Tina Dreimann
18.2.2021
2 min read
An impressive 93.8 percent of people living in Germany are convinced that there should be more investments in sustainable startups – as a representative study by Appinio on behalf of better ventures has discovered. Accordingly, sustainability is an omnipresent topic in German society: Over 85 percent of the population try to practice sustainable habits in their daily lives and a further 91 percent express the need for even more sustainable products and services.
Sustainability affects purchasing behavior
The attitudes towards sustainability also affect consumers’ purchasing behavior: 85 percent of the population state to pay great attention to whether a chosen product or service is sustainable – especially when buying food (67 percent), textiles (44.3 percent), household goods (36 percent) or cosmetics (34 percent). The wish for improvement with regards to sustainable corporate practices was expressed especially for the food industry (40 percent), the garment industry (40 percent), and the automotive industry (39 percent).
When considering age and gender, the research shows that companies’ sustainability efforts tend to be more important to women than to men (89 versus 80 percent respectively). Moreover, sustainable actions by companies are most important to those aged 55 to 64 years (90 percent), followed by the 35 to 44-year-olds (86 percent).
The majority wants more investments in sustainable startups
An impressive 94 percent of people living in Germany are convinced that there should be more investments in sustainable startups. Christoph Behn, CEO and founder of better ventures, sees sustainability as the key driving force to building a better future: “It is often assumed that consumers do not appreciate sustainability efforts. However, as the study shows, there is an explicit wish for more sustainable products and services amongst the German population. Since consumers are greatly influenced by this topic when making purchasing decisions, sustainability should be a distinctive feature for companies. With better ventures, we want to promote more sustainable innovations and help them succeed – and the study is proof that our mission is not just a goal that we set for ourselves, but backed by an overarching societal trend."
About the study’s methodology:
In total 1002 participants, aged 16 to 65 years, participated in an online survey using a mobile-panel by Appinio. The study was carried out between the 27th and 30th of November 2020 and comprised eleven questions on sustainability and consumers’ behavior. The term “sustainability“ was defined according to the three-pillar-model of sustainability: The term refers to the responsible use of ecological, social, and economic resources. Hence, sustainability can only be achieved when each of the pillars is given the same attention.