Survey Finds Consumers Want Less Talk, More Action

President Barack Obama signs a memorandum of understanding for agency cooperation on conserving America's Great Outdoors. According to the survey, consumers believe "individual efforts are not worth it if governments and industries don't take action." Photo: Flickr/USDAgov

It’s not about money, lack of choice or access to information. According to the Greendex 2010 survey, the top two obstacles consumers say deter them from being more green is false claims by companies and lack of action by governments and industries.

Conducted by the National Geographic Society and polling firm GlobeScan, the online survey measured the environmental behavior of 17,000 people in 17 countries.

When asked what discourages environmentally friendly consumer behavior, 44 percent of respondents answered “companies make false claims about the environmental impact of their products.”

The second-highest obstacle was that “individual efforts are not worth it if governments and industries don’t take action.”

GlobeScan’s analysis of the data notes that these two perceptions suppress more sustainable consumption. Cost, lack of options and information barriers ranked last, a result that, according to GlobeScan, shows that “consumers are sending a message that they want ‘less talk and more action’ from business and government, or at least action before talk.”

The survey also found that environmentally friendly behavior among consumers in 10 out of 17 countries has increased over the past year. However, the U.S. ranked dead last on the survey. Consumers in Brazil, India and China scored highest.

The reasoning? According to the survey, wealth is synonymous with higher ecological impact. Consumers in emerging economies round out the top tier of the Greendex ranking, while the six lowest scores were all earned by consumers in industrialized countries.

Still, Americans’ average Greendex score has increased by 1.3 points year over year. While the increase is subtle, the survey notes that it is no doubt a sign of a positive trend of consumer attitude.

Respondents who had lowered their energy consumption cited cost as one of their top two reasons for the decline. But a significant percentage, ranging from approximately 20 percent to 50 percent, also attributed the change to “environmental concerns.”

This is the third year National Geographic has partnered with GlobeScan to develop an international research to measure consumer behavior towards energy use and conservation, transportation choices, food sources, the relative use of green products versus traditional products, attitudes towards the environment and sustainability and knowledge of environmental issues.

You can measure your own consumption and determine your individual Greendex score by using National Geographic’s Greendex Calculator.

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