Happy Earth Day.
Now I have to admit that whilst I was very much aware of Earth Day as an event, I hadn’t even taken the time to find out much about it. So I was a little surprised to find out that it was established back in 1970, when a Junior Senator from Wisconsin announced the idea for a teach-in on college campuses to raise awareness of the damage industrial practices were doing to the environment.
For many years Earth Day has been focused on continuing that simple premise of alerting the wider community to such dangers. But as the public knowledge of climate issues has increased, so the aims of the organisation have developed into those of positive action and engagement to directly address the problem.
This year the call to action is personal, with a structured and accessible collection of steps that any individual can undertake to bring about change. And crucially they include the choices people make around the products they buy.
Consumer Attitudes
Deloitte ran a survey in 2019 around consumer attitudes to environmental & ethical sustainability. They ran the survey again in 2021 to see what changes (if any) there had been brought on by the COVID pandemic, and what was interesting in the results was the speed in which certain trends had accelerated.
61% of consumers have reduced their purchase of products with single-use plastic, 45% have been actively purchasing locally sourced goods and 34% have environmentally sustainable practices & values.
The five sustainable brand practices that consumers value most are; waste reduction, reducing carbon footprint, providing sustainable packaging, committing to ethical work practices, and respecting human rights
Consumers want to do more but many want brands to take the lead with 64% of consumers wanting brands to reduce packaging, 50% want information on how to recycle and 46% need clarity on sourcing of products.
In summary, the report claimed that “Businesses need to plan for ways they can make their products more sustainable and build accountability into their value chain“ and “28% of consumers have stopped buying certain products due to ethical or environmental concerns”.
“Gen Z are adopting more sustainable behaviours than any other groups: 50% reduced how much they buy and 45% stopped purchasing certain brands because of ethical or sustainability concerns” and crucially “as wealth transfers to younger generations, sustainability, and ethical considerations will need to become the standard and should be transparent throughout the value chain.”
Green Street
It was announced in January that Bradford had been chosen to take part in a Government backed pilot scheme to help create a High Street community based on sustainable practice.
The scheme will be led by Bradford retailer and businesswoman, Victoria Robertshaw, with initial funding from the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy.
The initial Green Street pioneers in Bradford will undertake a free sustainability review by experts who will look to identify quick wins, cost savings, and other innovations that can help make them greener businesses. Their learnings could provide a template for other small businesses around the UK.
“It’s all about supporting those businesses and enabling them to work together to achieve more by becoming greener” said Victoria, adding that “more and more consumers want to become greener and embrace lifestyle changes, and they’re looking for businesses that will help them make the transition.”
We have referenced the work of Green Street before and you can find more information on their website
Eyes Wide Open
There will be lots more of this kind of stuff coming. Whilst the exact nature of what consumers want is unclear what they do want is the retailers & brands they choose to align themselves with to be leading the way.
It’s time to be giving it some thought, and maybe be talking to supply chain partners about it as well. If the 28% of consumers who say they are making positive decisions to avoid certain products (according to Deloitte) is to be believed then there could be a fairly seismic shift heading our way.
You can read the full Deloitte article here.
