How a brand approaches sustainability has become an important factor in whether or not today’s consumer chooses to purchase from it. But aside from attracting consumers, making operations more eco-friendly can also help boost efficiency and lower energy costs, creating a healthier bottom line.

To help marketers reach eco-conscious consumers, Capterra has released findings and recommendations on how to better target this audience. This survey included a meta-analysis surrounding sustainability, with a total of approximately 3000 Canadian respondents.

According to its survey, many consumers are already practicing sustainable behaviours, at least when it comes to the circular economy: 40% of respondents said they take a company’s circular economy efforts into consideration before purchasing a product. A further 41% would like to have a circular economy friendly option to consider, with only 18% of surveyed buyers who aren’t at all interested in practicing this type of sustainability.

When it comes to the buying habits of sustainable consumers, a whopping 87% said they would rather buy products from companies that apply circular economy practices than from ones that do not. This majority vote strongly suggests that companies should consider taking measures to comply with customer preferences, such as reducing emissions or improving production processes, and position these messages front and centre of their marketing, whether that’s on packaging labels or mission statements.

The survey found that some sustainable measures may be more attractive to consumers than others. The ones that stood out were being able to purchase local or kilometre-zero products, participating in buy-back programs, and buying/selling second-hand goods.

One in five consumers (20%) reported buying kilometre-zero products on a regular basis, with an impressive 55% reporting that they buy these options “sometimes.” Having locally produced products on offer can draw in a significant amount of consumers, but it can also help the business manage or avoid supply chain issues.

When it came to buy-back programs, results indicated a gap that companies may be able to capitalize on. The majority of Canadians surveyed (88%) said they care about extending the life cycle of the products they buy, although only a third (34%) indicated they “usually” or “sometimes” participate in buy-back programs.

When asked what would be the most effective efforts a company could take to stimulate the circular economy, among the measures that related to extending product life cycles, respondents had significant feedback: 67% wanted companies to reuse materials in the production process, 64% thought companies should produce products with longer life cycles, 60% would want companies to produce renewable products, 58% thought companies should remanufacture and refurbish products, 57% wanted to see companies implement a product buy-back or recycling program and 48% wanted companies to offer free product repair.

Canadians reported being active participants in the second-hand economy: only 7% of consumers said that they had never bought second-hand products. What’s more, 43% of consumers said that if a company included second-hand product offerings, it would be one of the most important efforts they could make in supporting a circular economy. This insight could mean a significant boost in brand reputation, if implemented.

While retailers may think that second-hand purchasing is synonymous with in-person shopping, the survey found that consumers are willing to purchase second-hand online too – and provided suggestions to make their user experience more efficient.

The survey found that 59% of second-hand shoppers turned to online marketplaces that offered a range of products, 16% looked for goods via apps and websites specializing in a specific product category and 14% turned to brands that have their own second-hand offering.

Consumers who prefer shopping online generally find most of the digital retail experience simple, but there were some key areas of improvement that were identified. A quarter of respondents in this group (26%) found receiving customer support to be tedious, while others (31%) had difficulty getting a good idea of how the product would look or feel in person. Some suggested fixes for these issues include equipping your customer service team with digital tools that track chats and interactions, and utilizing product stagers, editing tools and AR software to help consumers get a feel for the product prior to purchasing.

With sustainability practices and initiatives proving to be an important part of building brand trust and loyalty, the survey’s findings point out that these measures should be approached strategically to avoid potential pitfalls such as being seen as simply a marketing ploy or even greenwashing. There’s a risk of losing customers if eco-friendly claims aren’t proven true: more than half of respondents surveyed (54%) “somewhat” or “strongly” agreed they would stop buying products from a company if they found out it did nothing to support a more sustainable/circular economy.

But if approached correctly, companies have a lot to gain by taking steps to improve their sustainability. For companies surveyed, 31% who invested in sustainable measures said they experienced a positive change in brand reputation because of them, 30% achieved higher customer retention and 27% were able to reach new customers.