Here’s a selection of statistics from this month’s data. Given the breadth of the questions asked – attitudes, current behaviour, potential solutions – we can’t hope to present it all here, so reach out if you have specific areas of interest.  

Industry responsibility:

Australians believe there is a significant role for businesses to play to address climate change. Airlines, automotive manufacturers, electronics manufacturers, natural resource extraction companies and energy retailers are key industries expected to act in this area. In contrast, specific industries were expected to address particular challenges – fast food outlets are expected by 38% of consumers to play a role in reducing the impact of plastic waste. Private health insurance providers are expected to address health and wellbeing challenges including COVID-19 (24%) and mental wellbeing (21%).

Cost of living:

The high cost of living is an issue that Australians believe demands urgent action, falling only behind the pandemic in our list of concerns and of equal importance to climate change.  

40% of Australians believe we need to focus on addressing the cost of living – with the issue generating greatest concern among women at 46%, compared to men at just 34%. The 45 to 54-year-old age group were the most worried about the cost of living at 48%, with the least worried – perhaps unsurprisingly – being 18 to 24-year-olds, at 31%.

Gender inequality:

We still have work to do in the workplace. 53% of our respondents say they believe that their employers see gender inequality as an important issue to solve. However, 17% of them reported seeing someone being – or had themselves been – treated differently “because of their gender” in the previous four weeks.

On a more positive note, 68% of Australians aged 18 to 34 would be more likely to invest in a company that takes action to tackle gender inequality. This was a higher rate than any other age group, with just 38% of over-65s expressing the same preference.

This data suggests that while we have taken some significant steps towards gender parity in boardrooms, the economic shocks of COVID-19 continue to challenge progress across the broader workforce, as evidenced  by recent figures from the Bureau of Statistics showing young women particularly hard hit by job losses during the pandemic.

Plastic waste & climate change:

It appears we are consciously voting with our wallets to reduce plastic waste.

Eco-conscious seniors aged over 65 lead every other age group when it comes to their willingness to pay a premium for a product or service that reduces the impact of plastic waste.

Fifty-five percent of over-65s would pay more for a product with less plastic packaging – well ahead of all other age groups, including 18 to 24-year-olds who were next at 45%.

Climate change was also a priority for over-65s, with 38% saying they would pay a premium for a product or service that reduced the impact of climate change. Only the 18 to 24-year-olds were ahead of them at 43%.

Encouragingly, all age groups are united when it comes to their  willingness to buy from a business with a clear plan for reducing its environmental impact. 71% of all Aussies said they were likely to shop from such businesses, with support peaking at 82% of 18 to 24-year-olds. 

Investing for good

During the pandemic, hundreds of thousands of Australians have started to invest in shares on the ASX. The Catalyst survey showed that our prioritising of ethical products and services carries through to our investment choices – with the majority of investors saying they’d prefer to invest in companies that take action to solve climate change and plastic waste.

The survey found that 72% of respondents who hold company stocks would be more likely to invest in companies that are taking action to tackle plastic waste, with 67% saying they would invest in companies that are addressing climate change.

Women expressed the greatest commitment to environmentally-conscious investing – with 70% of female investors being more likely to invest in companies that tackle climate change (compared to 66% of men) and 75% being more likely to invest in companies that tackle plastic waste (71% of men).

Additional areas of investigation:

Questions in the July survey also addressed sentiment towards the future, corporate responsibility for addressing issues (by company size) and tested a potential solution to reduce plastic waste. All data is able to be cross-analysed against other variables and responses. Please contact the team with any specific enquiries.