views from affluent & hIGH net worth individuals in THE UK anD US

SUSTAINABLE HABITS AND PURCHASING - SUSTAINABILITY CLAIMS - SUSTAINABILITY TRAVEL

Release date: February 2023

THE POPULATION

This short report looks at affluent trends and sentiments relating to sustainability. The climate crisis has come to the fore in recent years, especially with many countries recording record temperatures in 2022. This means that many wealthy individuals are now scrutinising their own actions and how they are contributing to, or alleviating, this issue.

The survey was completed by just over 150 respondents in the US and 150 respondents in China in July 2022, and was balanced 61:39 female:male, and 55:45 for 18-41 vs over-41s. When converted to USD, the sample had a high median level of investible assets at just under $2m in the US sample and $1.4m (equivalent) in China.

The majority are doing at least a little to tackle climate change

In terms of personal responsibility, the majority of wealthy Americans and Chinese are doing at least a little to tackle climate change in their own lives. Chinese respondents are particularly proactive on this front, with 43% making significant effort and a further 54% doing so a little. While 14% of affluent Americans say that they are not making any attempts at all, 84% are still doing something.

Figure 1: “To what extent do you think you are personally tackling climate change in your own actions/lifestyle?”

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On the back of record temperatures and droughts in summer 2022, many people are becoming increasingly demanding of companies to acknowledge and act alongside them in alleviating climate concerns, for example via recyclable materials or carbon offsetting. The affluent Chinese hold brands, governments and the world’s rich equally responsible: nine in ten agree that all three groups should be more to tackle the issue. Many affluent Americans also expect more from brands (78%) and governments (79%), although it is notable that they see themselves as being relatively less responsible (63%).

Figure 2: “Do you agree or disagree with the following statement: [  ] should be doing more to tackle climate change.”

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Closing the ‘say-do’ gap

Many wealthy individuals are now factoring sustainability into their decision-making process when buying luxury goods and services. Only a minority now say that it is unimportant to them, underlining how luxury brands should be focusing on this as a selling point. Almost a third of affluent Chinese respondents say that this is an essential consideration when making purchases, with a further 54% saying that it is very important to them (vs 15% and 36% among Americans). Americans again appear to be a little more muted in their prioritisation of sustainability, although it is still at least a partial consideration for the majority.

Figure 3: “Which one of the following best represents how important sustainability is to you when buying luxury goods and services?”

One of the main challenges relating to sustainability is in closing the ‘say-do’ gap; namely the difference between what people intend/say they do, and what they actually do. We asked our respondents to honestly answer how often they actually do buy sustainable luxury goods and services irrespective of the importance they attribute to it.

The Chinese response is again considerably higher than the American, although only 17% of the former say that they always buy sustainably (vs 7% in the US). It may not always be feasible or appropriate for consumers to buy sustainable goods and this perhaps explains why this number is not higher. Instead, a notable share – 57% in China and 31% in the US – say that they buy sustainably most of the time. Americans are more likely to say that they either occasionally or rarely buy with this in mind (59%), while only 3% say that they never do so (with only 1% in China never considering it).

Figure 4: “And how often do you actually buy luxury goods or services which are sustainable?”

A clear intent to buy sustainable goods

Occasional lack of choice and availability may be one reason why people buy non-sustainable goods despite their best intentions. When we posed a hypothetical scenario in which there was a choice between broadly identical sustainable and unsustainable products, there is a clear preference for the former in both countries. In China, 96% say that they definitely or probably would choose the sustainable product, while 83% would do so in the US. This shows the clear intent to buy sustainably if it is convenient and cost-effective to do so.

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“I am not willing to spend any extra for such things. If you can give me the same quality product or experience at the same price, then going sustainable is fine with me (on a case-by-case basis).”

US 55-64-year-old female

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Figure 5: “Imagine there are two products which are broadly identical in terms of their features and price. One has a strong sustainability ethos and the other does not. Which would you choose?”

Sustainable claims from governments have the highest level of mistrust

Recent years have seen a clear rise in the number of brands making sustainable claims in order to attract more customers. This has become so prevalent that many brands now risk being seen as undesirable and outdated unless they have some type of sustainability ethos or strategy. Many of these brands’ claims such as carbon offsetting or being net zero by a certain date are now also being scrutinised with greater rigour as to whether they are indeed as sustainable as claimed.

Trust levels in sustainability claims made by brands and international agencies such as the UN are broadly even among affluent Chinese and Americans. Two thirds of Americans are either somewhat or very likely to trust such claims from these organisations, rising to just over four in five Chinese. Trust in governments is comfortably lower, particularly in the US where only 38% would believe a governmental sustainability claim (vs 72% in China). In all cases, organisations need to state their sustainability credentials clearly but also credibly and able to stand up to close scrutiny. Poorly thought out, or even worse, misleading claims run the risk of debunked and damaging the image of that company in the public’s mind.

Figure 6: “Sustainability claims are becoming increasingly commonplace. How likely are you to trust these claims from each of the following people/groups?”

Various ways for brands to communicate sustainability

When asked how they would like brands to communicate their sustainability credentials to enhance trust, our respondents cited a range of methods, some of which are shown below:

QUOTES: “To what extent do you think you are now tackling climate change in your own actions/lifestyle?”

“Brands would not only need to list their sustainability credentials, but also include links to credible partners that can vouch for this.”

US 55-64-year-old male

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“Brands can work with international environmental organizations or foundation associations to declare change and promote sustainable strategies.”

Chinese 45-54-year-old female

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“Clear profile of the materials % sustainable, country of origin, community programs that the brand contributes to and of which the item you are purchasing has been sourced and supports the community. Third party sustainability certification (i.e. similar to Fair Trade certification, etc).”

US 55-64-year-old male

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“Make it evident on every page of the website. Make it evident at the point of purchase on website and in-store. Make it evident in the store and even in the window of the store. It should be only second of importance to the brand name itself.”

US 55-64-year-old male

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Tesla seen as the most sustainable luxury brand globally

As part of Altiant’s ongoing GLAM tracker, we have been monitoring which brands are seen as sustainability champions by the affluent globally. A handful of luxury brands consistently stand out, with these brands also being among the most cited across the whole of 2022. Tesla was comfortably the most cited brand last year, with 16% of the total sample identifying it as a sustainable luxury pioneer. Fashion and jewellery/watch brands were also strong performers, with the likes of Gucci, Louis Vuitton and Stella McCartney mentioned around 100 times across the whole year of study. Patagonia is also seeing a growing number of mentions on the back of announcing that it will be dedicating its future profits towards climate protection.

Figure 7: “Are there any luxury brands in any industry which you think are good examples of sustainable luxury?”

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The Chinese are particularly attuned to sustainable travel

Tourism is thought to contribute to around 8% of global greenhouse gas emissions, of which almost half comes from transport. A number of cities and countries are now introducing carbon taxes for their emissions, while many travel companies have used offsets as a solution. Carbon offsetting has been has been particularly popular in recent years but is facing more opposition and accusations of greenwashing from critics. Instead, brands such as Rosewood Hotels are focusing on climate justice as a means of meeting sustainability goals.

Sustainability is considerably more influential to affluent Chinese travellers than Americans, with 89% saying it is either somewhat or very important to them when planning a holiday. This falls to 55% among Americans and only 14% say that it is very important to them. Furthermore, a quarter say that is either not very important, or not at all. Instead, sustainability seems to be more of a ‘nice-to-have’ rather than a ‘must-have’ for wealthy American travellers:

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“To be honest when we stay at a resort that has high sustainability, we choose the location because of the resort. Sustainability had nothing to do with our choice. I have been impressed with the resorts in Costa Rica (like the Riu Guanacaste) since they are much greener then just about any country I have been to.”

US 65+ female

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Figure 8: “Are there any luxury brands in any industry which you think are good examples of sustainable luxury?”

When looking at the ‘say-do’ gap, just over a quarter of affluent Chinese travellers say that they always prioritise sustainability in holiday bookings, with a further 63% sometimes doing so. These figures are considerably higher than in the US where only 52% always/sometimes prioritise sustainability in a holiday, while one in five never do so.

Figure 9: “And how often do you actually book a holiday which has sustainability as a high priority?”

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“Four Seasons Lanai – they explained what was sustainable at the property, have notes inside the suite about it and recommend less frequent cleaning of towels/linens. They grow some of their food and use responsible farmers.”

US 55-64-year-old male

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“I recently travelled to Antarctica on the Norwegian Hurtigruten cruise line. They have removed all single-use plastic from all of their ships. Furthermore, they communicated to all of their onboard guests that they have embraced the UN Sustainable Development goals as part of their mission and would demonstrate to us throughout the voyage the ways in which they would abide by them such as sustainable consumption and caring for underwater life.”

US 55-64-year-old female

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“At Civana Spa in Arizona you arrived with a lovely BPA-free water bottle to use and refill throughout the property rather than using plastic bottles.”

US 45-54-year-old male

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“Our trip to the Six Senses Laamu in the Maldives. We know that the Maldives are incredibly beautiful, but the Six Senses is part of a marine conservation initiative. They are in a partnership with NGO partners, Blue Marine Foundation, Manta Trust Olive Ridley Project...all collaborating to protect Laamu Atoll, which has been identified as one of the planet's Hope Spots.”

US 55-64-year-old female

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“Marriott International, their surplus meals work with recycling companies to convert them into electricity, source local food and reduce food waste.”

China 45-54-year-old female

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“Qatar Airways has also introduced a sustainable, eco-friendly travel kit made from FSC-certified recyclable kraft paper and packaged with sustainable products that can be taken home and used after the flight.”

China 55-64-year-old male

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“I went to Banyan Tree, Hangzhou Xixi, their design is very beautiful, the service is humanized, and at the same time there are technological innovations in environmental protection building materials, new energy utilization, energy saving, and I feel very socially responsible!”

China 45-54-year-old female

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“I once stayed at the Rose Garden Hotel Yangon during my trip to Myanmar, and the hotel not only eliminated the use of plastic straws, minimized the use of plastic bottles, but also used recyclable materials for bathroom facilities and gadgets, all in order to reduce environmental pollution. The hotel has green drinking stations in every meeting room and pre-function area, and recyclable cups made of recycled aluminum for guests and attendees, so I can take the bottles with me when I leave the hotel and still use them on the next leg of my trip, instead of buying PVC water bottles as usual and throwing them away.”

China 45-54-year-old female

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Many affluent travellers have switched to private transport options such as private jets in recent years, a trend which was accelerated by the Covid pandemic. According to our GLAM tracker, just over a quarter of the global affluent population had a private transport experience within the past year as many enjoyed the convenience, luxury and privacy that this enables. Private jet travel in particular may face extra scrutiny in the coming years, with an ever-growing need to transition this transport method to sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) in order to reduce emissions.

A third (32%) of wealthy Chinese individuals say that they are very concerned with the environmental impact of private transport such as jets and yachts, with a further 46% somewhat concerned. These are again a little higher than the relative figures among affluent Americans, where 32% are not very concerned about using private transport, and 10% not at all.

Fig. 10 – “How concerned are you about the environmental impact of using private transport such as jets and yachts?”

This is part of our ongoing series of short category reports which are intended to provide an up-to-date snapshot on some of the key trends in luxury and wealth. For more information on this study or any other research requirements, please contact us at reports@altiant.com. .

Contributors

Chris Wisson, Knowledge Director

Meryam Schneider, VP

Ivelina Dobreva, Project Manager

Contact

reports@altiant.com

ABOUT ALTIANT

Altiant is a specialised fieldwork company which enables large scale, global research among affluent consumers/High Net Worth Individuals (HNWIs) in 15+ countries worldwide.

By servicing dozens of the world’s top luxury and wealth brands, Altiant helps renowned brands and their research agencies to answer critical questions among this very hard-to-reach demographic. We ensure that all of our survey respondents are genuinely affluent by having their identities verified and wealth levels validated.

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