Companies may face backlash for not taking climate change action: Study | WARC | The Feed

Companies may face backlash for not taking climate change action: Study

Over the next 12 months, 59% of consumers worldwide intend to start boycotting brands who don’t take action on climate change, with almost unanimous support for companies to not only do the right thing for the planet but also to “show by example”, according to The Rise of Sustainable Media study by global media group dentsu and Microsoft that examines consumer awareness and engagement with issues linked to sustainable consumption and media use.

Why it matters

Big brands need to keep pace with consumer attitudes to climate change and social impact to preserve both the planet and brand reputation, and defining sustainable media and advertising that demonstrates value for businesses will be crucial for leading brands over the next few years.

Key insights

• Climate change is consumers’ biggest concern, ahead of COVID-19 (85%), health of friends/family (79%), or cost of living (76%).
• Almost half of consumers are prepared to switch brands and services for greener alternatives.
• 84% say that it is difficult to know whether brands and companies are truly good green citizens.
• 84% say they would be more likely to buy from a company that practises sustainable advertising.
• Three in ten people are willing to pay more for greener alternatives of products and services.
• In five years’ time, 77% only want to be spending money with brands who practise green and sustainable advertising.

Quote

“As marketing experts, it’s our responsibility to guide businesses and help educate and inform their customers, in order [to] make them think, feel and act differently. As such, the marketing and advertising industry also has a critical role to play and we need to work collaboratively to do this authentically; by walking the walk in how we deliver these messages through sustainable media.” – Peter Huijboom, Global CEO, media and global clients at dentsu international.

Background

The survey of 24,068 adults across 19 countries was carried out in August 2021 and the countries and base sizes were:

• Americas: USA (2,000), Canada (2,000), Brazil (1,000), Argentina (1,000), Mexico (1,000).
• EMEA: UK (2,008), Russia (1,000), Germany (1,001), Italy (1,000), Poland (1,000), France (1,000), Turkey (1,000), Spain (1,011), South Africa (1,006).
• APAC: India (2,002), China (2,000), Australia (1,002), Japan (1,038), Singapore (1,000).