The results of a WTTC-YouGov survey of 10,000 UK consumers feature in its Bridging the Say-Do Gap, which explores the extent to which environmental concerns are governing purchasing – and concludes: “People want to do the right thing, but not if it costs extra.”

The report said: “Often shoppers will express support for environmental causes, yet still rank price and quality as their top concerns when it comes to spending money. This tendency to say one thing but do another has come to be known as the ’say-do’ gap – the disparity between people’s words and their actions.”

The report identified six different types of consumers:

• The Hopeful Worrier: Believes the climate crisis is urgent and that individuals can make a difference;
  
  
• The Outward-pointing Worrier: Cares about the environment and believes individual action is important; however, action must be led by governments and corporations;
  
  
• The Disempowered Environmentalist: Is cynical about the possibility of progress and finds it hard to take action when the chance of meaningful change feels remote;
  
  
• The Accountable Optimist: Strongly believes that personal action matters, irrespective of what others are doing. Likes to recycle and donate second-hand items but remains unlikely to spend extra for sustainable purchases;
  
  
• The Action Avoider: Has little interest in climate change. Detached from social action and unlikely to consider sustainability important when making a purchase; and
  
  
• The Climate Change Agnostic: Is most likely to claim that climate change is “not real”. Believes a sustainable lifestyle is too expensive.

The report found consumers in all six categories ranked the economy as the most important issue affecting them, with the latter three categories not mentioning the environment at all.

Only one category – the "Hopeful Worrier" – named sustainability as a top factor in purchasing decisions, but only 7% did so compared with 51% who said cost was the major issue.

All other consumer types name cost, quality and reviews as the key influences.

The WTTC said that to address cost taking precedence over sustainability, “sustainable options must become either more cost effective or offer superior quality”.

It has recommended a number of key steps for brands to encourage sustainability. These include avoiding “green premiums” in favour of incentivising eco-conscious travel through rewards, discounts, or loyalty points.

Other suggestions include tiered reward schemes for actions such as using reuseable cups or taking part in a conservation scheme. Brands should also highlight their sustainability efforts and seek feedback, the report says.

The report concludes: “The good news is that most people can be encouraged to make more sustainable choices – it’s just a question of knowing how people think."