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ent over the past 12 months, as enthusi- asm for sustainability in the UK appears to have stalled and efforts to bridge the gap between people’s intentions and behaviour failing on all cylinders. According to a recent survey, 75% of people in the UK think sustainability is not for them, suggesting that there has been little progress towards making ‘green’ behaviour mainstream. Adding to the debate, a survey by the Institute of Business Ethics (IBE) found that fewer British people think businesses are behaving ethically. The survey, car- ried out annually, found that just 48% of respondents felt that British businesses act ‘very’ or ‘fairly’ ethically, compared to 58% last year.


However, the private sector is not the only one fuelling the miscommunica-


on consumer attitudes, motivations and behaviours around sustainable consump- tion found that two-thirds of consumers (in six countries) say that “as a society, we need to consume a lot less to improve the environment for future generations” As more and more businesses under- stand the importance of sustainability to their security and future success, the opportunities for reaching out to a wider audience are clear to see.


tion of sustainability. Cynicism from the media has also discouraged the ‘green movement’ amongst consumers, with constant disputing of climate science and questionable statistics reinforcing perceptions that the issue is out of their hands and targets are unachievable. Despite hitting this plateau, the pub- lic are still willing to make sustainable choices if presented at a reasonable cost and with little extra effort.


A consumer trend report showed that 40% of consumers globally consider being ‘environmentally responsible’ to be the most important responsibility of companies today, while another study


And with a collaborative approach, marketers, governments, NGO’s and corporations can motivate consumers to think and act in a more sustainable way. In essence, the message to consumers must focus on encouraging behavioural change through promoting sustainability as the ‘normal’ thing to do. Corporations have for too long focused on the pre- dictable tree hugger affiliation, which has disassociated the ‘regular’ consumer from sustainable decisions. Businesses are quickly realising that sustainability must be a consumers way of life and consumers should now ‘conform to the norm’… not a bad message.


Leigh Stringer is energy and sustainability editor of SB and edie.net


The private sector isn’t the only one fuelling the miscommunication, media cynicism has discouraged the green movement amongst consumers


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