THE SAY DO SUSTAINABILITY STUDY
CHALLENGE
Business leaders face ever-increasing pressure to reduce the environmental impact of their activities, but many brands are failing to incorporate sustainability as a pillar of their customer proposition. This might be due to:
- Lack of evidence for the business benefit reinforced by outdated views as to the importance of sustainability
- Conflicting signals around the level of consumer demand for sustainability. Depending on who you listen to sustainability is either the most important criteria for consumers nowadays or a “nice to have”, easily cast aside in favour of a cheaper price or more convenient offer
- BAU/other business priorities get in the way – there is a perceived conflict between what we want to achieve with our business/brand and what we have to do in order to be sustainable
A key factor that can help motivate change towards more sustainable business decisions is evidence – robust, relevant and actionable insight.
ACTION
We partnered with our sister company, Say Do, to conduct The Say Do Sustainability Study (SDSS).
SDSS was an online, quantitative survey amongst 5000 ABC consumers in the UK.
It covered individual consumer perceptions of, attitudes towards and actions around sustainability, with specific drill downs into casual dining, tourism, personal mobility, home energy and outdoor clothing.
We followed up the quantitative research with online qualitative zoom interviews, talking to a mix of consumers about their personal stories when it comes to leading a more sustainable life.
OUTCOME
The research provides the evidence base that proves there is an opportunity to make sustainability a pillar of a business’ customer proposition and that there is a commercial advantage in doing so. In addition, it acts as a tool to inspire and guide action for more positive and responsible decision making.
Almost all of this target audience believe that they can and should be doing more to lead a more sustainable lifestyle.
We identified 5 customer segments, based on sustainability attitudes and behaviour. Brands that tap into and target these segments stand to benefit from unlocking the latent demand for more sustainable products and services.
The research identifies clear barriers across each of the segments and how companies can motivate consumers to value and prioritise sustainability, optimising the commercial opportunity and gaining competitive advantage.
Video edits from the qualitative element help bring the customers to life and we can hear how they face the sustainability challenges in their own words.
Listen to a Well Informed Enthusiast.
Find out more about the everyday challenges that get in the way of being more sustainable.