This is a wake-up call for the poorly ranked industries to do better and produce strategies that will ensure sustainability.
The African continent has made strides towards development. However, this has been marred with cases of pollution, mistreatment of workers and corruption. Consequently, pollution from industrial waste has put the future of the continent in jeopardy. Reports show that Africa will experience adverse effects from global warming and climate change which will result to food insecurity, population displacement and stress on water resources. For this reason, respective governments have put measures to ensure sustainability.
Additionally, the next big faction of consumers are the younger generations (Millennials and Gen Zers). For brands to win over this consumer segment, they should embrace sustainability.
Africa still lags when it comes to sustainability
Making sustainability a practice by using natural resources responsibly today makes it available for future generations tomorrow. However, sustainability is not limited to the environment but also social and economic sustainability. Other continents are steps ahead in sustainability; initiatives like the smog free project, air carbon and Green Building initiative have been a huge success in ensuring sustainability. Africa still lags; due to poverty, overpopulation, and lack of technological expertise to execute some of these initiatives.
There has been a massive adoption of Environmental, Social, and Governance ESG criteria by companies seeking to attract investors. Embracing ESG; improves productivity, business performance, and adaptability to evolving technology or new regulations, boosts financial indicators, and enables corporations to promote environmental sustainability. Hence the growing popularity of ESG in the US and EU markets. While the African market is ripe and shows potential for ESG adoption, it still has a long way to go in terms of managing resources sustainably, developing management models that recognize the value of all members of the workforce, and developing business models that keep Africans accountable to their principles as well as to their communities.
There is growing awareness of sustainability driven by Millennials
With the increasing emphasis on sustainability, Africans have proved to understand the concept and ways in which sustainability could improve their well-being. A recent poll by Kasi Insight assessed how knowledgeable Africans were on issues of climate change and global warming.
Only 30% of consumers are extremely aware of the issues affecting their continent, 6 in 10 consumers are moderately aware while only 1 in 10 consumers have no knowledge at all. This highlights the fact that majority of Africans are aware of issues happening around them and the importance of sustainability to preserve their environment for future generations.
On further analysis, Millennials were identified as the consumer segment influencing these numbers.
Millennials are leading on awareness at 89%, followed closely by Gen Xers at 87%, Baby Boomers at 83% while Gen Zers lag at 78%. There is a need for creating awareness on sustainability to Gen Z. As a growing target demographic, Gen Zers need to be at par with other generations on issues of sustainability.
Interestingly, when it comes to consumers who are extremely knowledgeable on issues of sustainability, Baby Boomers lead at 37%, Gen Xers at 30%, Millennials at 29% while Gen Zers lag at 24%.
Banks and Financial Institutions mind sustainability
The poll by Kasi assessed various industries and how consumers felt the industries were performing when it comes to sustainability. Looking at sustainability in three major lenses; environmental, ethical, and social; Banks and Financial Institutions ranked top followed by Government and Fast-Food Restaurants.
On the other hand, Mining, Oil & Gas Companies, Food & Beverage Manufacturers, and Industrial Manufacturers are ranked the lowest due to the industrial effluents and pollution caused by the products being manufactured.
This is a wake-up call for the poorly ranked industries to do better and produce strategies that will ensure sustainability. Additionally, in order to win big in the coming years, brands ought to embrace sustainability.
Our data intelligence platform can help you track these trends in consumer behaviors in Africa over time. This provides you with valuable insights that can help you or your business make fast data-driven decisions.
Contact our team today to explore how our consumer intelligence , brand intelligence, retail intelligence, and economic intelligence can empower your decision-making process. Win with confidence with Kasi insights https://www.kasiinsight.com/thehub
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