Almost seven out of 10 Chinese consumers (67 percent/762 million people) prefer to purchase products and services from a company with a strong environmental reputation, while only 42 percent of U.S. consumers concurred, according to a new survey released by TANDBERG.


Other countries that ranked high include Australia (52 percent), Sweden (46 percent) and Japan (40 percent). Spain trailed behind with only 18 percent of its consumers preferring to purchase from environmentally friendly organizations.

"The survey reflects that as the environment in China has increasingly degraded over the years the Chinese people are yearning for improved living conditions," noted James McGregor, longtime China observer and author of One Billion Customers.

The global survey, sponsored by TANDBERG and conducted by Ipsos MORI, is one of the largest research projects undertaken to assess the importance of corporate environmental reputations to consumers. The TANDBERG survey interviewed 16,823 consumers in 15 countries including Australia, Brazil, Canada, China, France, Great Britain, Germany, Italy, Japan, the Netherlands, Norway, Russia, Spain, Sweden and the United States.

Canada, Australia and China Already Taking Personal Action

When asked if they were taking personal steps to reduce their carbon footprints, Canadians topped the list, with 56 percent concurring. Australians and Chinese also ranked high at 55 percent and 52 percent, respectively. Americans came in seventh place with 41 percent.

At the other end of the spectrum, only 17 percent of Italians and 21 percent of Russians said they were concerned about the environment and were taking personal measures to be more environmentally responsible.