Gen Z, millennials willing to spend on sustainable products – EY Survey

KUALA LUMPUR - Generation Z (Gen Z) and millennials in Malaysia are willing to pay for sustainable products while the majority are not willing to commit more resources to be more sustainable in their energy usage, according to Ernst and Young’s (EY) Energy transition consumer insights report.

The survey found that 81 per cent of Malaysian energy consumers believe they are doing their part to promote sustainability, 85 per cent believe energy providers are responsible for managing sustainable energy use and 31 per cent are unwilling to pay more for sustainable products.

In a statement today, Mark Bennett, EY Asia-Pacific Energy and Resources Customer Experience Transformation Leader, said: "Consumers are grappling with uncertainty as we enter a new phase of the energy transition, amid higher energy prices, geopolitical volatility, and growing concerns around energy equity.

"While efforts on the supply side are gaining momentum, we need a fundamental shift in how we encourage sustainable consumer behaviour. Consumers want a clean energy future but need a broad range of support to make personal energy choices.”

He said that to close the gap between consumers’ intentions and actions, everyone in the broader energy ecosystem, including the energy providers and the government, must work together to pull every lever.

The survey findings were collated into the EY Energy Consumer Confidence Index, which measures, tracks and compares how confident consumers feel about their energy situation, the energy market and the future of the energy transition across 38 indicators of energy transition progress.

The index found that energy consumers from Southeast Asia (SEA) were more confident about their energy future than global respondents, with Indonesia ranking second with a score of 72.2, Malaysia ranking third with a score of 69.4, and Singapore in sixth position with a score of 61.7.

"The findings reveal a correlation between the progress of countries in the energy transition and energy consumer confidence. As a market progresses through the energy transition, consumer confidence first rises, reflecting positive sentiment around the future, before falling sharply.

"This could be because as the energy transition shifts from concept to implementation, the magnitude, intricacy, and extent of disruption inherent in this journey become increasingly apparent to consumers,” he added.

Bennet elaborated that SEA is still relatively in the early stage of its energy transition, consumers in the region remain more confident about their energy future than global respondents.

"Building and maintaining consumer confidence throughout the energy transition journey is an important determinant of a country’s ability to achieve its decarbonisation goals.

"SEA is in a unique position to learn from the experience of countries that are further along in their energy transition journey and choose to do some things differently in achieving its net-zero commitments,” he said. - BERNAMA