Environmental Concern Appears To Be Influencing Canadians’ Opinions In New Spheres
July 9, 2008 – Toronto, ON – It appears that when it comes to their finances, Canadians are ready to go �green�. According to a new study conducted by Ipsos Reid, the trend toward environmental awareness and responsibility is spilling over into new areas, including Canadians� preferences with their banking.
Thinking first about the environment in general, the numbers show it is an important issue in the minds of most Canadians. In fact, three in four (75%) say it is very important (ranked 8-10 on a 10-point scale of importance) while only 3% say it is not important at all (ranked 1-3 on a 10-point scale).
There are a wide variety of �green� financial products and services across the globe. Many of these products and services provide funding or support to an environmental cause or organization, for example, a credit card which donates a portion of card spend to the WWF. Other �green� products provide benefits to customers for making environmentally-friendly decisions or purchases, for example, a preferred auto loan rate for consumers purchasing energy-efficient vehicles.
Imagining now that one of the financial institutions they deal with began offering �green� financial products or services, eight in ten (81%) Canadians say they would be interested (30% �very interested�/51% �somewhat interested�) in learning more about these products or services.
- Canadians living in Quebec (84%) and Atlantic Canada (84%) are most likely to be interested, followed by residents of Ontario (80%), British Columbia (78%) and the Prairies (77%).
These are the findings of an Ipsos Reid poll conducted from May 30 to June 11, 2008. This online survey of 2,280 Canadian adults was conducted via the Ipsos I-Say Online Panel, Ipsos Reid’s national online panel.
About Ipsos Reid
Ipsos Reid is Canada’s market intelligence leader, the country’s leading provider of public opinion research, and research partner for loyalty and forecasting and modelling insights. To learn more, please visit www.ipsos.ca
