85% Indians See Environment Focused Firms as Better Employers: IBM
The Covid-19 pandemic has elevated consumers’ focus on sustainability and willingness to pay out of their own pockets – or even take a pay cut – for a sustainable future, according to a new IBM Institute for Business Value (IBV) survey of over 14,000 consumers in nine countries. Nine in 10 consumers surveyed reported the Covid-19 pandemic affected their views on environmental sustainability. Covid-19 was the top factor cited in influencing their view – more than others presented such as widespread wildfires, bushfires, disasters due to weather events and news coverage on the topic. The survey also revealed differences in consumer opinion across geographies, with Americans surveyed reporting the least concern about sustainability topics. For example, only 51 per cent of US consumers surveyed said addressing climate change was very or extremely important to them, compared to 73 per cent of respondents from all other countries. “The survey showed respondents worldwide are increasingly concerned about the global climate crisis, and we have also observed businesses in many industries looking to take action to meet their customers’ and investors’ expectations and manage their own environmental goals,” said Dr. Murray Simpson, global lead for sustainability, climate & transition, IBM Global Business Services. “We see many companies beginning to make strides to build transparent supply chains or improve energy management to reduce carbon emissions with the help of innovative technologies like AI and Blockchain.” According to the survey, many consumers are increasingly willing to change how they shop, travel, choose an employer and even where they make personal investments due to environmental sustainability factors. Eighty-five per cent Indian respondents consider environmentally sustainable companies as more attractive employers. At the same time, 48 per cent of consumers surveyed trust corporate commitments on sustainability, with 64 per cent of respondents expecting increased public scrutiny in the year ahead. Forty-eight per cent of all personal investors surveyed already take environmental sustainability into account in their investment portfolios and a further fifth (21 per cent) surveyed say they are likely to do so in the future. 59 per cent of personal investors surveyed expect to buy or sell holdings in the next year based on environmental sustainability factors. Consumers in India (63 per cent) research on personal health and wellbeing benefits information of products before purchase. In addition, 55 per cent of consumers surveyed report sustainability is very or extremely important to them when choosing a brand – 22 per cent higher than consumers surveyed pre-Covid-19 pandemic by IBM. Slightly more than six in ten consumers surveyed said they are willing to change their purchasing behaviour to help reduce the negative impact on the environment, with consumers surveyed in India (78 per cent) and China (70 per cent) being the most willing.