Economy and Energy Edge Environment as Top Consumer Concern: Survey

Most American believe the environment is worse off now than five years ago, and see industry as having the weakest track record of environmental protection, according to a new survey.

Similarly, most Britons agreed that the environment was in better shape five years ago, but they assigned blame to the government, says the 2008 ImagePower Green Brands Survey, which also found that Whole Foods and Body Shop were deemed the greenest brands. Participants ranked the environment behind economic and energy issues in terms of concern.

“We have been tracking perceptions of green for over three years, and this year’s results are somewhat alarming in that they indicate consumers only prioritize the environment when all other concerns are equal,” said Russ Meyer, chief strategy officer of Landor Associates, which conducted the study with Cohn and Wolfe, and Penn, Schoen and Berland.

“With agricultural commodities running low and the rising cost of gas in the United States, Americans indicate they have more immediate concerns than the environment. With the United Kingdom also beginning to feel the economic crunch, we see some signs of the mentality there beginning to shift,” he said.

Most respondents cite themselves as biggest impact on the environment. Most Britons said they would pay more for greener products.

Six of the 10 greenest brands in the U.K. were grocers, reflecting the success the sector has experienced in communicating its work reducing its environmental impact.

Greenest U.S. Brands

1. Whole Foods
2. Burt’s Bees
3. Trader Joe’s
4. Tom’s of Maine
5. Toyota
6. Seventh Generation
7. Honda and GE (tied)
8. Whirlpool
9. Aveda
10. Method

Greenest U.K. Brands

1. Body Shop
2. Marks & Spencer
3. Waitrose
4. Tesco, Sainsbury’s (tied)
5. Asda
6. Dove and Google (tied)
7. Co-Operative Bank
8. E.ON
9. Morrisons
10. Nivea and Toyota (tied)