Home » Study: Australians Expect Brands And Businesses To Be Acting On Big Issues

22 March, 2021

Study: Australians Expect Brands And Businesses To Be Acting On Big Issues

A new study of 2000 Australian consumers by leading change campaigners, The Power & The Passion, has found that many people’s core concerns centre around sustainability.

Some of the most significant statistics include that:

The health of our oceans is our nation’s biggest worry, with more than one in three Australians (36 per cent) extremely concerned about pollution, overfishing and the state of the Great Barrier Reef, followed by climate change (35 per cent) and plastic waste (33 per cent)

78 per cent of Australian consumers say brands should support causes or make changes to their products to address social and environmental issues
Almost three in five (56 per cent) say they actively look for products and brands that support causes or have environmentally friendly attributes
Almost half (46 per cent) have purchased a product within the last month because they thought it would help support a social or environmental issue
One in five say they’ve done so in the last week
High income earners are twice as likely to frequently seek out ‘good’ products
Three in five ready to pay more for ‘good’ products

Released by Republic of Everyone and The Bravery with independent researchers Mobium Group, The Power & The Passion reveals the top concerns of Australians on 20 major social and environmental issues by generation, gender, and location.

Ben Peacock, Founder of Republic of Everyone, said, “The Power & The Passion shows people care about the big issues, they’re taking action, and now more than ever they’re expecting brands and businesses to use their power to act too.”

“We’re reaching the point where if your brand is not doing good in the world, or taking steps towards meaningful change to do better, you’re not delivering for the consumer in a way they want and need you to.”

Nick Bez, Co-Founder of Mobium Group said, “the study found the top six concerns were all environmental, and the gap between them just five per cent – indicating Australians are extremely concerned about the environment as a whole.”

“Stepping back and looking at the level of overall concern, we see issues in and around the home come to the fore, with domestic violence, families in poverty, struggling farmers and mental health a worry for four in five Australians.”

Overall Gen Z was found to have the highest level of overall concern for 16 of the 20 issues, while Boomers held the least concern for 17 of 20 issues.

The study showed while concerns are united across the generations on the top three issues, mental health was found to be the highest overall concern for Gen Z, and toxic chemicals for Boomers.

Claire Maloney, Founder of The Bravery, said, “as part of the report, we also looked at household wealth, business and politics to understand where power lies to make a change. What we’re seeing is that those in power aren’t necessarily representative of the complex community that makes up Australia and what we all care about.”

“In particular, the main political spirit and agenda of this country is heading into the opposite direction of where and how people want to see change on some of the most pressing issues of our time.”

“So there’s a huge opportunity here for brands and businesses to step in and drive positive change – provided that issue is aligned to their brand values, makes sense for their product in terms of what it is and the people it exists for, and that the action from the brand is genuine.”

Maloney explained, “With the growing expectation for companies to be producing socially and environmentally responsible products, especially by Gen Z, the future questions from consumers won’t be if your brand is acting, but how is your brand or product delivering positive impact with what you’re putting out in the world?”

Peacock concluded, “It was clear from the research people can smell something made for marketing a mile away, so taking a stand on the right issue in the right way has never been more important for brands and businesses entering this territory.”

Advertise with us

Please login with linkedin to comment