How Consumers Are Thinking About Sustainability in 2025
Key Takeaways
Consumers’ concern about the threat of climate change has been consistent over the last three years, though their concerns about their own impact on the environment has dipped by 6 percentage points.
Corporations earn a higher degree of concern about their environmental impact, as well as lower grades on their efforts to mitigate that impact, than consumers give themselves and their peers.
Individuals do see themselves as having a shared responsibility to preserve the environment, along with companies. Green-oriented brands can take action by enlisting customers’ help in their sustainability efforts.
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Most consumers (69%) are at least somewhat concerned about climate change, but that doesn’t mean all brands are eager to communicate with them about environmental initiatives. First, efforts to increase transparency of environmental efforts brought with them increased scrutiny from knowledgeable consumers. Then, the current administration pulled back on prioritizing the environment, and many companies fear drawing the ire of President Trump.
With sustainability falling out of the spotlight, familiarity with terminology about climate change has fallen somewhat as well: the share of U.S. adults who are “very familiar” with terms like renewable energy and carbon footprint has stayed flat from 2022 to 2025, but the share who are somewhat familiar dropped, indicating that a segment of the population remains focused on the issue, while attention from others is waning.
Brands choosing to stick to their environmental commitments have tough choices to make. To paraphrase the old saying, “if a tree is saved in a forest but no one hears about it, does it make a brand impact?” Luckily, consumers do believe they share some responsibility for environmental preservation, and brands can enhance their green credibility by bringing consumers along on their efforts.
Overall concern about climate change is consistent, but worries about individuals’ own impact has fallen
Consumers’ level of concern about climate change has been consistent over the years: In 2022 we asked consumers how concerned they are about climate change: 69% were “very” or “somewhat” concerned, and 68% share the same sentiment in 2025, with a very similar split between the “very” and “somewhat” shares.
But, when asked how concerned they are about specific entities’ impact on climate change, concern fell over the same period. It’s notable that the decline in concern about governments’ impact on climate change fell from a survey taken during the Biden administration to one taken during the Trump administration, which of course holds drastically different attitudes about climate change.
Consumers’ are less concerned about various entities’ impact on climate change
The level of concern is, naturally, unevenly distributed. Women feel more concerned about their personal impact on climate change than men do (56% versus 50%), higher income households show more concern about all entities than lower income households do, and, predictably, Democrats show substantially more concern than Republicans do (84% versus 53% for climate change overall).
Individuals rate their own efforts highly, but give companies and the U.S. government poor scores
When asked to give a letter grade (A being excellent, F being failing) to each of the following entities for their environmental sustainability efforts in the last year, people were generous with themselves: 54% gave themselves an A or B. They were not so generous to their peers in their local communities, or toward the average U.S. resident, who earned solid Cs.
The “average U.S. corporation” and the U.S. government might have a “see me after class” on their paper with the highest shares of Ds and Fs. It’s fair to say that for brands, there’s room for improvement in the eyes of the public.
Corporations and the government get below-average grades from the public on their sustainability efforts
Gen Zers are the easiest graders: Young adults generally gave each entity better grades, while baby boomers were the harshest. For example, 31% of Gen Zers gave the average person in the U.S. an A or B for their environmental sustainability efforts, while just 17% of baby boomers did the same. Republicans tend to give all entities higher grades on their sustainability efforts: 34% of Republicans gave the average U.S. corporation an A or B, versus 16% of Democrats.
Scores are marginally higher than the last time we asked this question in 2022, with the largest change coming from the self-assessment question: The share of U.S. adults who gave themself an A is up 6 points, from 15% in 2022. That could be generously attributed to individual improvements in their own sustainability practices, or cynically to consumers paying less attention to sustainability concerns.
Consumers think individuals and companies should share the burden of environmental sustainability
In general, consumers take some ownership of environmental stewardship. A plurality (39%) believe companies and individuals share the responsibility evenly, though more consumers (31%) believe brands should be more responsible than believe individuals should be more responsible (18%).
Gen Zers shift more responsibility toward companies than other generations do, which helps to explain their often-contradictory attitudes and behaviors related to environmentalism (i.e., championing climate activism while shopping more fast fashion than other demographics). Gen Z just sees businesses as having more opportunity to make a meaningful impact than individual choices do. On the other hand, all those PSAs about turning out lights when you leave a room left an imprint on millennials, who give more responsibility to individuals.
A plurality of consumers believe individuals and companies share equal responsibility for environmental sustainability
For brands, this introduces questions about how to ensure environmental efforts have an impact with consumers. Of course, publicizing meaningful efforts to reduce climate impact is important and carries weight (though it can also invite criticism). Some brands have an opportunity to go a step further to create opportunities for consumers to participate in their sustainability efforts and facilitate individual actions. For example, Madewell incentivizes customers to bring in their old jeans for recycling with a $20 discount on new denim.
Living sustainably doesn’t have to cost more
On an individual level, living a sustainable life has the impression of being expensive. Half (50%) of respondents said that they think buying sustainable products and services is at least somewhat expensive. But, buying products and services with better environmental impact isn’t the only way to be sustainable. In fact, many consumers incorporate sustainable actions into their lifestyles with the purpose of saving money.
Some of the most common sustainable behaviors also happen to save money, like minimizing food waste or just buying less overall. When we asked people who took each action if they did it to reduce their own environmental impact, to save money, or both, no action was overwhelmingly done to be sustainable. Recycling got the closest, with 45% of recyclers saying they recycle to reduce their environmental impact.
Recycling is the most common action taken specifically to reduce individuals’ environmental impact
Still, some sustainable actions do require an upfront investment, like buying higher quality products that last a long time. Others save money right away, like using reusable bags for consumers who live in areas that charge for single use bags at stores — that 10 cents per bag adds up. So how are consumers’ overall budgets changing when they incorporate more sustainable practices into their routines? For many, it looks to be a wash. A plurality (42%) of respondents who took at least three of the above actions with the intent of being sustainable report no change to their overall spending, saying they spend about the same amount of money when trying to be sustainable as when not.
Green energy, farming, and food & beverage industries enjoy an environmental halo
Some brands will have an easier time gaining credibility for efforts to reduce their environmental impact than others. When companies label products as “eco-friendly” or “sustainable,” consumers are generally trusting: About half (51%) of consumers believe that products labeled as such are “much better” or “somewhat better” for the environment. About a third (34%) of consumers said that they think these products are “slightly better” or “not better” for the environment, and 16% said they didn’t know.
That trust runs across industries: On the whole, consumers have a net positive perception of sustainability in all types of businesses tested, including (but just barely) oil and coal. But, consumers’ perceptions don’t necessarily map to reality. Previous Morning Consult research has shown that sustainability is not something many consumers consider when thinking about media and entertainment, so it’s not that the industry gets poor marks, it’s that it doesn’t have much opportunity to earn a higher score.
Consumers see all industries as net positive on environmental sustainability
Perceptions of overall sustainability, and in consumers trust of brands in these industries to do what’s right for the environment, also vary across demographics. Gen Zers have a poorer impression of farming than older consumers do, and are likely thinking more of factory farms than small independent operations. They’re similarly pessimistic about retail given the influence of fast fashion in their consumption patterns (though it doesn’t keep them from shopping).
Travel, retail and media brands aiming to grow their environmental bona fides will have a harder time than those in food and beverage, health care and technology, as they aren’t generally viewed as sustainable. For the right consumer, giving them the opportunity to come along with brands’ efforts and participate can help bolster a sense of connection through action.
