Indian consumers go green: Datamonitor

Datamonitor's latest survey titled 'Green Consumers in India’ finds that the Indian consumer is increasingly getting conscious about using environment friendly products. According to the survey, making green choices is a high priority for around 60 per cent of Indian consumers. And 95 per cent of consumers who make green choices claim to do so to protect the environment.

The study reveals that the number of consumers willing to switch to using green products and services is increasing and will continue to increase over the coming years.

This report provides an analysis of the Indian consumers' attitude towards green practices, products and services across, mainly, three sectors- energy, retail and transport. It also rates different consumer segments by assigning them green scores, based on their level of adoption of green behavior across these sectors.
 
Commenting on the findings of the report, Gaurav Grover, analyst, Datamonitor’s Sustainability team says, “Consumers’ concern about the environment has been on the rise in the country. Over 85 per cent of consumers in the country consider human activities to be the primary factor driving climate change, and more than half say that air pollution is their primary environmental concern.”
 
Akhil Sivanandan, analyst, Datamonitor adds, “Over half the consumers feel that India’s automotive industry has the greatest potential to make an impact on the environment by reducing carbon emissions.”
 
The report further indicates that women and urban dwellers are more inclined towards adopting green behavior across the three sectors as compared to men and the rural population. It also predicts that consumers in the 35–54 years age group will be surpass other age groups in adoption of green practices across the three sectors.
 
As per the Datamonitor Green Scores, India scores higher than most Asia Pacific countries except China. Since, the Chinese consumers adopt green practices such as buying environment-friendly cars and using green energy at home more willingly as compared to Indians.
 
As a final word, Grover adds, “India therefore, seems to have a large potential for green products and services. Competitive pricing and targeted marketing campaigns are expected to drive the growth of the market.”