Australians are confused and cynical about the environmental claims made by companies and greenwashing is making people ever more sceptical, a latest survey of people’s attitudes to nature and climate change has found.
The research also points to a radical change in the expectations of Australian consumers and voters, with younger generations strongly rejecting the notion that humans have the right to use nature for their own benefit.
The survey of 2,000 Australians also found 79% of people think the nation’s economy is at risk from the deterioration of the natural world.
Andrew Baker, coauthor of the “In Nature We Trust” research from consultancy group Possible, said: “We are seeing growing concern across the board but a seismic shift between generations when it comes to the emerging nature agenda.
“The days of Australians accepting human dominance of the natural world are over and decision makers need to show how they are protecting nature for future generations.”
Across many areas, the research suggests the boomer generation – born between 1946 and 1964 – were less concerned about the state of the natural world or the impacts it would have.
Some 85% of people were sceptical about environmental claims made by companies and 68% wanted clearer information about the impacts and benefits of the products and services they used.
According to the survey findings, 35% of people felt they had already fallen foul of greenwashing and among those, 83% said the experience made them more doubtful about the legitimacy of other green claims.
The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission is investigating several businesses after finding that 57% of the websites of 247 businesses were making “concerning claims” about their environmental credentials.
In the last 12 months, corporate regulator Asic has made 35 interventions for greenwashing, with companies and investment funds making vague or unsubstantiated claims to being “green”, “carbon neutral” and “sustainable”.
When respondents were asked if they thought humans had the right to “use nature for their own benefit, even it impacts on the needs of other creatures” there was a stark shift across generations, the survey found. While only 21% of Gen Z respondents agreed with that view, some 62% of the boomer generation thought humans should take a priority.
Baker said: “Unlike other generations, [Gen Z] has been brought up with this topic that’s been mainstream and front and centre for their whole lives. There’s not much room for doubt left in their minds given all the extreme weather events that are affecting them.”
Gen Y – also known as millennials – were most concerned the degradation of the natural world could put the economy at risk, with 88% expressing that view compared with 66% of boomers.
Megan Flynn, the managing director of Pollination, a climate change investment and advisory group that contributed to the research, said Australian companies were putting millions into selling their environmental credentials but “in too many cases, consumers aren’t buying”.
She said companies she worked with were thinking about two broad issues – shifting expectations from consumers on the actions of companies on climate change and the environment, as well as which products or services they could take to market.
She said: “What this research tells us is that the average Australian isn’t an expert on the science or the compliance or on company targets, but they are recognising the damage to nature around them and that it’s bad for the economy.”
The research project, from Possible and Mobium Group, has tracked Australian attitudes to the environment since 2007.
Prof David Schlosberg, the director of the Sydney Environment Institute at the University of Sydney, said there were generational shifts across a whole range of environmental issues.
“The fact that almost 80% of youth don’t believe they have that right to use nature for their own benefit doesn’t surprise me. It’s encouraging and heartening for this GenXer.
“What can this all mean for the future relationships with the environment? There is this opportunity to think about what a more collaborative and cooperative relationship with the natural world looks like once we recognise that there’s this shift in values,” he said.
“Yet we still have an economic system with political leaders that don’t hold these views.”
