Romanians are among the Europeans most willing to live on sustainable principles, and for 76 percent of them sustainability is an important aspect in the decision to vote in this year’s European Parliament Elections. On the other hand, Romanians are among the most sceptical Europeans regarding the promises of companies and the chances of the European Union to reduce the negative effects of the economy on the climate and the environment, according to a study conducted by Horváth in seven EU countries.
According to the study “Sustainability in the context of the European elections”, 76 percent of Romanians answered that they “completely agree” or “partially agree” with the fact that sustainability is an important aspect in the voting decision, right after the French (77 percent), being followed by Spaniards (76 percent) and Hungarians (68 percent). The resulting average was 73 percent, with the lowest importance given to sustainability being registered in Austria (56 percent).
However, as long as it exceeded 55 percent in each of the countries studied, Horváth representatives believe that the commitment to sustainability is quite strong in the EU, which is also confirmed by the answers to other questions.
When asked who is responsible for sustainability, Romanians answered in the highest proportion of all those surveyed (52 percent) that it should be “every citizen’s”, above the average of 41 percent at the level of the seven states. Only 34 percent of Romanians believe that this responsibility belongs to “the Government”, and the Romanians were also the fewest (4 percent) who believe that the responsibility belongs to “companies”.
Instead, the majority of Romanian respondents (89 percent) “agree with stronger sanctions for companies that do not operate sustainably”. Their answer coincides with the survey average, while slightly weaker support for penalizing private companies was recorded among respondents in Germany (71 percent).
“We are happy to note that sustainability has become an essential criterion for Romanians as well, according to which they make their decisions related to voting in the elections for the European Parliament, which take place once every five years, but also daily decisions – to buy some products and services. Romanians are concerned about the future of the planet, being convinced, to a greater extent than other Europeans, that the responsibility belongs to each of us, not just companies or the Government. However, the study also revealed a greater degree of scepticism in Romania towards the possibility of counteracting the degradation of the climate and the environment”, said Zsuzsa Bereschi, Principal Energy and Sustainable Transition, Horváth Romania.
The “Sustainability in the context of the European elections” study was conducted, in the spring of 2024, on approximately 1,900 respondents from seven EU states: Austria, France, Germany, Italy, Spain, Romania and Hungary.
