85% in SEA believe actions can impact the environment

Insights featured in Eco-Business, Business News Malaysia, Kompas Indonesia

In conjunction with Earth Day 2023, Milieu Insight conducted a regional study to understand consumer interest in green finance. Waste management is the top priority sector for green investing, while Malaysia has the highest proportion of green investors among the countries surveyed.‍

85% of respondents believe that the choices of individual consumers can collectively create a significant impact on the environment and 54% have chosen to adopt more environment friendly lifestyles such as reducing the use of plastics or recycling.

11% of respondents in Southeast Asia are actively making green investments. Among the countries surveyed, Malaysia is at the forefront of the green finance movement with the highest proportion of green investors at 17%, while Thailand had the lowest at only 6%.

70% of respondents who have backed green investments have increased their allocation in the last 2 years, indicating an optimistic outlook towards contributing to a more sustainable future.

67% of respondents started investing in the environment because of concerns about protecting the environment for future generations, 48% want to allocate some of their investment portfolio to purposeful projects, and 43% were influenced by friends or family.

What are people investing in?

• Top 3 sectors for green investments: Waste management (eg. recycling facilities) (57%), Renewable energy (eg. solar energy) (54%), Green transportation (eg. electric vehicles) (50%).
• Renewable energy was the top investment sector in Thailand (74%) and Singapore (62%), with investors in also attracted to green transportation (61%).

Investors cited top motivators that would influence their decisions to allocate more funds towards green projects: positive environmental impact (76%), improved market stability (48%), regulations on green reporting, higher financial returns and government incentives (39% each).

While the world becomes increasingly aware of the need to tackle climate change, more than half (53%) who have yet to invest are willing to do so in the future, and 41% remain uncertain about investing in the green sector.

Methodology

This quantitative Earth Day survey was conducted with 4,800 respondents (N=800 per country) living across Singapore, Malaysia, Thailand, Indonesia, Philippines and Vietnam in March and April 2023.

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