More than half of EU consumers consider climate impact while purchasing food, study flags

28 Feb 2023 --- Sustainability factors are increasingly influencing the purchasing behavior of European consumers, according to a study published by crop nutrition company Yara International via IPSOS. Consumers are willing to pay more for greener products and want producers to provide better climate-related on-label packaging.

The survey reports that 58% of Europeans consider climate impact important when buying food and beverage items. Similarly, 69% would choose a “climate-friendlier” food item versus a cheaper option.

“The report shows that Europeans are highly motivated to buy sustainable food to reduce their climate impact,” says Birgitte Holter, VP of Green Fertilizers at Yara. 

The survey comprised 12,000 respondents across the EU and UK, with responses collected from online interviews last December. 

Consumers are willing to pay more for climate-conscious products, says the report.Market demand for sustainable choices
In the survey, over half of consumers (51%) say they are willing to pay higher prices for food made without fossil fuel sources. However, many find that finding sustainable options is only sometimes clear. 

“While three out of five Europeans find the climate impact important when buying food, a majority feel it is not easy enough to understand available information about the climate emission to make sustainable choices,” continues Holter. 

“More than three out of four consumers would prefer to be able to read the carbon footprint on the food item,” with almost 74% also believing food companies should work to reduce emissions in their food production. 

A related study in the US found that when climate impact labeling is present on food, consumers will tend to choose the more sustainable option. Oxford University also recently published a study on the impact of eco-labels.

Many consumers (31%) say they are already making sustainable choices, and 41% report that they would be happy to support producers if they found a way to cut emissions by 20% on food items.

This increased awareness of emissions is influencing behavior. Over half of consumers (56%) said knowing that the world’s food production constitutes 26% of global emissions would change how they buy food.

Incentives needed
Holter argues that companies must have more significant incentives to meet voluntary sustainability targets.

“Adequate policies must support these voluntary choices,” she says. “The EU’s Sustainable Food System initiative, planned for the end of 2023, should therefore create a set of incentives for food systems’ actors to go beyond the minimum requirements and favor low-carbon footprint solutions.” 

The study supports Holter’s stance, with 79% of respondents agreeing that farmers growing food responsibly should be incentivized to reduce carbon emissions. Similarly, 71% believe current legislation about greenhouse gas emissions should be stricter. 

Companies are responding to consumer demands for greater sustainability storytelling on products, as examined in our deep dive on renewable operations across the sector. 

Increased consumer demand for ethically-sourced produce was a main theme at this year’s BioFach trade show in Nuremberg, where product traceability and sustainability were championed. 

 By James Davies