Attitudes towards sustainability and sustainable business: A pilot study of consumers in New Zealand
Date
2015
Type
Conference Contribution - published
Collections
Fields of Research
Abstract
The concept of sustainability has led to considerable discussion by the academic, commercial and legislative communities There now appears to be widespread acceptance of the importance of living and working sustainably. As a result, sustainability is becoming an influential driver of business planning. Though businesses, politicians, and academics appear to recognise the importance of the concept, little attention has been paid to how consumers interpret the term nor how it affects their consuming behaviour.
There seems to be socio-political consensus that sustainable production and consumption are worthy goals. Therefore, consumer attitudes towards sustainability are important to understand, as they contribute to realising sustainable production and consumption. Without consumer acceptance and engagement, sustainability as an achievable commercial goal is unlikely; understanding how people perceive and respond to sustainability as a concept is thus of considerable importance. However, few studies have addressed consumer understanding of the term.
This exploratory pilot study examined the attitudes towards sustainablity held by a sample of consumers. It was found that while there is awareness of and commitment to activities related to both social and environmental sustainability, there was less certainty with regard to sustainable business practices.