3 November, 2022: Three key factors that can influence consumer behaviour to build a more sustainable society were highlighted at Female Entrepreneurs in the ASEAN Region: Innovation to Tackle Marine Plastic Waste, a webinar held by ERIA in collaboration with the Entrepreneurship, Startups, and Innovation (E-S-I) Knowledge Lab; and ERIA's Regional Knowledge Centre for Marine Plastic Debris (the Centre).
The webinar aimed to raise awareness about alarming marine plastic pollution and highlight the innovative efforts taken by the private sector in addressing the issue.
Dr Misuzu Asari, Associate Professor at the Graduate School of Global Environmental Studies, Kyoto University, told the webinar that habit; awareness among young people; and environmental, social, and governance (ESG) investment were key influencing factors in addressing plastic pollution.
She said that in addition to price and performance, research shows habit is an important factor driving consumer decisions.
‘People often don’t have a clear reason as to why they choose a certain product, but they decided to choose it out of habit,’ she said. Thus, by raising awareness about the significant role habit plays in shaping consumer behaviour, business owners can intervene to reduce packaging waste.
Photo: Dr Misuzu Asari, Kyoto University.
Dr Asari also emphasised the importance of raising awareness on sustainability issues among young people. In Japan, this idea has been implemented by including a module about plastics in high school science classes.
‘There are more than 20 pages dedicated to plastics only. Also, they have been studying [United Nations] Sustainable Development Goals [SDGs] since elementary school. So, the younger generation certainly has the knowledge and awareness,’ she said.
The third key factor is ESG investment, a practice in which investment professionals consider environmental, social, and governance issues in their financial analysis before investing in businesses. Dr Asari believes ESG investment plays an instrumental role in our collective efforts to pursue carbon neutrality and circular economy ‘and mainstreaming ESG investment will also have a significant impact on business owners’.
Dr Asari acknowledged that achieving a sustainable society requires significant social changes, and creating such changes is not an easy task. One of the most recent efforts undertaken by her team at Kyoto University to move toward this goal is facilitating co-creation. Through this initiative, the team invited all stakeholders in the value chain, including government, industries, and consumers, to meet and discuss.
‘At the end of this month, we will conduct a co-creation workshop with more than 30 people from the whole value chain and discuss each plastic product. And then we will share our opinions and expert knowledge about their ways and the possibility of improvement for each product,’ she said.
She also highlighted more ideas instrumental in addressing plastic pollution and, in the long term, creating a more sustainable society, including the importance of local policies, the use of new technologies, the enforcement of product passports, and the availability of various options for consumers to reduce plastic waste.
Local policies, said Dr Asari, need to be established in accordance with local challenges. Utilising new technology such as satellite imaging to monitor river and ocean pollution is very helpful to support research work. Product passports, meanwhile, will help authorities track waste and its responsible producers. Finally, the availability of various options for consumers to choose from, along with the impact of each option, will help consumers make better decisions and, in the long term, change their behaviour.
Knowledge Management Associate
3 November, 2022: Three key factors that can influence consumer behaviour to build a more sustainable society were highlighted at Female Entrepreneurs in the ASEAN Region: Innovation to Tackle Marine Plastic Waste, a webinar held by ERIA in collaboration with the Entrepreneurship, Startups, and Innovation (E-S-I) Knowledge Lab; and ERIA's Regional Knowledge Centre for Marine Plastic Debris (the Centre).
The webinar aimed to raise awareness about alarming marine plastic pollution and highlight the innovative efforts taken by the private sector in addressing the issue.
Dr Misuzu Asari, Associate Professor at the Graduate School of Global Environmental Studies, Kyoto University, told the webinar that habit; awareness among young people; and environmental, social, and governance (ESG) investment were key influencing factors in addressing plastic pollution.
She said that in addition to price and performance, research shows habit is an important factor driving consumer decisions.
‘People often don’t have a clear reason as to why they choose a certain product, but they decided to choose it out of habit,’ she said. Thus, by raising awareness about the significant role habit plays in shaping consumer behaviour, business owners can intervene to reduce packaging waste.
Photo: Dr Misuzu Asari, Kyoto University.
Dr Asari also emphasised the importance of raising awareness on sustainability issues among young people. In Japan, this idea has been implemented by including a module about plastics in high school science classes.
‘There are more than 20 pages dedicated to plastics only. Also, they have been studying [United Nations] Sustainable Development Goals [SDGs] since elementary school. So, the younger generation certainly has the knowledge and awareness,’ she said.
The third key factor is ESG investment, a practice in which investment professionals consider environmental, social, and governance issues in their financial analysis before investing in businesses. Dr Asari believes ESG investment plays an instrumental role in our collective efforts to pursue carbon neutrality and circular economy ‘and mainstreaming ESG investment will also have a significant impact on business owners’.
Dr Asari acknowledged that achieving a sustainable society requires significant social changes, and creating such changes is not an easy task. One of the most recent efforts undertaken by her team at Kyoto University to move toward this goal is facilitating co-creation. Through this initiative, the team invited all stakeholders in the value chain, including government, industries, and consumers, to meet and discuss.
‘At the end of this month, we will conduct a co-creation workshop with more than 30 people from the whole value chain and discuss each plastic product. And then we will share our opinions and expert knowledge about their ways and the possibility of improvement for each product,’ she said.
She also highlighted more ideas instrumental in addressing plastic pollution and, in the long term, creating a more sustainable society, including the importance of local policies, the use of new technologies, the enforcement of product passports, and the availability of various options for consumers to reduce plastic waste.
Local policies, said Dr Asari, need to be established in accordance with local challenges. Utilising new technology such as satellite imaging to monitor river and ocean pollution is very helpful to support research work. Product passports, meanwhile, will help authorities track waste and its responsible producers. Finally, the availability of various options for consumers to choose from, along with the impact of each option, will help consumers make better decisions and, in the long term, change their behaviour.
Knowledge Management Associate
