86% Of Consumers: Businesses Should Use Resources To Improve Environment

“A picture is worth a thousand words” may be a cliche, but it exists for a reason — very often, visual imagery can indeed portray or evoke messages and themes much more poignantly than plain text. And it’s true for many avenues and industries, including environmentalism and climate change. 

Getty’s recently released report “Sustainability at the Crossroads” highlights consumer sentiment around environmental issues, insights that brands can use to adjust their CSR commitments and strategies. One key point: A vast majority of consumers “want to see visuals showing how companies and governments are addressing climate change, not just in isolated campaigns.” Other findings from the study, which was conducted in partnership with MarketCast via Getty’s VisualGPS consumer surveys, include: 

• 69% of global consumers acknowledge that climate change directly impacts their daily lives.
• Two-thirds doubt that companies are truly committed to sustainability — but 86% say that businesses should use their resources to improve society and the environment. 
• Honesty and realism are top of mind right now: Over half (55%) of consumers believe that visuals and messaging should focus on the consequences of inaction rather than simple optimism. 

“Some brands are stepping back from the [environmental] conversation—not because they don’t care, but because they’re unsure of what to say or how to say it,” says Dr. Rebecca Swift, Senior Vice President, Creative at Getty. “There’s even a word for it now: greenhushing—when companies stay silent about their sustainability efforts for fear of getting it wrong, being called out, or misunderstood. But here’s what we know for sure: consumers still care. Deeply.”

For more insights about how brands should approach their environmental efforts, check out the full report here.