing to pay extra for sustainable offerings—up from 50 per cent in 2014.

“Sustainability is a worldwide concern that continues to gain momentum—especially in countries where growing populations are putting additional stress on the environment,” says Grace Farraj, senior vice president, Public Development & Sustainability, Nielsen. “An increasing number of consumers in developed regions consider sustainability actions more of an imperative than a value-add.”

Brand trust is a key sustainability factor that will influence almost two-thirds of global consumers.

“This indicates an opportunity for consumer-goods’ brands that have already built a high level of trust with consumers to evaluate where best to introduce sustainable products into the market to drive growth,” says Carol Gstalder, senior vice president, Reputation & Public Relations Solutions, Nielsen. “On the flip side, large global consumer-goods’ brands that ignore sustainability increase reputational and business risk. This may give competitors of all sizes, the opportunity to build trust with the predominantly young, socially- conscious consumer looking for products that align with their values.”

Nielsen’s research also found that 66 percent of consumers were willing to pay more for sustainable goods in comparison to 50 percent in 2013.

This behaviour isn’t just limited to the wealthy in big economies. In fact, consumers earning $20,000 per annum or less are actually 5 per cent more willing than those with incomes greater than $50,000 p.a. to pay more for products and services from companies with a commitment to sustainability.

A testing economic climate has left the Millennials (born between 1980-2000) undeterred about the cost of paying extra for sustainable offerings, rising to 73 per cent from 50 per cent in 2014.

Under 20s, or Generation Z as they are also known, are demonstrating equal determination to align their pennies with their values. 72 per cent would spend their income with companies who were committed to sustainability, and increase from the 55 percent polled in 2014.

The Millennials and Generation Z are set to dominate spending in the years to come making an alignment with their values at the earliest opportunity a sound investment for the future.

References:

1) This article was compiled using Nielsen’s 2015 Global Corporate Sustainability Report. For the sake of readability, we did not use brackets or ellipses but made sure that the extra or missing words did not change the Report’s meaning. If you would like to quote these written sources from the original please revert to the link below:

http://www.nielsen.com/content/dam/nielsenglobal/dk/docs/global-sustainability-report-oct-2015.pdf

2) http://www.goldmansachs.com/our-thinking/pages/millennials/

3) http://www.forbes.com/sites/micahsolomon/2014/12/29/5-traits-that-define-the-80-million-millennial-customers-coming-your-way/#434fd3992a81

4) http://www.psfk.com/2016/08/what_sustainability_means_to_millennial_generation.html

5) https://www.fbrh.co.uk/en/csr-sustainability-facts-and-research

The post Consumers prepared to pay more for sustainable brands – significant year-on-year increase – major Nielsen study (30,000 consumers in 60 countries) appeared first on SustainCase - Sustainability Magazine.