Researcher Synovate, together with BBC World, conducted a global survey on climate change and found concern about climate change among more than two-thirds of respondents. A whopping 95 percent of these people had done something to reduce the effects of climate change in the past year.

“Consumers are making purchase decisions on the back of their concern about climate change and marketers need to take notice,” said Steve Garton, Synovate’s global head of media research, in a Synovate press release. “People are letting their wallets do the talking on the issue of climate change. More than half have bought green products or energy-efficient devices, reduced packaging or saved power in the past year.

“Many of the world’s corporations are already evolving their products to meet consumers’ needs for environmental friendliness but they can pick up the pace. This survey shows that people see their purchase decisions as a way to combat the effects of climate change and would undoubtedly be open to green products in most categories,” Garton said.

The Synovate Global Omnibus survey on climate change interviewed 14,220 respondents across 21 countries including: the U.S., China, France, Germany, Hong Kong, Singapore, South Korea, Australia, India, Japan, Poland, Dubai, the U.K., Brazil, Italy, South Africa, Norway, Spain, Denmark, Russia and Canada. The survey was conducted by telephone, online and face-to-face throughout February 2007, during which time the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change issued a major report from the contributions of more than 2,000 scientists specializing in the topic. It indicated there was a direct link between climate change and human activities.

The figures cited here are from a base of respondents who had indicated concern about climate change. The global average for this was 68 percent, with Brazilians (87 percent), Spaniards (87 percent), Australians (84 percent) and South Africans (82 percent) most concerned.

As taken from the Synovate press material, the survey shows that the Chinese are leading the charge when it comes to buying green products, with 76 percent of the respondents who were concerned about climate change having done this in the past year. Given that China is about to overtake the U.S. as the No. 1 producer of greenhouse gases, it is notable that Chinese consumers are taking action. Germans (69 percent), Norwegians (68 percent) and Danes (67 percent) are also well above the global average of 54 percent when it comes to buying green.

The Polish are lighting the way on purchasing energy-efficient devices, with 74 percent having done so in the past 12 months. Hot on their heels are the Brazilians and Australians at 67 percent.

Smaller car

The survey also showed a global average of 20 percent said they have bought or planned to buy a smaller car, a number which, Garton said, should make automotive marketers sit up and take notice. “At first glance this figure was not as large as other changes that consumers are making, but when you take into account the big-ticket nature of a purchase like this, 20 percent is a big deal.

“Some markets in particular will see very different cars on the road in the next few years. Thirty-nine percent of Italians who are concerned about global climate change have bought or plan to buy a smaller car as a result of the environment, closely followed by 37 percent of South Africans, 34 percent of Australians and 31 percent of Brazilians.”

Even here in the U.S., where big cars are a cultural heritage, 23 percent of concerned Americans said they may change their vehicle in response to climate change.

Respondents were also asked if they had changed their travel habits in the past year as a result of climate-related issues. A global average of 28 percent had done so and these changes could be as simple as taking public transportation instead of driving or as dramatic as electing to not travel by plane, Garton said. “There’s a great deal of talk at the moment about the impact of airline and vehicle emissions. These results indicate consumers are taking note and, in some places, are prepared to change their habits.”

Seventy percent of Poles who said they were concerned about climate change had also changed their travel habits as a result, followed by 58 percent in Singapore and 57 percent in Hong Kong. At the other end of the scale, only 4 percent of the French had made any changes to travel habits.

Willingness to change

Overall, the survey results certainly indicate a willingness among respondents to change their consumption habits. Questions about recycling also drew heartening responses. “Recycling first entered the public’s consciousness on a major scale 10 or 15 years ago. Now we see it is par for the course in some markets like Germany, the U.K., South Korea and Norway - and the global average for engaging in recycling activity is over two-thirds [68 percent]. We also have 78 percent consciously saving power,” Garton said.

“With consumers showing their engagement on the issue of climate change and their willingness to take actions, there is a new set of opportunities for marketers. The challenge is to deliver products and services that meet consumers’ needs as well as their desire to help the planet.”