Paris/Montreal, 19 April 2013 – 75% of consumers
surveyed worldwide are aware of biodiversity, while 48% can give a correct
definition of the term biodiversity. These are some of the findings contained
in the 2013 Biodiversity Barometer report launched today in Paris by the Union
for Ethical BioTrade (UEBT).
Consumers in Brazil, China and France, according to the study,
show a particular awareness about biodiversity.
“The Biodiversity Barometer is an important source of information on
global trends in biodiversity awareness. The results not only demonstrate a
growing consciousness, they also show that respecting biodiversity provides
tremendous opportunities for business around the world” said Braulio Ferreira
de Souza Dias, Executive Secretary for the Convention on Biological
Diversity.
Very high biodiversity awareness in China
This year’s special focus on China reveals interesting results:
Apart from a very high biodiversity awareness (94%), Chinese consumers surveyed
also show high knowledge of biodiversity: 64% could define correctly what
biodiversity means. “The survey results do not come as a surprise. In recent
years, the government as well as civil society organizations in China has
undertaken tremendous activities for communicating and raising awareness of
biodiversity issues” says Zhang Wenguo, Ministry of Environmental
Protection of the People’s Republic of China.
Biodiversity offers branding opportunities
Responses to the question “What are the three brands you consider
are making the most efforts to respect biodiversity?” were manifold and often
country-specific: In Brazil, there is a clear leader with Natura (49%). In the
USA, most mentioned food brands, including Kraft, Starbucks and Ben & Jerry’s.
UK has two leading companies: Bodyshop and CO-OP (23% and 20%). In France Yves
Rocher, Nestle and Danone top the list, while in China the perceived leaders
are Yili, Mengliu and Amway. “There are clear opportunities for brands to
position themselves around the issue of biodiversity, and anticipate increasing
consumer interest on this issue” concludes Rémy Oudghiri, Director of
Trends and Insights at IPSOS.
Biodiversity reporting is growing, but still weak
“Today 32 of the top 100 beauty companies in the world refer to
biodiversity in their corporate communications such as sustainability reporting
and websites. This is considerably higher than in 2009, but much lower than
what we found in the top 100 food companies” says Rik Kutsch Lojenga, Executive
Director of UEBT. In 2013, 87% of consumers say they want to be better informed
about how companies source their natural ingredients, and a large majority of
consumers say they would to boycott brands that do not take good care of
environmental or ethical trade practices in its sourcing and production
processes.
Youth is the future of biodiversity
For brands interested in reaching consumers on biodiversity, the
2013 Biodiversity Barometer offers the following insights: Young people tend to
have the highest awareness of biodiversity (80%), as well as more affluent and
well-educated people. Traditional media remain by and large the key sources of awareness:
51% of all surveyed consumers learned about biodiversity through television,
33% through newspapers and magazines.
On the UEBT Biodiversity Barometer
The UEBT Barometer provides insights on evolving biodiversity
awareness among consumers and how the beauty industry reports on biodiversity.
It also illustrates the progress towards achieving the targets of the Strategic
Plan of the United Nations Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD), and its
results will be reflected in the next edition of the Global Biodiversity
Outlook as a midway point analysis of the achievement of those targets. Since
its first edition in 2009, the global research organisation IPSOS, on behalf of
UEBT, has interviewed 31,000 consumers in 11 countries (Brazil, China, France,
Germany, India, Japan, Peru, South Korea, Switzerland, UK and USA). In 2013,
the biodiversity barometer survey was conducted among 6,000 consumers in six
countries - Brazil, China, France, Germany, UK and USA.
The Union for Ethical BioTrade
The Union for Ethical BioTrade is a non-profit association that
promotes the ‘Sourcing with Respect’ of ingredients that come from
biodiversity. Members, which include many beauty companies, commit to gradually
ensuring that their sourcing practices promote the conservation of biodiversity,
respect traditional knowledge, and assure the equitable sharing of benefits all
along the supply chain.
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