Finnish shoppers have been named the most sustainable in Europe, a study by Savoo has found, having seen a 20% decrease in their consumption footprint between 2010 and 2020.
The study, which ranked shoppers in 30 different countries in areas such as recycling rate, consumption footprint and waste per capita, noted that Finland also sits at the top of the Sustainable Development Report’s ranking of all 193 UN Member States, scoring 86.51 out of a possible 100.
'From shopping second hand to avoiding plastic packaging where possible, shoppers are increasingly adopting more eco-friendly habits,' Savoo said.
Best Of The Rest
In second place, according to Savoo, was Denmark, with Danish consumers reducing their consumption footprint by 14.26% between 2010 and 2020.
Slovenia ranks third, with the country producing an estimated 34 kg of household waste per capita each year, the lowest figure out of every country in the analysis.
The remainder of the top ten is comprised of Austria (4th), Sweden (5th), the UK (6th), the Netherlands (7th), Belgium (8th), Spain (9th) and Germany (10th).
Consumer Awareness
“The importance of being sustainable is rising as shoppers have become more aware of their ecological footprint," commented Ed Fleming, managing director, Savoo.
"From food wastage to buying second-hand clothes, consumers are not only more conscious of protecting the environment they live in, but are also looking at ways to save money with sustainable practices in light of the cost of living crisis."
Fleming added that sustainability continues to "transform the way we shop", with consumers becoming more vocal about what they expect from brands when it comes to ESG.
Europe's Most Sustainable Shoppers
1. Finland
2. Denmark
3. Slovenia
4. Austria
5. Sweden
6. The UK
7. The Netherlands
8. Belgium
9. Spain
10. Germany
The full research can be found here.
© 2022 European Supermarket Magazine – your source for the latest retail news. Article by Stephen Wynne-Jones. Click subscribe to sign up to ESM: European Supermarket Magazine.
