Sinanen Holdings Co., Ltd. (Headquarters: Minato-ku, Tokyo, President and CEO: Masaki Yamazaki, hereinafter "Sinanen Holdings"), a comprehensive energy-, housing-, and daily-life services provider, would like to announce the results of a survey it conducted on the environmental issues facing society entitled "Environmental Issue Awareness Survey" on 1,028 men and women aged in their 20s to 60s across Japan.

■Topics

・The most recognized and felt environmental issue was the "rising average temperature".
・80.9% of the respondents said that they should take action and engage in efforts towards environmental issues. This climbed to 90% in the case of respondents aged 50 and over.
・43.6% of respondents had experience of using environmentally-friendly products and services in the past year. The figure was less than 50% at all age ranges.
・Approximately half (49.1%) of people who had used environmentally-friendly products (n = 448) and services did so after watching TV shows.
・Approximately 40% (38.7%) of people who haven't used environmentally-friendly products (n = 222) and services responded that they would consider using these if there were economic benefits, such as cashback offers and points, to doing so.
・Awareness of SDGs, which are closely related to environmental issues, was 79.6%, with 47.7% having an understanding. The highest level was with respondents in their 20s, 55.9% of which had an understanding.

■Survey overview

・Survey Method: Survey conducted on self-service online research service Fastask
・Survey Period: January 28, 2022 (Friday) to February 1, 2022 (Tuesday)
・Survey Respondents: 1,028 men and women aged between 20 and 69 across Japan
(Respondents in their 20s: 213, 30s: 203, 40s: 201, 50s: 207, 60s: 204)

■The most recognized / felt environmental issue was the "rising average temperature"

First of all, when asked about their awareness of the environmental issues that are currently facing society, as well as things that felt familiar in their day to day lives, the most common issue that respondents were aware of and felt was the "rising average temperature" (76.8% aware, 61.8% felt). The second issue that respondents were most commonly aware of and felt was the "disposal of plastic waste", with 68.4% having awareness and 42.4% having felt this issue. In addition, it was found that 9.8% had felt the "rise in sea level", which was the third highest issue that respondents were aware of (67.9%), revealing that there are still few people who see it as a familiar issue to themselves.

■ Over 80% are active in the solving of environmental issues

Next, the question was asked of whether or not actions and efforts towards environmental issues should be made by each individual, and it was found that over 80% of all respondents thought that efforts should be made. By age group, this figure was 86.0% for those in their 50s and 95.1% for those in their 60s, indicating that older people in particular have a positive attitude towards taking action towards environmental issues.

■ Less than 50% have experience of using environmentally-friendly products and services

Next, the question was asked about awareness of environmentally-friendly products and services, such as for infrastructure products, including electricity and gas, for mobility, including cars and bicycles, and for service facilities, including accommodation facilities and restaurants, etc., as well as actual use in the past year; it was found that although 70% of respondents were aware of some products and services, over 50% had not used any of these, and the usage rate was less than 50%.
When asked about their awareness and experience of using each respective environmentally-friendly product and service, the most well known was "solar power generation" at 43.4%, followed by "electric" at 36.7%. The most used was "electric", at 12.7%.

■ The most common inspiration for the use of environmentally-friendly products and services was TV

In addition, when persons who had used environmentally-friendly products and services were asked about the inspiration for their use, the top answer was "TV (news and shows)" at 49.1%. It can be seen that TV still has influence as a source of information.

■ Economic benefits are important when considering the use of environmentally-friendly products and services

When those who knew about environmentally-friendly products and services but had not used them were asked about the factors that they would positively consider, the top response was "there are cashback offers and point refunds (38.7%)". Second was "it is more financially beneficial than my current products and services (29.3%)"; it appears that economic benefits are an important element for non-users to consider use. In addition, the third and subsequent highest response was "I can see the results of the improvement to the environment that is being tackled (28.4%)" and "I can see a level of social contribution (18.0%)"; as items in which users can feel the results of improvement have placed highly, increased environmental awareness can be felt.

■ Awareness of the SDGs was 79.6％, understanding of these was 47.7％

Finally, when asked about their awareness and understanding of the SDGs, which are closely related to environmental issues, there was a high level of awareness of these as far as having heard the acronym at 79.6%, however the level of understanding to the extent of knowing some of the 17 goals was less than half, at 47.7%. However, by age group, the highest level of understanding was seen in respondents aged in their 20s, at 55.9%, showing that education concerning the SDGs is becoming more commonplace, and that young people have an increasing interest in these.

In this survey, it was found that there is a growing awareness in consumer environmental issues. In order to further encourage the action of choosing environmentally-friendly products and services in day to day consumer activities in the future, it can be said to be important for the provider of products and services to understand the benefits that are felt by consumers, and to work on these. In order to do this, in addition to promoting the economic benefits, it will likely be important to build a mechanism by which more consumers can feel the results of the efforts.

The Company, as a general energy service group, based on the results of this survey, will develop businesses and services that contribute to the preservation of the environment, and will contribute to the realization of a carbon-free society, while continuing to monitor changes in consumer awareness and behavior.

■About Sinanen Holdings Co., Ltd.
https://sinanengroup.co.jp/en/
Sinanen Holdings Co., Ltd. is a holding company of the general energy service group founded in 1927. With the mission of the Group to contribute to realizing a comfortable life for all customers in their communities through energy and home & life services, we provide Retail/Wholesale Energy & Related Business for consumers, Energy Solution Business for corporations, and non-energy businesses such as building management and maintenance, bicycle sharing, and other services.

[Media inquiries]
Yoshida, Kimura, and Kiryu, PR/IR Team, Corporate Planning Dept., Sinanen Holdings Co., Ltd.
Tel: +81-3-6478-7807 Fax: +81-3-6478-7824 E-mail: kouhou@sinanengroup.co.jp