Sustainability Sector Index 2023: Concerns about greenwashing

Kantar releases the latest Sustainability Sector Index 2023, Kantar’s global survey of consumer sustainability concerns and behavior. The survey shows that concern about greenwashing is universally high. Greenwashing is when brands and companies pretend to be more sustainable or socially responsible than they are. Just over half of respondents (51%) believe that brands across all sectors are misleading when reporting their sustainability actions, even in “born good” sectors such as electric vehicles or meat substitutes. In the Netherlands that percentage is slightly lower; 42% find brands misleading in their sustainability communications.

Based on 26,000 interviews worldwide and in line with the UN Sustainable Development Goals, the report ranks 42 sectors on their sustainability actions. This edition of the survey compares consumers’ sustainability perceptions across different sectors. It has been found that Dutch consumers find the electronics sector comparable to the oil and gas industry when it comes to driving progress on social and environmental issues. This means that the electronics sector is among the bottom 5 in this category. Sectors at the bottom of the rankings show a lack of encouragement to take steps towards sustainability, according to consumers.