Country for PR: Hong Kong
Contributor: PR Newswire Asia (Hong Kong)
Monday, July 19 2021 - 11:00
AsiaNet
Kantar identifies what sustainability means to Asian consumers and how brands should respond
SINGAPORE, July 19, 2021 /PRNewswire-AsiaNet/ --

Kantar, the world's leading data-driven analytics and brand consulting company 
today releases preliminary findings from a new study exploring what 
sustainability means to Asian consumers. Kantar's Asia Sustainability 
Foundational Study interviewed almost 10,000 consumers across nine countries in 
the region to understand their concerns and priorities. Key findings from the 
report include:

-Less than half of Asian consumers are engaged or active with sustainability 
issues 
  -19% consider themselves to be active on sustainability issues will 30% 
consider themselves engaged with sustainability issues 
  -31% say they are laggards on sustainability issues while 19% are sceptical.
-The top three concerns of Asian consumers are specific environmental issues: 
  -Water pollution (e.g. from pesticides and oil spills) 
  -Extreme weather events (flooding, hurricanes, forest fires, drought) 
  -Air pollution
-58% of consumers will invest time and money to support responsible companies 
-53% of consumers have stopped buying products and services that have a 
negative impact on the environment and society 
-58% of consumers reported they are personally affected by environmental 
problems. 

The study, premiered in a webinar 
(https://event.on24.com/eventRegistration/EventLobbyServlet?target=reg20.jsp&ref
errer=&eventid=3256361&sessionid=1&key=C934F675CE0E63449116B1528451EA28®Tag=&V2=
false&sourcepage=register) last week, also measures the three factors 
persistently undermining sustainable consumer behaviour: Cost, Comfort and 
Convenience, creating a 'Value-Action-Gap' in the region. The research 
additionally introduces Kantar's Sustainability Framework to build a 
consumer-centric strategy for success. This leverages a 'Sword and Shield' 
approach to better understand how brands in different categories can 
responsibly navigate sustainability issues by identifying where to focus their 
attention, how to localise their brand purpose to address local consumer 
tensions, and how to innovate to overcome the value-action-gap.

Summarising the findings, Kantar's Trezelene Chan, Head of Sustainable 
Transformation Practice, Singapore commented, "Asia's stage of growth and the 
fact that it houses some of the world's most innovative companies gives it huge 
potential to create commercial value and address environmental and social 
issues. Consumers are looking for brands that have social and environmental 
purpose, so from a marketing standpoint, purpose is imperative, and 
sustainability is driving consumer choice. Our research illustrates the 
importance of taking a local approach to sustainability issues. While a company 
purpose should be a global constant, translating that into action needs to take 
into consideration the tensions that exist in each market. For the first time, 
thanks to this study, which is the largest of its kind, we are able to identify 
which sustainability issues consumers care about most in each country, and how 
that should translate in to action depending on consumer category."

Kantar's Asia Sustainability Foundational Study 2021, covering nine markets 
(Singapore, Malaysia, Philippines, Thailand, Indonesia, Vietnam, India, Japan, 
and South Korea), provides the latest findings to help brands uncover what 
matters to Asians and therefore where to play to help your organisation 
navigate the sustainable journey. More information on the report and an 
on-demand version of the webinar can be found at 
https://www.kantar.com/campaigns/apac-foundational-study.

About the study 

Kantar's Asia Sustainability Foundational Study 2021, covering nine markets, 
provides the latest findings to help brands uncover what matters to Asians and 
therefore where to play to help your organisation navigates the sustainable 
journey. More information on the report and an on-demand version of the webinar 
can be found at https://www.kantar.com/campaigns/apac-foundational-study

About Kantar 

Kantar is the world's leading evidence-based insights and consulting company. 
We have a complete, unique and rounded understanding of how people think, feel 
and act; globally and locally in over 90 markets. By combining the deep 
expertise of our people, our data resources and benchmarks, our innovative 
analytics and technology, we help our clients understand people and inspire 
growth.

SOURCE:  Kantar
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