The sustainability paradox: China and the environment

Chinese consumers are environmentally conscious, but does this translate into action on climate change? Joeri Van den Bergh reports.

motion blurred picture of people in a shopping mall escalator

Since 1953, the Chinese economy has been shaped by five-year plans, with social and economic development guidelines. The latest, covering 2021 to 2025, contains ambitious sustainability goals to reach carbon neutrality by 2060. Businesses operating in China are transforming their operations and supply chains to align with the new policies. But how important is sustainability to consumers in China, and how does this translate into consumer behaviour?

Our research has shown that 94% of Chinese consumers indicate that sustainability is important, yet many are not acting upon it. What is causing this paradox? Our figures are based on a study conducted by InSites Consulting, from December 2021 to January 2022, among 802 respondents from three generations (X, Y and Z) in mainland China. The sample was representative for each generation.

An important dimension is the so-called ‘say-do gap’, where intentions are high, but actual behaviour is low. Our research identified four eco-barriers that are holding consumers back from living a more sustainable life: affordability (sustainable means more expensive); accessibility (lack of sustainable alternatives and information about which products are sustainable); performance (consumers feel forced to make a trade-off between sustainability and performance); and convenience (the perception that living more sustainably requires too much time and effort).

More than 79% of Chinese consumers wish to change their habits and bridge the say-do gap to positively impact the environment. Brands can play an important role in this by supporting consumers in adopting sustainable habits and by providing ‘rewards’, fuelling repeated action.

Unilever, together with Alibaba Group, developed an artificial intelligence-powered recycling system. Consumers deposit their plastic waste and are rewarded with vouchers for Unilever products, or virtual ‘green energy’ points in Alipay’s Ant Forest project.

Consumers are already adopting more sustainable habits: 60% of Chinese consumers acknowledge their eating habits impact the environment; 66% mend clothes or repair household items instead of replacing them; and 70% choose holiday destinations that do not require flying but can be reached by train, car or bus.

According to our research, reducing single-use plastic is a key area for Chinese consumers. In fact, 73% indicate avoiding single-use plastics, 69% refuse plastic shopping bags, and 50% no longer buy water in plastic bottles. As for recycling plastic bottles, Chinese brand HowBottle, launched in 2017, has upcycled more than 600,000 bottles into fun bags with a low environmental footprint. In 2019, it launched a rain jacket with Coca-Cola to create awareness among Chinese youth of the impact of plastic waste. The back of the jacket said: “I don’t care”, which – when wet – changed into “I do care”.

Consumers are clearly taking action, yet they believe they are not solely responsible for driving change; 82% feel brands have a responsibility to look after the planet. So, what can brands do?

First, brands can help reduce the identified eco-barriers and support consumers in displaying more sustainable behaviour. With 48% of consumers saying they would live more sustainably if products were cheaper, affordability is a key factor. To stimulate consumers to reuse packaging, marketing refills at a lower price could help.

Accessibility is another important dimension, with 38% of consumers in our research stating that they would live more sustainably if products were widely and easily available. Ensuring sustainable solutions are available online and offline is a quick win.

Consumers feel forced to choose between product attributes they value and sustainability, the latter often considered a sign of lower effectiveness. Providing reassurance around the performance of sustainable solutions is key.

With the final barrier, convenience, 56% of Chinese consumers say they would adopt a more sustainable lifestyle if it required less time or effort. The challenge for brands lies in marrying convenience with sustainability. Like China’s largest electronics recycling company, Aihuishou, which works with mobile phone recycling machines to facilitate handing them in.

Once its sustainability mission and strategy are clear, it is vital for a brand to communicate them to the public. In fact, 84% of Chinese consumers feel brands and companies should be more transparent, and provide additional information about their sustainability ambitions and progress.

Joeri Van den Bergh is co-founder at InSites Consulting

This article is from the July 2022 edition of Impact magazine. 

We hope you enjoyed this article.
Research Live is published by MRS.

The Market Research Society (MRS) exists to promote and protect the research sector, showcasing how research delivers impact for businesses and government.

Members of MRS enjoy many benefits including tailoured policy guidance, discounts on training and conferences, and access to member-only content.

For example, there's an archive of winning case studies from over a decade of MRS Awards.

Find out more about the benefits of joining MRS here.

0 Comments

Display name

Email

Join the discussion

Newsletter
Stay connected with the latest insights and trends...
Sign Up
Latest From MRS

Our latest training courses

Our new 2025 training programme is now launched as part of the development offered within the MRS Global Insight Academy

See all training

Specialist conferences

Our one-day conferences cover topics including CX and UX, Semiotics, B2B, Finance, AI and Leaders' Forums.

See all conferences

MRS reports on AI

MRS has published a three-part series on how generative AI is impacting the research sector, including synthetic respondents and challenges to adoption.

See the reports

Progress faster...
with MRS 
membership

Mentoring

CPD/recognition

Webinars

Codeline

Discounts