Who is open to spending more in order to buy from companies that have adopted social responsibility programmes? In Europe, the most “socially responsible” consumers are those in Italy, according to the Nielsen Global Survey on Corporate Social Responsibility.
Nielsen carried out the research in May 2013, through online interviews of 29,000 consumers in 58 countries to measure the propensity towards responsible choices. 44% of Italians, compared to a European average of 36%, pay attention to the social commitments adopted by companies. 31% of Italian consumers (27% in Europe) stated that they had made at least one purchase in the last six months of goods or services from socially responsible companies. This data in confirmed by the extraordinary success of the Vivi Verde organic and “eco-logic” product line launched by Coop, Italy’s top large-scale distribution group (+70% in sales in 2012 on 2008).
At the global level, consumer awareness towards sustainability in business stands out even more, with 43% of consumers buying responsibly, with peaks in the Asia-Pacific (54%), and North and South America (at 34% and 43% respectively).
