While sustainability has been deprioritised by both consumers and brands, environmental concerns remain high. 72% of consumers believe sustainability will become an even greater priority…
UK
Sustainability
Consumer Insights
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UK Everyday Sustainability Consumer Report 2025
"Sustainability should be positioned as an added value benefit alongside key purchase drivers, such as affordability, convenience, and what current trends."
Rich Shepherd, Category Director - Financial Services and Social Research
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EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
Opportunities for everyday sustainability
Affordability is crucial, but brands can highlight this beyond price
Bring the impact of climate change closer to consumers’ lives
Highlight good for you, good for the planet messaging
Market drivers
Economic concerns come to the forefront…
…as sustainable behaviour falls to the wayside
Graph 1: “The cost of living crisis has made it more difficult for me to be sustainable”, by financial situation, 2025
What consumers want and why
Four in five Brits say their lifestyle is at least somewhat environmentally friendly
A sustainable lifestyle feels out of reach for many
Graph 2: barriers to leading a more environmentally friendly lifestyle, 2025
Making eco-friendly choices is easier in food, clothing and BPCH
Graph 3: perceived ease of acting sustainably across selected categories, 2025
The pressure is on governments to drive environmental progress
Graph 4: perception of who should be taking the lead in driving positive environmental change, 2025
Sustainability is still important, but is moving into the background
Graph 5: worries about the future, 2025
MARKET DRIVERS
The climate crisis continues
Economic challenges take centre stage…
…and the rising cost of living has got in the way of sustainable behaviour
Graph 6: “The cost of living crisis has made it more difficult for me to be sustainable”, by financial situation, 2025
Consumers are feeling better about their finances in 2025
Graph 7: the financial wellbeing index, 2019-25
Regulators try to get ahead of greenwashing, but trust remains an issue
WHAT CONSUMERS WANT AND WHY
Consumer perception of own environmentally friendly lifestyle
Most Brits perceive their lifestyles to be environmentally friendly
Graph 8: consumer perception of own environmentally friendly lifestyle, 2025
Financial situation is the biggest indicator of sustainable lifestyle
Barriers to sustainable living
Unlocking affordability is the key to wider adoption
Show diverse ways a product can be sustainable
Close the gap between action and perceived benefit
Brands tie their products to specific people and places
Ease of acting sustainably across categories
Consumers generally don’t think it’s hard to make sustainable choices
Graph 9: perceived ease of acting sustainably across selected categories, 2025
Transparency and making the sustainable option low-effort
Communicate alternative benefits
Young adults: in the know or just overconfident?
Graph 10: proportion of adults who find it easy to act sustainably in selected categories (NET), by age, 2025
Build on older adults’ well-established habits and values
Perceived responsibility for driving environmental change
Consumers put the most environmental responsibility on governments
Fading trust in retailers
Spotlight powerful voices to encourage younger consumers
Graph 11: perception of who should be taking the lead in driving positive environmental change, by age, 2025
Own the problem with genuine action to convince older consumers
Attitudes towards sustainability
Brits are sceptical about corporate environmental claims
A de-prioritisation of sustainability by brands and consumers…
…though climate remains a real concern for consumers
Graph 12: worries about the future, 2025
Closer ties to climate change drives action
Trends win over eco choices for young adults
Win over young consumers with trendy, sustainable products
Graph 13: attitudes towards convenience, trends and sustainability, 2025
Engage young consumers through eco-influencers
Graph 14: social media and sustainability behaviours, 2025
APPENDIX
Report scope and definitions
Market definition
Abbreviations and terms
Consumer research methodology
UK Sustainability Trends
While sustainability has been deprioritised by both consumers and brands, environmental concerns remain high, with nearly three-quarters of consumers believing sustainability will become a greater priority for brands over the next five years.
Consumers still expect brands to address sustainability, but it should be positioned as an added benefit rather than the primary focus of a product.
Affordability is the biggest barrier to sustainable action, making it essential for sustainable products to be either affordable or offer clear cost-saving benefits to achieve mainstream appeal.
A key opportunity for marketing sustainable products lies in linking sustainability with primary purchase drivers, such as personal health benefits, cost savings, or alignment with current trends.
Brands can emphasise cost savings by showcasing a product’s durability, effectiveness, or multipurpose functionality, making sustainability more appealing and practical for consumers.
This Report Looks at the Following Areas:
How environmentally friendly consumers perceive their lifestyles to be, and the barriers to more sustainable living.
The importance of affordability in sustainability and how brands can showcase diverse ways of cost-savings for consumers.
How easy consumers find it to act sustainably across different categories, and the learnings brands can take from FMCG categories.
Sustainability as a priority, and how brands can link sustainability to purchase drivers such as price, quality, convenience and trends.
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