According to a survey conducted in 2022, around 59 percent of the C-level executives from major companies worldwide said that their firms are incorporating the use of more sustainable materials in their sustainability efforts against climate change. Another 59 percent of the executives pointed out that their companies are increasing the efficiency of energy use.

According to a survey conducted in 2024, around 39 percent of C-level executives pointed out that addressing climate change was the main benefit from their company's sustainability efforts. Meanwhile, around 38 percent of the executives believed that customer satisfaction was another benefit from such sustainability efforts.

In 2022, the vast majority of consumers across the globe saw their purchasing behavior become at least a little more environmentally friendly compared to five years earlier. Specifically, over a third of surveyed shoppers noticed a modest change, while nearly 30 percent said they bought sustainable products significantly more often. Nearly one in 10 respondents even claimed they had turned around their way of life in order to be environmentally sustainable.

Sustainability premiums

As the fight against climate change becomes increasingly important, people around the world have become more willing to pay more for sustainability: in 2022, the average sustainability premium consumers around the world considered acceptable for consumer goods came to roughly 24 percent. In other words, shoppers worldwide were willing to pay up to an average of 24 percent more for sustainably produced consumer goods. Unsurprisingly, those with a higher income were willing to spend more than those with average or lower incomes.

Sustainability initiatives of brands

Many companies and brands are aware of the ongoing trend towards protecting the environment and are taking steps to promote sustainability. Allowing shoppers to easily recycle their products, as well as measuring and tracking their own emissions, are just some examples of initiatives a considerable share of brands had taken in the past couple of years.

According to a survey ran in October 2023, France had the highest share of active and casual lifestyle brand purchasers who were more concerned about the sustainability of products than they were the previous year, with over three-quarters of respondents making this claim. Germany had the lowest share with 64 percent.

The Greater China area, including the territories of Taiwan and Hong Kong, is the most advanced user of artificial intelligence (AI) in their efforts for sustainability, with 61 percent of organizational respondants responding positively. North-America is the least developed in using AI for sustainability purpose, with less than a third of companies there using AI in their sustainability efforts.

According to a survey conducted in late 2023, approximately four in five consumers in the United States agreed that companies need to be more specific when labeling their sustainability initiatives and that the typically used umbrella term "sustainability" is insufficient. This was by far the leading issue U.S. consumers had regarding corporate sustainability communications.

Consumers and sustainability premiums

How much money consumers around the world are willing to dish out for sustainable goods has evolved somewhat over the last few years. The number of people who had paid a premium of one to five percent for a more sustainable product was about 10 percent higher in late 2023 than it was back in 2020. However, the number of people who spent an additional five percent or more for goods that were manufactured sustainably dropped slightly within that timeframe. Price has always been an important factor among shoppers, and they may not always be willing or able to meet these higher price points.

What motivates consumers to shop more sustainably?

Unsurprisingly, price is a big reason why it can be difficult to shop more sustainably. That said, it is not the only issue. As mentioned by surveyed apparel shoppers in Europe, sustainable goods can also be challenging to find, or it can even be unclear what eco-friendly aspects are fulfilled by brands. In the United Kingdom, individuals were asked what would help them adopt more sustainable habits, and the two leading answers included making the ethical option the more affordable option, and the implementation of better plastics and packaging removal schemes.

According to a survey conducted among consumers in the United States, 80 percent of Millennial respondents said sustainability was a driving factor behind their purchasing decisions. Gen Z respondents driven by sustainability amounted to 66 percent.

The Asia-Pacific region has had the largest growth rate in sustainability reporting, moving from roughly 50 percent of firms to 92 percent of companies engaging in sustainability reporting. The Europe and Africa were the only regions to recently experience a regression, as the number of firms participating in sustainability reporting dropped by one and five percent respectively since 2022.

As many consumers have become determined about their beliefs surrounding sustainability, putting their money where their mouth is, many enterprises and brands around the world have reacted accordingly. When asked about any sustainable initiatives in 2021, nearly half of businesses stated they are investing in easy solutions for recycling their products over the next year. Over a third of surveyed companies also planned to distance themselves from partners that were not likely to meet shared sustainability targets.

In 2023, about 30 percent of consumers surveyed worldwide had paid a premium of one to just under five percent more for a sustainable product, which is an increase compared to 2020. That said, the number of surveyed people who spent an additional five percent or more for goods that were manufactured sustainably dropped noticeably in that time. This would demonstrate that price remains one of the leading purchasing factors among consumers, as well as a potential drop in willingness to meet these high price points.

In 2021, 18 percent of respondents from a global Capgemini study indicate having a sustainable IT strategy with well-defined goals and target timelines in their organization. In comparison, 50 percent of respondents state having an enterprise-wide sustainability strategy. The insurance and banking industry are leading in terms of sustainable IT strategy.

In 2021, 70 percent of respondents from the energy and utilities industry stated that they expect to use emerging technology to change for environmental sustainability moderately in the next 24 months. Worldwide, organizations are working to achieve sustainability goals by employing different technologies and other initiatives.

According to a survey conducted in 2022, around 29 percent of C-level executives mentioned that the difficulty in measuring environmental impact was the leading obstacle faced when implementing sustainability efforts in their companies. Meanwhile, another 19 percent of the executives pointed out that the sustainability efforts were too costly.

Globally, about 44 percent of consumers said they were more likely to buy from a brand with a clear commitment to sustainability in 2021. Specifically, the EMEA region found it most important for brands to have actions that match their values that year.

According to a survey conducted among consumers in the United States in October 2023, 21 percent of male and 14 percent of female respondents said they only bought from brands they considered sustainable or that matched their values. Sustainability was considered alongside with other factors when choosing brands by 57 percent of female and 50 percent of male respondents.

When asked about their sustainable lifestyle behavior, nearly three-quarters of consumers in the United Kingdom (UK) said they recycled or composted household waste, making it the most common sustainable habit among UK individuals in 2022, 2023, and 2024. ‘Sustainable consumerism’ has become somewhat of a buzzword in recent years, through an increased awareness of the importance of protecting and preserving our environment. Accordingly, many more UK shoppers are trying to shop in a more environmentally friendly way. Sustainable fashion While the environment is typically one of the first things that come to mind when thinking about the production of food, sustainability is also an increasingly vital topic in the world of fashion. As such, increasing numbers of consumers are keeping this in mind when buying clothes. In 2023, over one in five British consumers said they had reduced their apparel purchases due to sustainability reasons. About the same percentage of Brits increased their second-hand clothing purchases.

In 2022, more than half of consumers around the world intend to avoid buying new goods in order to limit their contribution to climate change. Instead, these individuals are considering whether or not they can acquire the product secondhand or if they could potentially fix the item(s) they already own. While less than 50 percent of U.S. consumers intended to avoid buying new goods, nearly 70 percent of those surveyed in China planned to take this approach over the course of the next year.

When are consumers encouraged to buy sustainable products?

A lot of consumers are inclined to do their bit to combat climate change. Often times, however, they will pull out if the sustainable option is simply too inconvenient or expensive. That is why it is important for these options to have external incentives, making them as accessible as possible. In late 2021, over a third of consumers worldwide said they would buy more sustainable products if the price of such items were comparable to similar non-eco-friendly products. Furthermore, a significant share of surveyed individuals stated they would be encouraged to buy the sustainable product if its quality transcended that of other products and brands.

Online eco-friendly shopping

In 2021, Vietnam, India, China, and the Philippines, were the frontrunners in terms of eco-friendly online shopping. For example, over 70 percent of Vietnamese online shoppers reported buying sustainable products very often or even every single time. While e-commerce users in quite a few Asian countries had a habit of buying sustainable goods, only about a fifth of online shoppers in Japan did the same. Given that more and more people are trying to live and consume sustainably, also when shopping online, an increasing number of e-commerce brands are investing in sustainable initiatives.

As of 2020, 45 percent of consumers surveyed stated that they were interested in finding brands that were sustainable or environmentally responsible. Likewise, 44 percent of consumers stated that they were interested in brands that supported recycling.

According to a survey in October 2023, France has the highest share of active and casual lifestyle brand purchasers who intend to buy fewer products in order to live more sustainably, with 71 percent of respondents making this claim. The United States had the lowest share with 60 percent.

The United States had the highest share of purchasers who check the sustainability practices of brands very often, according to a survey of active and casual lifestyle brand purchasers in October 2023. France had the highest share of consumers who checked sustainability at least somewhat often, at 58 percent.