New research from Deloitte Canada reveals a disconnect between consumers and businesses when it comes to trust in sustainability claims – leaving a significant market opening for brands that can convince buyers that their mission is genuine. 

A majority of Canadian consumers surveyed for the report published Thursday said they don’t believe most “green” or sustainability claims they see coming from brands, with 57 per cent of people sharing that view. A quarter of respondents expressed frustration at how difficult it is to assess which claims are authentic.

Nearly half said that lack of trust reduced their willingness to pay more for a product billed as sustainable – but 75 per cent said that “all things being equal” when it comes to quality, they would be more likely make purchases from brands offering environmentally friendly or sustainable products.

Joe Solly, national consumer sustainability leader at Deloitte Canada and researcher on the report, said the results reveal an “increasingly big missed opportunity in the market” for businesses that are committed to sustainability, if they can bridge the gap with mistrustful, but ultimately willing, consumers.

“It's not like there's not a willingness to pay, there is,” Solly told BNNBloomberg.ca in a telephone interview. “It's just there's a trust and a clarity issue.”

The survey of consumers and business leaders conducted in April defined sustainable products and services as “those with improved social and/or environmental impacts or characteristics relative to ‘standard’ or ‘conventional’ products and services.”

Business leaders appeared “unconcerned” with or “more worryingly, unaware of” customers’ frustrations with the murkiness of corporate sustainability claims or the potentially negative brand impacts of greenwashing accusations, the report said.

Less than half of surveyed business, at 41 per cent, said they felt they were at risk of being accused of greenwashing or inauthenticity regarding their sustainability goals. Businesses that were not developing sustainable products said it was because of lack of consumer demand, or because it’s not a priority for them – rather than because they were worried about authentically pulling off a sustainable offering.

Businesses that want to stand out in the sustainability market should take a “whole-of-enterprise approach” to the concept, the report said, and be transparent with customers about how their goals for the planet fit with the entire operations.

Solly said that businesses wishing to earn back consumers’ trust – and their dollars – should first strive to understand how sustainability concerns could arise across the life of a product, looking at the entire supply chain.

He also suggested there is room in the market for more standardized definitions of sustainability terms to clear up the murkiness for both businesses and consumers, similar to how nutrition labels on food items communicate what went into the product.

There is also a window for companies to cash in on growing consumer appetite for “circular economy” offerings of recycled or reused products that reduce overall consumption and waste, Solly said. For example, some clothing retailers allow people to lease or exchange items so the company can retain customers who would otherwise resell their items on social media or in other markets.

It’s an example of how companies can take on a “purpose-led” approach to sustainability, generate customer trust and gain a competitive advantage.

“I think businesses can and need to find a way to meet this growing market,” Solly said. “You have to think about your brand, not just marketing and advertising at the product level, but as an organization, as an enterprise: What do you stand for?”

METHODOLOGY:

In April 2023, Deloite surveyed 311 Canadian consumer business leaders and collected the input to an online survey of 1,008 respondents, a representative national sample of Canadian consumers aged 18 or older.