Who’s The Greenest of Them All? Hint: Look To The Developing World!
Though being green is all the rage in the US, one needs to look beyond our borders…well beyond, to find countries in which consumers act truly green. Not surprisingly, those consumers in the developing world, impacted the most by environmentally harmful behavior, tend to be the greenest.
The recently completed National Geographic/GlobeScan “Consumer Greendex,” rather than measuring the overall “greenness” of each nation looks specifically at consumer behavior and tells a different story than that of traditional measurements of sustainability by country.
The US, still doesn’t fare very well
The findings show that consumers in Brazil and India tie for the highest Greendex score for environmentally sustainable consumption at 60 points each. They are followed by consumers in China (56.1), Mexico (54.3), Hungary (53.2) and Russia (52.4). Among consumers in wealthy countries, those in Great Britain, Germany and Australia each have a Greendex score of 50.2, those in Spain register a score of 50.0 and Japanese respondents 49.1. U.S. consumers have the lowest Greendex score at 44.9. The other lowest-scoring consumers are Canadians with 48.5 and the French with 48.7.
While consumers in developing countries tend to live in smaller homes, rely less on cars, own fewer appliances and prefer greener products, those in industrialized countries are the least likely to buy environmentally friendly products, live in larger homes and drive more frequently. This is, of course directly tied to the “opportunities” afforded by industrialization.
However, US consumers, with their, only now, budding awareness of the impact of their actions on the planet, fared far worse than many Western European countries. US consumers are less likely to use public transportation, have larger residences and rarely minimize their use of fresh water.
The Greendex, a sustainable consumption index of actual consumer behavior and material lifestyles across 14 countries, will be tracked over time and will be comparable across the selection of countries representing both the developed and developing world.
For eco-entrepreneurs, in the US, these findings equal opportunity. With American consumers farther down the adoption cycle, entrepreneurs in the US have the opportunity to look to countries such as Great Britain, Germany and Australia to find new ideas. In particular, products that have taken hold in the similar cultures of English speaking countries offer real opportunities for import or adoption by forward looking entrepreneurs.
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I wonder why the Germans and the British greener are than the French?
Good question! It may be cultural.
There has been some earlier discussion of this report here:
http://lamarguerite.wordpress.com/2008/05/09/must-read-greendex-international-study-of-consumers-and-sustainability/
It’s not surprising that less developed countries practice greener consumption. In my experiences in Mexico, any item, whether it was food, an electronic device, or a piece of clothing was utilized to the max in order to save money and optimize value. In the US, we could certainly learn from this type of practice.
As someone who has visited some of the “greener” countries on the list as well as traveled pretty extensively here in the US, I question the metrics used in the report.
Our air, water and land, though certainly not even close to perfect seem a lot cleaner than they are in many countries where people live in smaller homes, drive less and use less fresh water.
Perhaps that is because we can afford to install effective sewer systems, emissions control systems, and larger homes using materials that are not found by the side of the road.
Poverty might make someone act a bit “greener” but it does not always result in an overall improvement in the environment.