Sustainnovation

Courtesy of CSR Wire: A comprehensive study of nearly 12,000 U.S. adults conducted by Porter Novelli, a global communications agency, 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, which amounts to 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.

Specifically:

• 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.”

Porter Novelli identified Greenfluencer attributes and dynamics by assessing the demographic and attitudinal data in PNStyles, the agency’s comprehensive and proprietary market research database. Based on seven behaviors and product/service usage patterns, such as buying energy efficient appliances and punishing companies with poor environmental records by not buying their products, Porter Novelli developed a “Green Gauge” to categorize respondents into four levels of “greenness.” Interestingly, despite the recent emphasis on sustainability, nearly two-thirds of the sample qualified as “Non-Green” or “Light Green.” In contrast, 34 percent measured “Medium Green” or “Dark Green.” When these were overlaid with attributes related to influence and connectedness, 4.1 percent of the total sample fell into the “Greenfluencer” category.

“Newly eco-conscious consumers face a daunting and confusing set of choices, as well as complex issues that must be factored into any assessment of a product’s sustainability,” continued Zucker. “If marketers do not reach Greenfluencers, who have the interest and ability to influence the rest of us, their marketing messages may be lost in a sea of green noise.”

To download the complete report, please copy and paste the following URL into your Web browser: http://public.pnicg.com/cbintra/public.nsf/39d1dcb34e75dac888256827000628ea/9fd93c179b8a00c0852574710060557f/$FILE/PNgreenflu_FINAL%20(2).pdf