One third of businesses have dropped sustainability from their top priorities as the cost of living crisis worsens, says Gousto, that’s despite consumers believing that sustainability should remain a high priority despite current pressures around inflation, cost of living and labour.
Meal-kit provider Gousto polled over 2,000 adults and 250 business owners in the UK. The results revealed a third (33%) of business owners say that sustainability is not currently a priority for them and just less than 1 in 5 (17%) are focused on maintaining their green credentials as inflation in the industry skyrockets.
However, 53% of consumers believe that sustainability should remain a high priority for businesses despite current pressures around inflation, cost of living and labour and 61% of those polled called on businesses to offer more sustainable options. However in reality, just 13% of business owners are currently focused on improving the sustainability of their products or services for customers. There’s a clear appetite for sustainable living at home with consumer behaviour shifting in recent years, according to Gousto. Over half (51%) of Brits want to make more significant adjustments to their lifestyles and 47% want to make sustainable changes to their mealtime routines.
Gousto also found that 78% of British consumers are worried about the environmental impact of the crisis, and half want to make sustainable changes to their mealtime routines, without the premium associated price tag.
In the face of rising costs, however, 60% of people are having to pass on sustainable swaps to avoid paying the associated premium costs. As such the nation is calling out for retailers to offer quality, sustainable solutions to shoppers for the best possible value.
Sticking to its ethos of 'building a product with a positive impact', Gousto has launched a new Carbon-Cutting Cuisine range, offering home cooks recipes to reduce their carbon footprint at the recipe box’s industry best value price point of £3.14.
Gousto claims its dinners produce 23% less carbon emissions than supermarkets Working with environmental services company Foodsteps, the recipe box’s Carbon-Cutting Cuisine range will group all the recipes on the weekly menu that classify as ‘Low’ or 'Very Low’ on the platform’s Carbon Intensity Rating scale. Recipes on the menu include Blackened Salmon Bowl With Corn And Feta and Lentil Enchiladas With Roasted Pepper & Cashew Crema.
Foodsteps uses leading life cycle assessment (LCA) data to account for the impacts at each state of the food’s life cycle, including farming, packaging, processing, transport, cooking, last-mile delivery & waste. These carbon savings are passed on to customers, helping further reduce their footprint at mealtimes, with recipes championing seasonal veg, smarter meat swaps and dairy alternatives.
Hugh Lewis, Gousto’s Head of Sustainability said: “Our purpose has always been to build an amazing product with a positive impact on people and the planet and this drives all our business decisions and actions. We’re delighted to be working with Foodsteps to showcase our Carbon-Cutting Cuisine recipes to help home cooks further reduce their carbon emissions when cooking with Gousto.
"The climate crisis needs the full support of every business and we’re dedicated to continuously improving our sustainability despite wider macro pressures.”
