Australia lagging in global sustainability trends: NielsenIQ
The latest global study from NielsenIQ found that 69% of shoppers find sustainability more important now compared to 2 years ago. However, Australia lags behind as the second lowest in global rankings, at just 58%.
Across Asia Pacific, NielsenIQ found Indonesia to be the highest-ranking country with sustainability at the forefront, with 86% of shoppers agreeing it is more important. Thailand follows at 74%, then Singapore at 72% and South Korea at 69%. Australia recorded just 58%, following India as the lowest global ranking.
Chart 1. Source: NielsenIQ
NielsenIQ Asia Pacific’s president, Justin Sargent, said: “Consumers across the Asia Pacific region are clearly feeling the personal impact of extreme weather events and are more aware and informed of the importance of sustainability – ultimately fueling their demand and the urgency for corporate action and accountability.”
Globally, one in two shoppers take their own shopping bags, avoiding waste and minimising electricity usage. 78% of shoppers say companies should show full transparency of their supply chain in order to make informed consumer choices, and 76% say companies need to reduce their environmental footprint.
79% of global shoppers say they are likely to choose a particular retailer if they offered wider sustainable options in-store, and 77% say they would stop shopping at a retailer if it was found to be guilty of greenwashing.
Despite these “promising numbers”, 41% of global shoppers argue that cost stops them from shopping more sustainably, while 35% argue access and 26% argue a lack of clarity from companies are preventing them from adopting more sustainable lifestyles.
Across Singapore, Australia and South Korea, only 45%, 37% and 29% shoppers respectively find shopping sustainably easy, compared to the global average of 50%.
Chart 2. Source: NielsenIQ
Sargent said: “Positive consumer sentiment toward sustainability has been growing for more than a decade. However, the impact of purchasing preferences has yet to inspire a green revolution within the retail industry. These results indicate that now is the time for that to change.
“Shoppers around the Asia Pacific region are more committed to sustainability, but many have found it difficult to make daily decisions that support true sustainability impact. It needs to be easier for people to live and consume in a sustainable way that aligns with other daily pressures. This is a huge opportunity for retailers and manufacturers to align to an urgent consumer want and need,” he added.
Justin Sargent, NielsenIQ Asia Pacific president
The report found three key pressures on the growing importance of sustainability: Increasing government mandates, spiraling costs related to extreme weather events, and escalating consumer demands for more sustainable products. Greenwashing is another impact on changing consumer behaviours.
VP global thought leadership at NielsenIQ, Nicole Corbett said: “The outlook of rapid change across the next 5-10 years will force companies, manufacturers, brands, and retailers to transform and commit to real sustainable business models. We are now at a tipping point, where companies who have been proactive and genuine about climate action will be at a massive advantage as industries grapple to meet requirements and mandated sustainable efforts.
“To meet targets that become increasingly stringent over the next 10 years, we anticipate a great deal of scrambling from companies that now realise it’s crunch time. They will look for easy wins in the short-term but the game changer is the requirement to report and validate their footprint and gain visibility of emissions and resource use across their whole value chain. This will require a long-term shift and for many a departure from how they currently operate.”
Got a tip?
Lauren McNamara is a journalist at Mumbrella, covering the creative and PR beat. She joined in November 2022 as editorial assistant, after completing a Bachelor of Communications (Journalism) at UTS.
Linkedin
Have your say