ThinkTWENTY20

“What's worth more – the present or the future? According to research by the IBM Institute for Business value, this paradoxical question is top of mind for consumers, businesses and governments in the era of climate change. “As extreme environmental events become ever-more common, people are carefully weighing short-term expectations, such as convenience and cost-efficiency, against the existential need to preserve the planet for future generations.”

In January 2020, says the report, the World Economic Forum reported that nearly half of European citizens – and three in four Chinese citizens – consider climate change a major threat to society. And in the US, Pew Research found that public concern for environmental protection reached a new precipice in February 2020: it rivaled the economy as the US public’s top policy priority for the first time in Pew’s survey history, coming in second by just three percentage points.

That was before the pandemic. “The unprecedented disruption COVID-19 caused may have pushed consumers past a tipping point.” To understand how the events of the last year impacted public perception of sustainability and social responsibility, the IBM Institute for Business Value (IBV) surveyed more than 14,000 adults from nine countries (Brazil, Canada, China, Germany, India, Mexico, Spain, United Kingdom and United States) in March. “Our research revealed that the pandemic significantly shifted people’s perspectives on environmental sustainability. A full 93% of global respondents say COVID-19 affected their view.”

An era of empathy: The report points out that, today, more than two in three global respondents say environmental issues are significantly (very or extremely) important to them personally. Securing fresh water supplies ranked highest on their list of concerns, followed by reducing pollution, protecting rainforests and other ecosystems, and reducing species loss.

A similar portion of people are focused on social responsibility issues, with roughly three in four consumers saying access to education and ensuring good health and well-being are significantly important to them; 72% said the same of ending poverty and hunger.

“This alignment speaks to the reality of achieving social and environmental goals,” the report notes. “Good health isn’t possible without clean water. You can’t protect nature without addressing poverty, as well. Our research infers that many consumers have connected those dots.”

Putting a premium on sustainability: Today, 22% more consumers say environmental responsibility is very or extremely important when choosing a brand than in 2019. “As personal values take center stage, consumers are voting with cold, hard cash. And acting on sustainable strategies early will put businesses in a better position to earn long-term consumer loyalty and trust,” the report concludes.

Download the full report at Sustainability at a turning point - Consumers are pushing companies to pivot (ibm.com).