Insight of the Week

Featured Insight

• The Power of Health in Driving Sustainable Choices

  

  Key Takeaways

  • Health and sustainability are deeply intertwined in consumers’ minds. 65 percent of people globally say they want to change their lifestyle to be both healthier and more sustainable. Only a small minority (7%) are interested in becoming more sustainable without also wanting to improve their health.
  • Health is the primary motivator. The post-pandemic shift toward self-care and well-being means that people are most inspired to adopt sustainable behaviors when these are framed as pathways to personal and family health.
  • Sustainability messaging must evolve. To drive engagement, organizations should focus on the immediate, tangible health and well-being benefits of sustainable living rather than distant environmental concerns.

  Since 2019, GlobeScan’s Healthy & Sustainable Living program has served as a flagship platform to help leading brands understand, engage, and empower consumers on the journey toward healthier and more sustainable lifestyles. Created in partnership with some of the world’s most influential companies, it has evolved into a robust data-driven resource for understanding consumer behavior and tracks evolving mindsets, identifies behavior-change opportunities, and guides organizations toward strategies that resonate with people’s real‑world needs.

  GlobeScan’s most recent Healthy & Sustainable Living research reveals a powerful insight: health is now the strongest driver of sustainable behavior change. The desire to be healthier is not just compatible with sustainability; it is the main reason people are open to making more environmentally friendly choices. When sustainability is positioned as a way to achieve better health, it becomes relevant, actionable, and personally meaningful.

  Results show that a majority of consumers are motivated by the promise of improved well-being. Only a small fraction (7%) are interested in sustainability alone, meaning that almost everyone who says they would like to live a more sustainable lifestyle also claims that they would like to live in a healthier way. Additional insights from the research support the notion that the most effective engagement strategies for sustainability are those that lead with health and well-being, making the benefits of sustainable choices immediate and relatable.

  WHAT DOES THIS MEAN?

  For brands, NGOs, and governments, these data reveal a strategic opportunity: health is not just an added benefit, and instead it may be the primary motivator for sustainable lifestyle changes. With 65 percent of consumers expressing a desire to be both healthier and more sustainable, organizations can anchor their sustainability messages in tangible direct benefits to physical and mental health. By leading with health, organizations can cut through skepticism, apathy, and sustainability-related fatigue to reach disengaged audiences and achieve behavior change at scale.

  This analysis is based on a representative online survey of over 30,000 consumers across 33 markets. Learn more about global trends in sustainable living and consumer behavior and explore how well-being is shaping the future of sustainability in GlobeScan’s Healthy & Sustainable Living report, From Concern to Well-being: The Evolution of the Sustainable Marketplace.

  Survey Question: How much would you like to change your lifestyle to be more…? 1. Environmentally friendly, reducing my impact on the environment and the climate. 2. Healthy, improving my physical and mental health and well-being.

  Countries surveyed: Argentina, Australia, Brazil, Canada, China, Colombia, Egypt, France, Germany, Hong Kong, India, Indonesia, Italy, Japan, Kenya, Mexico, Morocco, Netherlands, Nigeria, Peru, Poland, Portugal, Saudi Arabia, Singapore, South Africa, South Korea, Spain, Sweden, Thailand, Türkiye, UK, USA, and Vietnam.

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