Are You an Eco-Connector?

Porter Novelli’s recent 12,000-person study on market drivers revealed that a small but powerful group of consumers — “Greenfluencers” — are driving trends and shaping purchasing decisions in the mass market.

Unlike their counterparts in earlier environmental movements, Greenfluencers are not third-party experts or full-time advocates with a laser-like focus on advancing a specific agenda. Rather, this new highly influential group, roughly 4 percent of the U.S. population, is young, racially diverse and outspoken on a variety of social and political issues. And while Greenfluencers are more eco-savvy than their peers, they are still relatively mainstream in their lifestyle choices (e.g., big-box retail shoppers and heavy TV watchers). This accessibility combined with a high level of social connectivity has enabled this group to become the voice of authority on the sustainable lifestyle.

• Greenfluencers are asked by friends on a regular basis (almost every day) for expert advice.
• Compared with the general population, almost three times as many Greenfluencers read blogs, post comments and participate in online chats and discussions (20 percent versus 7 percent).
• Within the past 12 months, 41 percent of Greenfluencers contacted their senator or congressman.

“The majority relies on Greenfluencers to sort through the messaging clutter and ‘greenwashing’ to determine which corporate claims are truly credible,” said David Zucker, partner and director of CauseWorks, Porter Novelli’s corporate responsibility and sustainability specialty. “Consequently, Greenfluencers have significant power to positively or negatively impact sales and/or corporate reputation.”