The Trend of Sustainable Living is Increasing Globally

Globally, the number of people adopting a sustainable lifestyle is increasing, but the growth is not yet rapid enough. This is evident from the *Healthy & Sustainable Living Report 2023*, released by the research firm GlobeScan.

A sustainable lifestyle encompasses behaviors intended to provide long-term economic, social, and environmental benefits. This can manifest in various daily actions, from shopping choices to dietary patterns.

According to the GlobeScan survey, the most popular sustainable lifestyle choice is bringing one's own bag when shopping to avoid plastic use. In 2019, 63% of global respondents already practiced this habit; by 2023, this proportion rose to 67%.

Similar increases were observed in recycling waste, washing clothes with cold water instead of hot water, avoiding single-use plastics, and avoiding excessive product packaging.

There was also an increase in global respondents' preference for buying organic products, prioritizing vegetable consumption over meat, and buying secondhand goods—all of which are expected to contribute to environmental sustainability.

Insufficient Change: The Need for Government and Industry Involvement

However, out of the nine types of sustainable lifestyles surveyed by GlobeScan, one showed a weakening trend: energy conservation in the use of room heating/cooling appliances. In 2019, 63% of global respondents conserved energy in using these appliances; by 2023, this figure dropped to 62%.

GlobeScan also assessed that despite improvements in several areas, sustainable lifestyle actions are not yet widespread globally and remain far from ideal. "People are not changing their behavior at the scale science demands," stated the GlobeScan team in their report. "Higher-impact actions, such as prioritizing vegetable consumption over meat, or prioritizing buying secondhand goods over new ones, remain marginalized," they continued.

GlobeScan also highlighted that the proportion of global respondents avoiding single-use plastics remains below 50%.

Based on this data, GlobeScan believes that massive change can only be achieved through government and industry intervention. "Consumers cannot be expected to drive large-scale behavioral change, as there are factors beyond their control, such as financial constraints and infrastructure limitations," said the GlobeScan team. "We need to change our approach, no longer relying on consumer responsibility to make the right choices, but encouraging companies to enable consumers to live better and more sustainably," they continued.

GlobeScan conducted this survey in 23 countries across various continents, including populous nations such as India, China, the United States, and Indonesia. Its latest survey was conducted in July-August 2023, involving 500-1,500 respondents from each country.