Make sustainability an easy-to-get bonus

By: Tisza Andrea Date: 2025. 01. 21. 11:08

As the financial woes of consumers have eased in the wake of the cost-of-living crisis, the focus has shifted to other fears, such as health and the environment. These concerns appear to have a huge impact on consumer behaviour.

This article is available for reading in Trade magazin 2024/12-01

Whose responsibility is it?

While back in 2019 consumers thought sustainability was the responsibility of manufacturers, the majority now see governments as the main culprit. In second place we find brands, about which consumer expectations are particularly high. The responsibility of the individual is only third in the ranking and it is very likely this is the reason why there is often such a big distance between words and action. The gap between expectations and experience further complicates the situation: while consumers expect brands to play a big role in sustainability efforts, they are quite critical of their work they do to achieve sustainability goals: two years ago 57% thought brand claims about the sustainability of their products were just marketing ploys to make more profit, but today this figure is 63%.

Environmental awareness can be expressed in volume sales

The proportion of Eco-Active consumers in Europe is currently 25% and even if this number isn’t growing, their behaviour is clearly reflected in sales volumes, as their concerns clearly manifest in-store. Volume sales of each product category also vary depending on the level of environmental awareness and the given country. For example in Germany fewer environmentally conscious consumers buy more than 50 litres more carbonated soft drinks per household than the Eco-Active shoppers, while in Romania, similar quantities of bottled water are put in the baskets of Eco-Active and less environmentally sensitive, Eco-Dismisser consumers. The stagnation in the share of Eco-Actives is also due to the fact that consumers are tired of the issue and no longer want the inconvenience.

When it comes to sustainability attitudes, YouGov CPS puts consumers into three categories:

Eco-Actives feel a sense of personal responsibility and act in an environmentally responsible way.

Eco-Considerers are environmentally aware, but for the time being they are only trying to make environmentally friendly choices.

Eco-Dismissers ignore environmental concerns and don’t take steps towards a sustainable lifestyle. //

Price difference is the main barrier

A joint project by YouGov CPS and the Future Institute for Sustainable Transformation in Germany has revealed: it isn’t so much the price itself, but the price difference between sustainable alternatives and conventional products that has a big influence on the extent to which consumers are able to translate sustainability principles into their purchases. The greater the price difference, the bigger the distance between consumer intention and actual behaviour.

Andrea Földvári
senior consultant
YouGov CPS

According to CPS-YouGov data, eco-activity in Hungary had also been on the rise until 2021, but the crisis and the growing cost of living reversed this trend since then. However, it is important to note that despite the decline, the share of Eco-Actives is still higher in Hungary than globally.

“One third of Hungarian households found it harder to act sustainably last year than before. The main barrier to buying environmentally friendly products in Hungary is also the high price”,

says Andrea Földvári, senior consultant at YouGov CPS. //