New Zealanders’ commitment to sustainable living is less of a priority now that the nation is experiencing a period of rising living costs and inflation.
The latest edition of Kantar’s Better Futures report – now in its 15th year and compiled in partnership with the Sustainable Business Council (SBC) – shows 72 per cent of 1000 respondents surveyed named cost of living as their primary concern – and 90 per cent said it was the leading consideration when purchasing a product or service.
Activities such as ‘making eco-conscious choices’, ‘changing to a plant-based diet’, and ‘buying locally grown products’ all decreased between last year’s edition and this year’s surveys.
“With the cost of living increasing more than 8 per cent for the average Kiwi household last year, the dominance of affordability in determining behaviour at the moment comes as no surprise,” said Jason Cate, Kantar’s sustainable transformation practice lead.
“The fact that the two areas of concern that saw the largest year-on-year increase – ‘the state of the New Zealand economy’ and ‘managing personal debt’ – were also cost-related further highlights the acute financial pressures and challenging economic headwinds New Zealanders are currently facing.”
Other concerns ranking highly included concerns about the protection of children and crime levels. With two severe fatal storms hitting the country in the first quarter of this year, extreme weather events have entered the top 10 list of concerns in the latest edition.
Cate said that there was a decrease of 11 per cent in the number of Kiwis claiming to be ‘highly committed’ to living a sustainable lifestyle. But 53 per cent of respondents are still concerned about the impact of climate change on the country, the same rate as a year ago.
“The 2023 results are an acute reminder of the multiple compounding crises Kiwis are currently grappling with,” said SBC executive director Mike Burrell. “Against this backdrop, it’s not surprising that short-term commitment to sustainable living has taken a hit.
“We saw a similar dip during the worst of the pandemic, which righted itself as the Covid-19-related challenges eased. The fact that there remains a heightened concern around climate change is promising, and suggests we’ll see this commitment increase again once we’re through these economic headwinds.”
More surprising was that this year’s research found the 18-24-year-old age group displayed the lowest level of commitment to living a sustainable lifestyle among all age groups, with the number of highly committed decreasing 21 per cent year on year.
However, among those aged 66 and over, commitment has increased in the last year.
“This may be the first time many young Kiwis are faced with multiple competing crises, and the hopelessness they are likely feeling right now is clearly reflected in the results,” said Cate.
“On the flip side, older generations have experienced recessions and other global crises before and come out the other end. These insights suggest that experience is allowing them to focus on the long game.”
Meanwhile, Burrell said there will be more challenges to overcome as New Zealand collectively moves to build its resilience and deliver on its climate commitments.
“When we talk about economic resilience, we also need to talk about personal resilience. You sometimes go through stormy seas, but you still need to chart the course knowing the storm will pass.
“Importantly, the challenges that were there before the storm will still be there after, so we need to make sure we are prepared to tackle them with renewed ferocity once we come out the other side.”
