Environmental issues survey

Heather Armishaw wants to put her money where her mouth is. To reduce their carbon footprint, Heather and husband Richard recently forked out for an electric car.

Environmental considerations also feature large when they make other purchases.

Heather is among a growing number of consumers who rank the worsening state of the environment as a major concern.

Environmental issues feature in the top five spots in our latest survey of consumer concerns. Water quality jumped to first place this year. Eighty percent of consumers named it as their key concern, up from 66% last year.

That rise is coupled with a marked increase in people worried about climate change: 70% identified it as a major concern, up from 61% a year ago.

The new normal

The resurgence in environmental awareness is seeing more consumers like Heather wanting to make better choices.

Fifty-five percent say environmental considerations are very important to them. The majority also factor these considerations into their buying decisions, at least some of the time.

For every one in two consumers, it’s become second nature to search out energy-efficient products. Seven out of 10 routinely think about how long a product will last before they hand over money. Taking reusable bags to the supermarket is the new normal for 44%.

However, there’s mounting dissatisfaction that consumers’ voluntary efforts to do the right thing are being frustrated by business-as-usual. Nearly two-thirds of consumers believe companies aren’t doing enough to reduce their environmental impacts. Just as many think it’s hard to find out which products really are better environmental choices.

Eight out of 10 also think products don’t last as long as they used to. Many of us want to get goods repaired rather than replaced, but product design means this isn’t always possible.

Greenwash – claims of greenness that don’t stack up – is also muddying the waters and increasing scepticism about companies’ eco-branding. Just 15% of consumers feel very confident they can trust green claims.

Local companies lagging behind

Erica Miles, KPMG New Zealand’s director of sustainability services, says increased consumer awareness and investor pressure are requiring businesses to sit up and take notice of the environment. But local companies are dragging the chain.

A recent KPMG survey of the 100 top-earning New Zealand companies found they lag behind the rest of the world when it comes to sustainability reporting.

“With a handful of exceptions, the quality of sustainability reporting by New Zealand businesses is often lacking in balance, objectivity and transparency,” she says. Only 23 of the companies surveyed had their reports independently reviewed.

A 2015 study of 520 Kiwi companies also reported shortcomings in environmental practices. Just 20% of the companies had set targets to reduce carbon emissions and 24% had targets to reduce water consumption.

Study co-author Eva Collins, associate dean of research at Waikato University Management School, says efforts have been incremental and “not the type of change necessary for substantive action on issues like climate change”.

Some companies have gone backwards over the past decade. Lack of government action and the decreasing price of carbon saw some businesses stop measuring their carbon footprint during the study period, while others put their carbon strategies on hold, Ms Collins said.

The study is being repeated this year. Ms Collins predicts the change of government will prompt some companies to up their efforts. But progress will inevitably be influenced by how quickly the government moves to strengthen regulations.

Climate change minister James Shaw has announced a Zero Carbon Bill will be introduced this year, though it may not make it into parliament before the end of October. The bill will establish a Climate Change Commission and set a target to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.

Higher standards for water quality and waste management are also on the table, but details of what these will require have yet to emerge.

A review of how waste legislation is implemented was announced in January. Associate environment minister Eugenie Sage says mandatory product stewardship schemes, intended to force companies to take responsibility for end-of-life products, are among options being considered. She says proposals will be released for public comment later this year.