Consumer Behavior Change

25-Country Study to Help Identify Barriers, Opportunities for More Sustainable Lifestyles

A consortium of leading organizations has joined insights and strategy consultancy GlobeScan in launching a new global consumer research study on the topic of Healthy and Sustainable Living.

Published 5 years ago | About a 3 minute read

Image: The ingredients for the Impossible Burger — part of a wave of new products aimed at enticing people toward more plant-based diets | Impossible Foods

The study, launched today, is a collaborative partnership among GlobeScan, IKEA, Procter & Gamble, VF Corporation, Visa, WWF International and others that will survey 25,000 consumers across 25 countries to explore current understanding, concerns, expectations and opportunities to support healthier and more sustainable lifestyles. Results are expected to be released in September 2019.

According to the Global Footprint Network, humans are consuming resources at a rate of more than 1.7 times faster than the planet can regenerate them — last year, we marked our earliest-yet Earth Overshoot Day on August 1. While there are no simple solutions, this imbalance presents a significant opportunity to enable more sustainable lifestyles — a goal in line with the UN Sustainable Development Goals, an ambitious agenda for a better world with thriving communities and a healthy natural environment, and without poverty and climate change.

GlobeScan director Eric Whan said: “We hope that the insights from this new global study better enable leadership organizations to define new policy and business models that inspire more healthy and sustainable lifestyles and that are win-win for business and society. It’s a big challenge that we have yet to meet, but one we must meet.”

Brand efforts to steer consumers into more thoughtful consumption habits — for everything from shifting to plant-based diets to breaking away from fast fashion — have reached an all-time high and show no signs of slowing down. Just last week, P&G unveiled new strategies that aim to inspire and enable responsible consumption for the five billion consumers served by its many brands each day.

“This study will help us understand the barriers and aspirations related to living a sustainable lifestyle and how brands can make it possible at scale,” said Virginie Helias, P&G’s VP and Chief Sustainability Officer. “As part of P&G’s Ambition 2030 goals, we have committed that 100 percent of our leadership brands will enable and inspire responsible consumption. We hope that this study will give us the insights to accelerate our progress.”

“We want to make sustainable living inspiring, affordable and attractive — the most natural choice. We can all do our part in contributing to a better planet and as a global business, we have a big responsibility to make a positive difference,” says Lena Pripp-Kovac, Head of Sustainability at Inter IKEA Group. “We want to use the insights from this study to enable lifestyle changes but also to bring about broader, more structural change.”

The research is currently underway. Survey sampling and data collection will be achieved using best-in-class online consumer panels in each of the 25 countries — Argentina, Australia, Brazil, Canada, China, France, Germany, Hong Kong, India, Indonesia, Italy, Japan, Kenya, Mexico, Nigeria, Philippines, Russia, Saudi Arabia, South Africa, South Korea, Spain, Sweden, Turkey, UK and USA — and optimized to represent consumers per the latest census data for those age 18 years and up, to ensure that the survey captures the full spectrum of consumer perspectives. The study will also pay close attention to the views of Millennials and Gen Z respondents, aged 18 to 24, to better understand shifting needs and opportunities.

“Consumers — particularly Millennials and Gen Z — continue to express high levels of interest in living healthier and more sustainable lives,” said Douglas Sabo, Visa’s Head of Global Corporate Responsibility & Sustainability. “This study will help brands like ours and other organizations to identify how we can further inspire and empower these lifestyles.”