End-Consumer Observatory on Climate Change

To help resources companies meet the challenges and opportunities driven by the move toward a low-carbon economy, Accenture has launched an ambitious global research programme aimed at gaining a deeper understanding of the business implications and impacts of climate change.

Completed in 2007, Phase 1 of the programme, the Accenture End-Consumer Survey on Climate Change 2007, was a global consumer survey to investigate end consumers’ expectations toward their energy providers. The results highlighted the emergence of a new consumer mindset that brings with it both business opportunities and risks.

To create a more comprehensive set of insights, in 2008, we moved on to Phase 2 of the program, the Accenture Executive Survey on Climate Change 2008. This was a research study among senior executives in 133 resources companies worldwide that helped us understand how Accenture’s resources clients regard the issue of climate change.

We have now returned to the consumer perspective with Phase 3 of the program—the Accenture End-Consumer Observatory on Climate Change—a larger and more extensive global consumer study of almost 11,000 consumers across 22 countries.

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Recent global research conducted by Accenture reveals that despite the turbulent economic times it is clear that the issue of climate change remains high on the agenda for businesses, consumers and government alike. The underlying global trends and drivers behind the move toward a low-carbon economy are intensifying as natural resources continue to be increasingly scarce, and the real cost to extract, transport and use them will continue to rise. If you would like to receive a hard copy of the full report please contact us.

One of the clearest headline findings from our new phase is that consumers’ level of concern over climate change has remained unaffected by challenging economic conditions. Further, the results clearly point to a polarization of concern and confidence, showing that individuals in emerging economies appear to be more optimistic, more confident in a solution and are taking more actions than those in more developed economies.

The findings also highlight that resources companies have a clear and realisable opportunity to forge an entirely new relationship with consumers, if they can develop innovative climate change strategies and execute them through differentiated products and services that make an impact.

For more information or to obtain a copy of this report, please contact us.