India leads, USA lags in eco-friendly behavior, according to 2010 Greendex

Environmentally behavior has risen slightly since 2008 in most countries surveyed as part of the National Geographic Society's Greendex, according to new figures released on June 3. Ten out of 17 countries surveyed in 2010 showed small increases in sustainable behavior over the past year, although "greenwashing" was commonly cited as a barrier to further improvement.

The 2010 Greendex, the third annual survey by the National Geographic Society and international polling firm GlobeScan, surveyed 17,000 consumers in 17 countries about their consumer behavior in 65 areas relating to housing, transportation, food, and consumer goods. Consumers were also asked questions about their attitudes towards the environment and sustainability.

American consumer behavior continues since 2008 to rank as the least sustainable of all countries surveyed - due partially to a car-dependent lifestyle and high energy use in the home - followed by Canada and France, while top-scoring consumers continue to be in India, Brazil, China, and Mexico. The biggest 2010 improvements were seen India, Russia, and the US, while Germany, Spain, Sweden, and France showed slight decreases.

In both 2010 and 2009, according to the report, the housing category showed marked improvement, with especially Americans, Hungarians, British, and Australians improving the energy efficiency of their homes. (Most cited cost as their top incentive for doing so.)

"Greenwashing" - companies' practice of making false claims about the envionrmental impact of their products - was identied as a barrier to increased sustainable behavior by 44 percent of consumers; failure of government industries to take action (40%) and financial cost (31%) were also named as obstacles.

In India, 40% of consumers say they are discouraged from taking action because they feel environmental problems are exaggerated - a perception, say researchers, that may act as a brake on long-term adoption of sustainable lifestyles.

In comparison to only one percent of Americans, 37 percent of Chinese consumers mention the environment as the most important issue facing their country, up 15 percentage points from 2009. China, India, Russia, and Australia showed the most consumers ranking the environment as their countries' most important national issue.

2010 Greendex country rankings (best to worst):

1. India
2. Brazil
3. China
4. Mexico
5. Argentina
6. Russia
7. Hungary
8. South Korea
9. Sweden
10. Spanin
11. Australia
12. Germany
13. Japan
14. Britain
15. France
16. Canada
17. USA


Take a version of the Greendex survey at http://www.nationalgeographic.com/greendex to find out where you rank on the Greendex scale.