A new study from HP Australia and Planet Ark found some interesting insights for businesses. One is that Australians are now looking to businesses and brands when it comes to action on environmental sustainability.

The HP Australia Environmental Sustainability Study 2018 report was commissioned to uncover the attitudes of Australian consumers and businesses towards environmental sustainability. The report was conducted by PHD Research in collaboration with HP and Planet Ark.

In a clear sign that Australians expect businesses and brands to take the lead on sustainability issues, 79% of consumers believed companies/brands were most responsible for environmental and sustainability issues.

“It is no longer enough for companies to have environmentally sustainable practices — they need to encourage these behaviours in others,” said Ryan Collins, Planet Ark’s Recycling Programs Manager.

“Today’s consumers have good intentions but look to brands to help them to make positive changes towards protecting the environment in their day to day.”

Australian consumers are also more willing than ever to put their money where their mouth is, with 71% of consumers willing to pay extra for sustainable products and more than half of those willing to pay in excess of 10% more for such products.

In contrast to these figures, just 57% of businesses responded that they believe they are currently doing enough in the sustainability space. This could become a big issue in the near future as 70% of Australians aged 22-30 (Gen Y) stated a strong preference or desire to work for a company that promotes sustainable business practices.

From launching its first recycling program in 1987 to developing innovative technologies today, over the last 75 years HP has been an industry leader in sustainable business practices. Since 2003, when HP became a founding member of the Cartridges 4 Planet Ark program, over 10 million HP ink cartridges have been recycled through the initiative.

Workplaces that are registed for a Cartridges 4 Planet Ark collection box are taking reponsibility for the cartridges they use. So thanks to those organisations - you're a business recycling star!

More information

To find out more about the Cartridges 4 Planet Ark program a visit cartridges.planetark.org.

To read the full research report from HP and Planet Ark, visit breakdownthebeast.com/report.pdf.