Recent surveys timed to Earth Day, April 22, indicate economic pressures are working against sustainability measures despite continued commitments and show that consumers are challenged by rising inflation in support of “green” products.

Google: Executives Fear Greenwashing And Economy Will Stall Sustainability Progress
Google’s second annual sustainability survey, conducted by The Harris Poll and sponsored by Google Cloud, showed that ESG (Environmental, Social and Governance) efforts fell from the No. 1 organizational priority in 2022 to No. 3 in 2023. Many 1,476 top-level executives in 16 countries surveyed in January 2023 pointed to the macroeconomic environment and external pressure to cut corners in sustainability initiatives and prioritize optimizing client relationships and driving revenue.

Most executives (85 percent) acknowledge that customers are more likely to engage and do business with sustainable brands, but 78 percent feel forced to achieve sustainability results with less money. Corporate greenwashing and green hypocrisy also remained pervasive among this year’s respondents, with nearly 6 out of 10 executives (59 percent) admitting to overstating or inaccurately representing their sustainability activities. Many believe greenwashing is accidental and underscores the need for accurate measurement, identifying a lack of tools as one of the barriers to progress.

Most executives (84 percent) believe their sustainability initiatives would be more effective if they had a better structure with clear accountability. Eighty-seven percent of respondents want to incorporate better measurement into their organizations to help make more accurate targets.

The motivation is there, with 72 percent of respondents saying, “Everyone says they want to advance sustainability efforts, but no one knows how to actually do it” — an increase of seven percentage points from last year.

Nearly all companies (96 percent) have at least one program to advance their sustainability initiatives, and participation in programs remains mostly unchanged from 2022. Interest in organizational sustainability also remains strong, with 84 percent of respondents saying they care more about sustainability:

Blue Yonder: Consumers Unwilling To Pay Much More For Sustainable Products
Blue Yonder’s 2023 Consumer Sustainability Survey found that 69 percent of respondents were willing to pay more for sustainable products, but only 4 percent expressed a willingness to pay 20 percent more across all age groups. A willingness to pay 5 percent more was the top selection across all age groups.

Inflation remains top-of-mind for many consumers, with 58 percent reporting that price was the most important factor in determining whether to make a sustainable purchase. Consumers were most amenable to paying a premium for eco-friendly products that would heavily impact their day-to-day lives, with apparel (30 percent), cleaning products (27 percent) and beauty products (19 percent) being the three most viable products.

Consumers were more open to delaying delivery in favor of an environmentally friendly shipment method. Seventy-eight percent would wait up to a week for a delayed delivery in favor of an environmentally friendly shipment. Eighty-six percent of respondents said they would delay online shipping if they were incentivized. Of this group, 30 percent said they would wait for one week or more, up from 28 percent in 2022, with the 18-29 year old demographic leading the way.

Other findings from the survey of 1,000 U.S.-based consumers taken from February 17-19 include:

  • More than half of the respondents (56 percent) were indifferent or unsure whether they could trust brands’ sustainability claims related to their manufacturing, supply chain or recycling/waste practices;
  • Fourteen percent said ESG scores were the most important determinant. Fifty percent were unfamiliar with ESG scores. Thirty-two percent of survey respondents said consumer reviews carry the most weight in their green purchasing decisions; and
  • Thrifting secondhand clothes remains popular, with nearly one-third (31 percent) of respondents listing this as the eco-conscious habit they perform most often, an increase from the 23 percent reported in 2022. By age, those 18-to-29 years were more likely to participate in thrifting, and those 60 and older were least likely. Recycling or composting was close behind, with 28 percent of all respondents citing that behavior as their top practice; however, it was down from 37 percent in 2022.

KPMG: A Likely Recession To impact Corporate ESG Efforts
With recession concerns and rising costs squeezing margins for many employers, 84 percent of CEOs in a survey, as part of KPMGs’ CEO Outlook, said they had cut or considered cutting ESG programs.

Of the respondents, 50 percent are pausing or reconsidering their existing or planned ESG efforts over the next six months, and 34 percent have done so. The survey of 1,325 CEOs was taken in August 2022.

The Top 5 challenges in delivering ESG strategy over the next three years were found to be other pressing business/economic matters that caused a shift in focus away from ESG, cited by 17 percent; increased or frequently changing regulations, 16 percent; lack of budget to invest in ESG transformation, 15 percent; the necessary technology to effectively measure and track your ESG initiatives, 14 percent; and identifying and measuring agreed metrics, 14 percent.

On the positive side, the CEOs surveyed increasingly agreed that ESG programs improve financial performance at 45 percent, up from 37 percent in 2022. CEOs increasingly understand that businesses embracing ESG can best secure talent, strengthen employee value proposition, attract loyal customers, and raise capital.

Other findings from the survey:

  • 69 percent see stakeholder demand for increased reporting and transparency on ESG issues (up from 58 percent in August 2021);
  • 72 percent of CEOs believe stakeholder scrutiny on ESG will continue to accelerate (up from 62 percent in August 2021); and
  • 17 percent of CEOs indicated stakeholder skepticism around greenwashing had increased (up from 8 percent in August 2021).

CIPS: Rising Costs Impact Sustainability Goals
Almost three-quarters (73 percent) of UK companies said sustainability goals were hit by rising business costs, according to a recent survey of over five hundred UK business leaders by The Chartered Institute of Procurement & Supply (CIPS). The concessions have come despite the overwhelming majority (93 percent) saying that sustainability targets are essential for their objectives.

Higher energy prices and other rising business costs were the main reason, cited by 61 percent of respondents as causing a drag on sustainability efforts, while 42 percent mentioned the impact of the pandemic and 40 percent said the cost of trade barriers such as Brexit and U.S.-China relations had affected their goals.

Costs connected to international trade barriers, such as Brexit and US/China relations, came next (40 percent), followed by the cost of sustainability compliance, identified by 39 percent of executives.

Despite compromises, the commitment of UK companies to sustainability is high, with 97 percent of respondents saying their organization has a clear policy on sustainability and confidence in those strategies remains high, with more than three-quarters (77 percent) believing their strategy had achieved its stated goal.

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