Dentsu Japan Network, looking ahead to a carbon-free society by 2050, conducts its first “Consumer Survey on Carbon-Neutrality”

- More than 70% of consumers recognize the need for efforts to realize a carbon-free society, but only 15% say they understand the content involved.

- Approximately half are willing to be involved in carbon-neutral activities and approximately 80% will tolerate additional costs for that purpose, but approximately 80% have not yet taken action themselves and there are high expectations for future leadership to be taken by the Japanese government and companies.

Dentsu Japan Network (President & CEO: Hiroshi Igarashi; Head Office: Tokyo, hereinafter referred to as “DJN”) conducted its first “Consumer Survey on Carbon-Neutrality” (hereinafter referred to as “the survey”) from April 2 to 4, 2021. The survey was carried out by its DJN Sustainability Development Office and Dentsu Team SDGs, both of which promote sustainability projects across the Dentsu Group, and the respondents were 1,400 people across Japan with an age range spanning people in their teens to those in their 70s.

Recently, there has been a growing interest in Japan in carbon-neutrality (a state in which the carbon dioxide emitted by production / activities and the carbon dioxide absorbed from the atmosphere are offset by the same amount (neutral)) as a way of thinking to realize a carbon-free society, and, as efforts toward a globally sustainable society are accelerating, it was declared that Japan aims to realize a carbon-neutrality and decarbonized society by 2050. In response, in December 2020 the “Green Growth Strategy Through Achieving Carbon Neutrality in 2050 (hereinafter referred to as “the Green Growth Strategy”)” was formulated, and in April 2021 it was announced that a 46% reduction in greenhouse gases compared with fiscal 2013 levels would be the target for 2030. In addition, Japanese companies are accelerating their efforts toward “carbon-neutrality” while promoting management with a greater emphasis on sustainability.

In this survey, DJN investigated the awareness of consumers in Japan toward “carbon-neutrality,” which is an important theme both in Japan and abroad, and also conducted a consumer awareness survey of the 14 priority fields identified in the “Green Growth Strategy Through Achieving Carbon Neutrality in 2050” announced by the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry. In addition, DJN conducted a survey of consumer attitudes toward companies working on “carbon-neutrality.”
This survey will continue to be conducted and published on a regular basis.

<Main Findings>

  1. While only 15% of consumers understand the content of the term “carbon-neutrality,” more than 70% of consumers feel the need for initiatives.
  2. Regarding awareness and understanding of the content of the 14 priority fields identified in the Green Growth Strategy, six of those fields have become topics of conversation and there is a possibility that they will permeate society, but all of the fields have not yet become established with all consumer.
  3. Interest in and intention to become involved in the Green Growth Strategy are relatively high in the order of Senior Generation>GenZ>Millennials. In particular, people in their 60s and 70s are relatively interested in initiatives in most of the fields.
  4. It is expected that the leader of any initiative will be the “national government,” that correct information will be provided by “research institutes,” and that implementation will be performed by “large companies.”
  5. With regard to companies and organizations working on “carbon-neutrality,” consumers have a positive impression that they are “adapting to the changing times, have a spirit of challenge, and have a long-term management perspective,” and approximately 80% of consumers will allow a certain amount of additional cost to be borne by this initiative.

Media inquiries:
Shusaku Kannan
Executive Director
Group Corporate Communications Office
Dentsu Group Inc.
Telephone: +81 (3) 6217-6602
E-mail: s.kannan@dentsu.co.jp

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