Is a question that we get asked a lot! And unfortunately there hasn’t been an easy answer. So in April 2021 we launched our wedding sustainability surveys – one for couples and one for businesses. This year we repeated the same surveys, with a few added questions, to find out how the industry is changing and what we need to do to support it.
The results are really interesting. It’s clear from the responses we received from couples that they are certainly more environmentally conscious than they were in the previous 12 months. In fact, 98% of couples told us that sustainability was a factor when planning their wedding. With 78% saying it was important or very important to them! Check out the full results from the couples survey in our How important is sustainability to couples planning their wedding? article.
The survey included 31 questions about sustainability in general, but also more specifically about the seven sustainable themes – energy, carbon, transport, waste, water, supply chain and team/community to find out what they are doing.
How important is sustainability to your business?
The first question we asked business is how important sustainability was and staggeringly a huge 97% of businesses said that it was important or very important to them! With the remaining 3% saying it was a consideration and they were just starting to prioritise it.
What terms do you associated with sustainability in your business?
In additional people said zero waste, B Corp, wellbeing and environmentally friendly.
Do you know who you’re buying from and the origin of the products you buy?
When we asked about supply chain, and if businesses knew if their suppliers were working sustainably, only 15% said they were. So it’s not surprising that 63% said they found it hard or very hard to find suppliers that shared their sustainable ethos.
Do you monitor your carbon emissions as a company?
Only 7% of business are measuring the carbon emissions, with another 26% starting. That leaves 19% not knowing how to and a huge 48% not monitoring their emissions at all.
How can business encourage couples to make sustainable choices when planning their wedding?
In both surveys, we asked if there was anything that we could provide to help make sustainable weddings a reality more achievable. So, in response, as requested we will be developing:
- The ultimate guide to sustainable wedding planning for conscious couples
- A sustainable wedding checklist
- Statistics with easy to share infographics
18% of you also said that you’d like a sustainable business accreditation, and I’m pleased to say that as part of our membership we already offer one – the Sustainable Wedding Alliance Accreditation.
This survey was run throughout April, shared on our social media, website, on our Eco Edit newsletter at the Sustainable Wedding Summit and through nationwide media outlets such as Guides for Brides. The sample size was 27 businesses who completed the survey with the option to leave their contact details or stay anonymous.
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Featured image by Sean Thomas on Unsplash
