Consumer Insights: How important is sustainability?

It’s very clear that sustainability is an increasingly important issue for many of your customers – and it’s only likely to get more important in the future. In November 2022, we spoke to a sample of 2,000 consumers in our Greene King Sustainability Research. Here’s what they had to say on the issue.

SUSTAINABILITY IS BECOMING MORE IMPORTANT TO YOUR CUSTOMERS

Key findings:

• Climate change matters. Consumers cited climate change as the second-most-important issue to them after the cost-of-living crisis
• Buying behaviours are changing. 66% of consumers said they shop more sustainably now compared to this time last year
• Sustainability is more front-of-mind. 56% of respondents said they think more about sustainability now than they did this time last year
• Low impact on venue choice. Only 14% said that strong environmentally-friendly practices are important when choosing which pub to visit.

While the findings show sustainability is a massive issue for consumers, the survey also indicates environmental concerns are not yet influencing how customers choose the venues they visit.

But, with sustainability increasingly front-of-mind and buying behaviours changing, the results suggest sustainability is likely to begin influencing venue choice in the future. Particularly once the cost of living ceases to be an overriding concern for consumers.

Make any sustainability improvements to your business now if you can, and broadcast this through social media and POS. Then you’ll be ahead of the curve in establishing your sustainability credentials to existing and potential new customers.

CONSUMERS FEEL PRESSURE TO ACT SUSTAINABLY

Key findings:

• Consumers feel green pressure. 41% of respondents said they feel pressure to act sustainability
• Consumers feel green guilt. More than half of consumers (51%) said that they feel guilty when they don’t act in ways they perceive to be sustainable
• Consumers want to do better. 78% of respondents said they want to act more sustainably
• Waste reduction is key. 64% said reducing the amount of waste they generate is their main strategy in acting more sustainably.

The findings show consumers feel pressured to act sustainably, feel bad when they don’t and want to do better in the future. With almost two-thirds of respondents focusing on waste reduction, there are some obvious opportunities to venues here.

By making it easy for your customers to make more sustainable choices, you can help relieve this pressure – and ease their guilt.

By demonstrating your venue is committed to waste reduction, you can help make it easy for your customers to feel comfortable that they are acting sustainably. This will make environmentally conscious consumers feel more positive about your venue, increasing the likelihood that they will visit more often.