May 9th, 2008

Americans, Canadians Score Poorly on New Greendex Ratings

Posted by Jessica Jensen

A new survey is out from the National Geographic Society and the international polling firm GlobeScan that reveals which country’s citizens have the most environmentally-sustainable lifestyles. The report, “Greendex 2008: Consumer Choice and the Environment—A Worldwide Tracking Survey” studies individual consumer behavior in countries around the globe.

The report features a “Greendex”– or a numerical index that compares the behaviors of individuals in four key areas: housing, transportation, food, and consumer goods. (A high Greendex indicates a relatively high level of sustainability.)

Not surprisingly citizens of the U.S. scored lowest, with Canadians coming in right behind them. As we all know, Americans are the most consumptive, least sustainable beings on the planet and this survey confirms that common knowledge.

Interestingly, Brazilians and Indians are the most eco-friendly citizens. Each country scored 60 on the sustainable-consumption scale.

Citizens of other nations scored as follows: China (56.1); Mexico (54.3); Hungary (53.2); Russia (52.4); Great Britain, Germany and Australia (each at 50.2); Spain (50); Japan (49.1); France (48.7); Canada (48.5); and the U.S. (44.9).

It will be interesting to see how the Greendex scores for Brazil, India and China change as individual consumerism continues to expand in those countries.

To learn more about how the Greendex scores were calculated, please click here.

To learn more about your individual environmental impacts and receive a LILI (Low Impact Living Index) for your household, click here.