Study Highlights Low Uptake of Sustainable Actions in Singapore

Featured in the Surveys Gap Between Singaporeans' Knowledge on Sustainability and Their Behavior Stays.

As indicated by the Singlife Survey for the Sustainable Future Index 2024, Singaporeans gap sustainability awareness versus behavior. According to the Singapore's major insurance company, their participants were taken into account through responses for this research.

The sample of 1,000 Singaporeans and Permanent Residents, from all walks of life form the survey into a holistic one for awareness for sustainability by its residents. Surprisingly, while the results prove an utter contradiction between awareness, there is as much a deficiency in tangible action in the name of sustainability: Awareness Action Gap
According to this survey, 7 out of 10 say sustainability is very important for the future, but only 3 in 10 say they're doing anything to encourage it. "There's an enormous gap between knowing something's necessary and doing something about it directly," Dijkgraaf adds.

Even though sustainability has been one of the issues that is held dear, practically speaking, most are still not shifting their lifestyles according to what's required. Part of the respondents' reasons behind this reluctance in shifting include such convenience factors like cost and just lack of information on what to do to assist in sustainability in concrete terms.

Health and Environmental Effects of Sustainability
Good Percentage of Respondents Link Sustainability to Healthy Lifestyles and Clean Environments
In fact, over 70 percent of the respondents of the said poll believe that sustainable lifestyles cut down the pollution that will be responsible for producing fresher air, therefore bringing in a healthy manner of living.
Such belief does indicate a very wide existing perception about living quality to which sustainability is definitely related.

The results brought in new hope that sustainability could reach further engagement if only the health benefits could be better communicated. This could help make people see sustainability not as a cause to care for the environment but as a way to pursue personal well-being in life, thus bridging the gap between raising awareness and acting.

Financial Products That Support Sustainability
Another crucial insight is the desperately low awareness about sustainable financial instruments. The questionnaire could only report that 23% of respondents claim to have knowledge about investment products designed explicitly for sustainability pursuits. Millennials and Gen Z members complain of having no idea about where to start in terms of investing in sustainability options. A few complained about having apprehensions that sustainable investments tend to return fewer returns, creating apprehension toward such financial products.

The questionnaire showed that 64 percent of respondents deemed the criterion of sustainability in no way at all while they invest in any insurance products present. However, much more optimistic statistics were discovered: more than half of the respondents declared that they would most certainly take into consideration sustainability as a factor in future decisions about investments. It reflects how people change their attitudes: more and more people will consider sustainable financial options in the future.

Financial Choices and Sustainability
Singlife says that financial products can drive sustainability but does not believe changes in consumer habits, such as recycling, can be long-lasting. Much more likely to be what truly matters are the choices that are being made in the financial sector-including buying a policy to make sure a sustainable future is insured or making an ESG investment.

Singlife offers a portfolio of sustainable financial products that will help people build a sustainable future. This includes electric vehicle insurance, investment products with a focus on sustainability, and insurance for those suffering from dementia. This is in accordance with the goal of the company to promote a sustainable future through the help of financial services and thus responsibility.
There is an increasing call for experts to do more in actualizing action steps from the growing awareness of the importance of sustainability. Hence, financial products, such as Singlife's, are more likely to bring about sustainable living since they make a person find a way to keep sustainability in mind during financial decisions.

Therefore, from the results of the survey, there is movement from awareness to action not only at the behavior level but also at the integration level of sustainability in financial systems. As more and more people realize the long-term benefits of sustainability whether it's health or financial, so also are the expected people likely to start making choices toward sustainability in all walks of life, be it investment or insurance decisions.

Conclusion
The SFI 2024 report indicates that, at present, there are more gaps between knowing things that have to do with sustainability and acting on those knuckles of knowledge. The list of "I know" is full of the environmental and health benefits from sustainable living, but it is still not translated completely into daily practice. However, the survey goes on to point out that there is a slightly positive trend in showing people's interest in how sustainability can enter into their future financial decisions. Supporting sustainability will thus be the key financial products in bridging this gap and driving change over the long term.

The full results of the Sustainable Future Index 2024 are highly valuable insights into the behaviors, attitudes, and preferences citizens show towards sustainability. It is inescapable that today and moving forward, a general effort - in this case, all adoption, including that of sustainable financial products - will be required to make the world more sustainable.

Source: Singlife Sustainable Future Index (SFI)