Market Awareness about Sustainability

People were attracted to sustainability as a concept from very early times. It was mainly driven from a perspective of re-use to reduce cost. Definitions for sustainability were being worded, since 1987, with the Brundtland Report. But, as a concept, the market awareness about sustainability was fueled from the Earth Summit at Rio de Janeiro in 1992. Then on wards, sustainability has become the watchword for international aid agencies, the jargon of development planners, the theme of conference and learned papers and the slogan of development and environmental activists.

Organizations like STEP, Sustainable Technology Education Project work towards increasing people’s awareness of sustainable technology, enabling them to recognize the economic, environmental and social impacts of their own choices. They promote incorporating sustainability in their designs and while choosing and using technology. This way, each one can be responsible towards building a better future.  Similarly traces of sustainability can be identified throughout the product life-cycle and throughout the supply chain. The research helps to identify where all sustainability indexes can be set-up for measurement through the supply chain.  Understanding the basics of how the market awareness is at the present, helped to prepare the basis for promotion of the research.

In 2008, PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) commissioned an independent research into the attitudes and habits of 4000 UK consumers. The results clearly demonstrate the existence of mainstream public awareness and concern about sustainability issues. Sustainability issues are higher on the UK consumer agenda than ever before. Over 60% of the consumers stated that sustainability issues (climate change, poverty, food, and water shortages) were the most important issues that faced the world today. Sustainability is an issue that will change the world. People in increasing numbers are changing their buying patterns, their lifestyles and their behaviours. Majority of the consumers buy sustainability and demonstrate concern and care about the issues.
(Image and Data Sourced from Sustainability: Are Consumers Buying it? PwC 2008)

“I think consumers are already showing signs of real willingness to change their behaviour when it comes to the whole are of sustainability. I don’t think this issue is confined to being a concern for the middle classes. I think it is pretty universal.”

Charlie Mayfield, Chairman, John Lewis (PwC), 2008