​51% of Romanians have recently heard talk about the idea of ​​sustainable development, and 2 out of 3 of them are in favor of sustainable development, which shows the desirability of this type of behavior at the social level. Family is a key factor that influences sustainable behavior and almost 3 out of 4 Romanians confirm the need for information, respondents indicate information, involvement, examples of good practice or the involvement of private companies as motivating factors for sustainable behavior. These are the results of the latest IRES study “Sustainable behavior of Romanians”, carried out as part of BAT Romania’s “Choose a clean city” campaign.“.

• Half of Romanians have recently heard of the idea of ​​sustainable development, and 2 out of 3 Romanians say they are in favor of sustainability, indicating that Romanians want socially responsible behavior.
  

• Family is a key influencer of sustainable behavior, with over 53% of those who self-assess their habits as sustainable saying their adoption was influenced by their family.

• Romanians associate sustainability with financial support, efficient use of resources, sustainability, environmental protection, use of renewable resources, recycling and concern for the future.

• BAT is building a better future (A Better Tomorrow™), where sustainability is at the heart of everything it does.

According to the study, collection and selective recycling are among the most frequently highlighted environmental behaviors (98%), purchase of household appliances with low energy consumption (97%), participation in greening, afforestation, cessation of deforestation campaigns (96%), using biodegradable or recyclable packaging (95%), thermal insulation of buildings (95%), reduction of food waste (95%) oruse of LED bulbs (94%).

Family is a key factor influencing sustainable behavior, with more than half (53%) of those who self-assess their habits as sustainable saying their adoption was influenced by family. In addition, the factors that Romanians consider stimulating for sustainable behavior are information, involvement, examples of good practice or involvement of private companies. The need for information about sustainability is confirmed by almost 3 out of 4 Romanians.

“A better future starts with each of us and with each gesture we make, on an individual level. We are pleased that, thanks to this research, we provide an important informative guide, according to the respondents, to stimulate responsible behavior at the level of society. Sustainability is at the heart of BAT and together with a very clear group-wide strategy and concrete benchmarks, we believe in concrete actions and examples of best practice that can make a real contribution to a better future for generations to come.” stated Ileana Dumitru,Legal Director of External Relations, Southeast Europe BAT region.

“We are happy to be together with BAT in this effort to understand and support the idea of ​​sustainable development in Romania. Although it is obviously an imported concept, operational, quantified and measured sustainability can be found in the Romanian mentality, either influenced by pre-1989 traditions for Generation X, or in the form of attitudes formed or transmitted by the influence of family, society, networks and television for Generation Y and Z. One of the key findings of the study is that sustainability is a socially accepted concept that has a synthetic role of attitude orientation and proactive behavior formation regarding selective collection and recycling, reducing energy consumption, caring for the environment and caring for the future. It is also necessary to emphasize the expectations of Romanians regarding the involvement and proper practices of private companies in terms of sustainable development,” he says. Dan Yurkan, sociologist, head of research at IRES.

At the level of 3 entities in Romania, BAT constantly organizes extensive activities to protect and raise awareness of reducing resource consumption or donations for recycling and reuse. BAT continuously organizes selective collection campaigns of previous versions of its electronic devices in Romania, at more than 360 collection points in the country, and the company’s local team participated in planting more than 2,000 trees in 2023 alone. for water resources management), which confirms the company’s commitment to the protection of water resources.

According to the IRES study, 54% of Romanians say that adults in their family are most concerned about savings electricity, water, selective collection or other sustainable actions.

Sustainability is related to financial support, efficient use of resources, sustainability, environmental protection, use of renewable resources, recycling and care for the future. When asked to define the concept, the majority of respondents named “financial support of an idea or project” (18%), and 15% said that sustainability means the effective use of resources, their preservation; continuity or sustainability (11%), financial responsibility (7%) or activities that benefit the environment and humanity (6%) are also frequently mentioned.

The main sources of information on sustainable actions are presented TV (6 out of 10 respondents), internet sites (about half of the respondents), social networks (3 out of 10 study participants), as well as radio (almost a fifth of the respondents).

The study was conducted by IRES as part of the BAT Romania – Choose Assume a Clean City campaign, and its findings are based on the perceptions of a representative sample of 1,101 adult respondents. The study was conducted by IRES between July 28 and August 4, 2023, and the research team used the CATI (computer-assisted telephone interview) data collection method.

About BAT in Romania

• BAT, the largest player in the tobacco market in Romania, has contributed more than €125 billion to the economy in the first 25 years of its presence on the local market. Of this amount, about 24 billion euros is a direct contribution to the state budget in the form of taxes and excise duties.
• BAT is one of the largest contributors to the Romanian state budget. At the level of 2020 and 2021, BAT had a contribution to the state budget of more than 20 billion lei in two years in the form of taxes and excises.

• BAT employs more than 3,000 people and creates another 30,000 jobs in the distribution and supply chain.
• In 2019, BAT launched the “Choose a Clean City” campaign in Romania, a campaign to inform consumers about responsible waste management and responsible use of resources, with the aim of drawing attention to the simple gestures each of us can make to protect the environment. and the community.

About BAT worldwide

BAT is a leading diversified consumer products company whose strategic goal is to build A Better Tomorrow™ and reduce health impacts by providing a diverse selection of enjoyable, low-risk products for adult consumers. .