The tool, ‘Issue Radar’, has analysed over one billion online news, search and social posts ahead of launch to track sustainability issues against 10 of the UN’s 16 Sustainable Development Goals.

It found that health and wellbeing accounted for 41% of online social media conversation identified by the tool, while responsible consumption and production accounted for 13% and climate action 11% of the posts analysed.

The tool also measures consumers’ sentiment towards brands in relation to sustainability – also based on online conversation – to inform a new ranking, the Digital Sustainability Index.

Of brands mentioned in social media users’ online content, hybrid and electric cars were most prominent, with automotive brands accounting for 36% of the top 100 brands discussed in sustainability conversation. 

Kantar and Saïd Business School are also launching a forecasting tool to identify connections across datasets, ‘Hypertrends’.

Marine Escande, solutions director at Kantar, said the two tools will “go beyond traditional volumetrics utilising the full network to predict changes in consumer behaviour”.

Jonathan Hall, managing partner of Kantar’s Sustainable Transformation Practice, said: “Better addressing consumers’ sustainability concerns will support businesses‘ own business growth goals and have a profound impact on achieving the UN’s SDGs; the most important challenges we face in our lifetime. Issue Radar, together with predictive Hypertrends, is designed to help brands understand their true position in the sustainability debate and how sustainability will reshape their market.”