OOne of the most widespread misunderstandings I hear in some business circles is that consumers don’t really care about climate change because they generally aren’t willing to pay a lot to address it. To make this argument, skeptics of corporate climate action often point to reams of evidence showing that most consumers prioritize price over sustainability in their purchasing decisions.
It’s true – and not surprising – that price remains the main concern for most consumers, but that doesn’t necessarily mean they don’t care. In fact, surveys suggest that consumers care about climate change. They just don’t think it’s their responsibility to resolve it.
In a recent survey about who is responsible for climate change, respondents responded decisively: companies, first and foremost, are responsible. In the University of Chicago’s June 4 survey, 62% of respondents said industry has a significant responsibility for reducing emissions. This is closely followed by 59% who say the same about the federal government. (I am a journalism fellow at the Energy Policy Institute at the University of Chicago).
Another survey released earlier this year by consulting firm EY found that two-thirds of American consumers think they have already done enough to address climate change and that energy companies should take the lead in reducing energy consumption.
An economically minded reader may hesitate at the apparent contradiction of these conclusions. Companies can offer greener products in a number of industries right now without any additional technological advances, but those costs would eventually hit consumers one way or another. In other words, consumers cannot have their cake and eat it too.
But the findings are worth reflecting on. On the one hand, they throw cold water on the long-running campaigns of some companies and industry groups aimed at convincing individuals to take responsibility for climate change. Despite decades of delivering this message, only 41% of respondents to the Chicago survey said that individuals have a significant responsibility in addressing climate change.
Extrapolating a little further, the findings help make the case for companies to find ways to prioritize sustainability. On the one hand, it’s worth noting that some consumers say they are willing to pay a sustainability premium, however small. And behavioral economists have found that companies can effectively “nudge” consumers toward greener choices—think making the default option the most sustainable one. Even consumers who aren’t willing to pay a premium for sustainability right now can see a company’s green products as a differentiator when the cost drops.
In the long term, as more and more companies invest in sustainability efforts, sustainability metrics will likely become less of a “nice to have” and more of a baseline. Threading the needle on cost and sustainability is not always easy, but it is increasingly necessary.
To receive this story in your inbox, subscribe to the TIME CO2 Leadership Report newsletter here.
This story originally appeared on Time.com read the full story
