I went out to lunch one day last month and noticed the thermometer on 15th Street here in New York City read 96 degrees. That's pretty hot for June, and it has spurred lots of discussion around
the office about the bumper crop of sweet corn that is now available at the Union Square Farmer's Market (about six weeks earlier than usual), mums about ready to bloom (if they bloom now, will
they bloom again in September?) and sunflowers already six and seven feet tall.
"Global warming" is usually the concluding phrase after all of these exchanges. And now, as we near the
end of the third month since the BP oil spill in the Gulf, it seems that everyone is talking about the environment.
This environmental conversation continues among Americans and
widely in public policy arenas around the globe. But, is the environment a global consumer trend? That is, do consumers around the globe think about the environment and is it a trend that is global in
its scope -- and global in its implications?
The short answer, it seems, is yes. In the soon-to-be-released GfK Roper Reports Worldwide G3 study, "Global Green Gauge," there are
five clusters of consumers based upon green attitudes and behaviors.
The greenest segment is called the "Green inDeeds." This group works out to about 15% of the global population,
and members of this group show the highest concern for the environment, putting their money where their mouths are when it comes to green behavior.
Perhaps not surprisingly, there are larger
percentages of Green inDeeds in many of the markets where green has long been on the national agenda (mostly countries in the developed world like Sweden, Germany and Canada).
However,
that's not to say they don't exist everywhere. In fact, there are relatively high proportions of Green inDeeds in developing markets such as Brazil as well. Egypt was a market that had a
relatively smaller proportion of consumers falling into this segment.
Another group, called "Green In Need," exists almost exclusively in the developing world. They have the desire
but lack the means and know-how to be greener. This group is about the same size as the Green inDeeds, but markets like Indonesia and Russia have very high proportions of their population falling into
this segment.
However, it is important to point out that, if given the right tools, these people would most certainly climb the environmental ladder and become Green inDeeds. This is why
green is truly a global consumer trend -- even in the markets where green behaviors are relatively low, there is interest and concern about the issue.
It's up to us to help translate
those good intentions into good deeds.