Discover the "7 Empathy Clusters of Consumers" through the 17 SDGs goals. Which type are you?

We've examined the reality of SDGs among consumers from several perspectives—overall trends, by prefecture, women, etc. But when you decide, "Let's tackle the SDGs!", which goal would you start with? In this fourth installment, we introduce noteworthy topics for each of the 17 SDG goals.

SDGs Goals That Resonated with Many People

While the SDGs set 17 major goals to achieve, some may feel distant from daily life in Japan because they are conceived from a global perspective. Which goals are of highest interest to Japanese consumers? Since many have not yet reached the "practice" stage, we explained the SDGs and then asked, "Do you resonate with this way of thinking?"

The degree of resonance for each goal (multiple answers allowed) is shown in Figure 1.

Overall, the highest scores were for: "3. Good Health and Well-being" (64.7%), "2. Zero Hunger" (57.8%), "6. Clean Water and Sanitation" (57.7%), "1. No Poverty" (56.8%), and "7. Affordable and clean energy" (50.5%). Why do these goals resonate more strongly?

"Fundamental issues for survival" are the reason for resonance

When asked why they chose one of the top three goals as the one they "most resonate with," respondents gave the following reasons:

■3. Good Health and Well-being for All
"Because it's the foundation for all activities" (Male, 50s, Company Employee <Technical Field>)
"Because maintaining a healthy and culturally fulfilling life is important for everyone" (Male, teens, Student)
"No matter who you are or where you live, you can't work if you're not healthy and energetic. Being healthy means having access to safe food and water." (60s, Female, Homemaker)

Goal 3, which ranked first in empathy, resonated for reasons such as being the foundation of everything, being important for everyone, and being relevant to all other goals.

■2. Zero Hunger
"Ensuring the minimum standard of living for human beings" (Male, 70s, Unemployed)
"If the world were like that, wouldn't there be fewer conflicts?" (50s, Female, Part-time/Temporary Worker)
"When I saw TV footage of children dying of hunger around the world, it was shocking and deeply upsetting. It's just so sad." (Female, teens, office worker)
"While countries like Africa lack food, others like Japan have food in excess and throw it away. The minimum living standards differ too much depending on where you're born. I think at least food should be accessible for everyone." (Male, 40s, Company Employee)

The second most resonant Goal 2 was supported for reasons including its importance for survival and peace, the heartache felt upon seeing news reports, and the stark contrast with Japan's high levels of waste.

■6. Safe Water and Sanitation for All
"First, I think it's crucial to prevent diseases like infectious illnesses and improve sanitation so people can live safely." (Female, 30s, Office Worker)
"Because it felt like the most unequal issue." (Male student, teens)
"Climate change is reducing its availability, making it a critical issue directly affecting life. It could even become a spark for war." (Male, 40s, Company Employee (Technical))

The third most resonant goal, Goal 6, resonated because people felt disparities in sanitation directly affecting health, saw it as a major environmental issue, and expressed concern about future water resource security.

These responses indicate that goals resonating most strongly are those perceived as "most essential for everyone's survival." It also suggests that the social issues highlighted by media sources significantly influence this resonance.

Goals directly related to corporate business operations tend to resonate less?

Conversely, goals with overall low scores were: "12. Responsible Consumption and Production" (31.7%), "17. Partnerships for the Goals" (34.2%), "11. Sustainable Cities and Communities" (34.5%), "13. Climate Action" (35.7%), and "9. Industry, Innovation and Infrastructure" (36.4%), as shown in Figure 2.

These goals address issues directly relevant to many businesses and may be easier for companies and local governments to adopt, making them potential starting points. Considering the survey results, when communicating initiatives to consumers for branding or sales promotion purposes, pairing them with the aforementioned "goals likely to resonate" could potentially enhance effectiveness (resonance).

Seven "Empathy Clusters" Extracted from Trends in Empathetic Goals

Incidentally, people don't necessarily resonate with just one goal. Some may strongly empathize with several goals equally. To investigate whether there are tendencies in how people empathize with goals, we conducted cluster analysis. This revealed seven distinct "empathy clusters," which we present below.

The cluster closest to the general population, characterized by empathy for "being healthy."
Characteristics: Slightly more women (56.7%).

A cluster showing particularly strong empathy for "Ending Poverty," "Ending Hunger," and "Reducing Inequality."
Characteristics: Nearly equal proportion of men and women / High percentage of people willing to invest time and effort to solve global poverty and inequality issues (61.0%, +12.4 points above the overall average).

This cluster includes many who resonate with "renewable energy" and "climate change countermeasures," as well as a significant number who also resonate with "clean water and sanitation" and "new technologies and infrastructure." They practice energy and water conservation, energy efficiency, and adopt eco-friendly appliances.
Characteristics: Predominantly male (60.8%) / Slightly higher proportion aged 60+ (40.2%, +9.8 points above overall) / Slightly higher proportion of unconscious implementers (26.6%, +6.0 points above overall).

This cluster shows resonance with "Quality Education," and also has a slightly higher proportion of people who resonate with "Good Health and Well-being" and "Decent Work and Economic Growth."
Characteristics: Nearly equal male-female ratio / Slightly higher proportion agreeing "When countries and companies tackle social and environmental issues, it leads to advances in science and technology" (82.6%, +6.4 points above overall) / Slightly higher proportion agreeing "Countries and companies that downplay social and environmental issues face global backlash and criticism" (79.2%, +6 points above overall).

A cluster that strongly agrees with "ending hunger" and somewhat agrees with "quality education" and "clean water and sanitation."
Characteristics: Slightly more women (56.8%) / Slightly more people aged 60 and over (37.6%, +7.2 points overall) / Slightly more full-time homemakers (23.6%, +5.4 points overall).

A cluster with many people who resonate with the four Earth's resources and environment-related goals: "Clean Water and Sanitation," "Climate Action," "Life Below Water," and "Life on Land."
Characteristics: Slightly more women (56.0%) / Slightly more residents of the Chubu region (25.0%, +6.8 points overall) / Many are willing to lower their current standard of living to solve these issues (56.0%, +13.4 points overall) / Many have high expectations for local governments (91.6%, +13 points overall) / High proportion willing to participate in or cooperate with local government or NPO activities (63.9%, +10.8 points above overall).

A cluster where few people resonate with any goals, including 35.3% who resonate with none (0% in other clusters). They dislike the idea of changing themselves or their lifestyle to achieve goals.
Characteristics: More men (59.7%) / More unmarried individuals (44.0%, +10.2 points overall) / More childless individuals (56.5%, +12.0 points overall).

Differences in goals resonating across "age," "occupation," "job title," and "residential area"!

Additionally, several goals showed distinct demographic characteristics among those who resonated with them.

For example, some showed differences by "age group," others by "occupation/job title," and others by "residential area."

I think this clearly reflects characteristics of different generations and life stages, whether it's issues people currently feel strongly about or changes they perceive compared to the past.
 

For employed individuals, it seems they tend to be more interested in goals closely related to challenges they face in their work. This could provide hints for potential collaborators or partners when tackling these goals.
 

Some differences were also observed based on residential area, potentially related to local conditions or the influence of regional businesses.

How can SDGs be leveraged as business opportunities?

When considering SDGs as opportunities beyond mere CSR, the first step is to identify goals closely related to the core business domain, flagship products, or services of the company, group, or organization. Starting with easier-to-implement goals is fundamental. However, to further ensure these initiatives gain broader societal acceptance, it's also wise to consider perspectives like whether synergies can be achieved by combining the characteristics of key customers/stakeholders with specific SDG goals.

Furthermore, when implementing initiatives individually, if low awareness of the SDGs hinders understanding and becomes a barrier, one approach is to seek like-minded individuals who share your challenges and values through the various perspectives mentioned earlier. This allows you to foster understanding starting from each specific goal.