Bain & Company: concern about the environment among Italian consumers is rising again

According to the “Visionary CEO Guide to Sustainability 2026” survey by Bain & Company, concern about the environment among Italian consumers has risen again for the first time in three years: today, 85% are concerned about environmental sustainability, compared with 81% last year.

The report – now in its fourth edition and conducted among more than 7.000 consumers in five countries: the United States, the United Kingdom, Brazil, Indonesia and Italy, including more than 1.500 Italians – shows that environmental awareness is therefore strengthening again, but the transition towards sustainability is progressing at different speeds: in 2025, investments reached a record 2.400 billion dollars; 17.000 billion dollars have been invested in sustainable technologies over the past ten years, but investment, technological innovation and tangible results are not advancing at the same pace.

Sustainability brings generations together

Concern about environmental issues spans all Italian generations. Gen Z records the highest level of concern, at 92% of respondents, but awareness is also high among Boomers, at 85%. Extreme weather events are the main source of concern for almost half of Italians, followed by deteriorating air quality, cited by 20% of respondents.

“In this context, concern for health is becoming an increasingly tangible driver of consumer choices: 76% of Italians say they have changed what they buy because of concerns about PFAS, BPA or microplastics, four percentage points more than the global average, which stands at 72%. Sustainability enters the shopping basket mainly when it is associated with health benefits,” explains Matteo Capellini, partner and recently appointed global head of Bain’s sustainability value creation solution & Company.

Italians say they are willing to pay, on average across sectors, 14% more for a product with sustainability benefits. Willingness to pay rises to 18% when the product combines sustainability and health benefits, an increase of four percentage points. The figure nevertheless remains below the global average, where willingness to pay reaches 18% and 24% respectively. Although statements regarding willingness to spend should be treated with caution, the figure highlights a clear trend: sustainability and health are assuming an increasingly important role in purchasing decisions, even though Italian consumers still show a lower propensity than the global average.

17.000 billion dollars in investment, but the transition is progressing at different speeds

Private companies and governments invested a total of 17.000 billion dollars in sustainable technologies over the past decade. Despite this record figure, progress has not been uniform and transitions towards more sustainable models have entered a new phase: one of divergence between sectors, technologies and market conditions.

“In 2025, global sustainability investment reached a record 2.400 billion dollars. 90% of capital flowed into just three areas: clean energy, buildings and mobility. In these sectors, investment supported the spread of technologies and cost reductions, in turn triggering new flows of capital. The dynamic is very different in the sectors that have fallen further behind: agriculture, certain areas of industry and natural resources. Taken together, these sectors account for around 37% of global greenhouse gas emissions, but received less than 10% of total investment,” comments Alessandro Cadei, senior partner and head of EMEA energy & utilities at Bain & Company.

Only three sustainable technologies have exceeded expectations

Technological progress has also proved uneven globally. The Bain Green Technology Performance Index compares the actual level of adoption reached in 2025 with the forecasts made ten years ago for 37 sustainable technologies. The result is clear: only three technologies – solar, batteries and electric vehicles – have exceeded expectations. By contrast, 29 technologies did not reach the expected levels of development. Technologies that performed below expectations encountered at least one of three fundamental enabling conditions: technological maturity, adoption by consumers and businesses, and a favourable regulatory and policy framework.

AI and sustainability

Executives and consumers greatly overestimate AI’s energy impact. According to the report, over the next three years globally, AI will account for around 1% of global energy, compared with more than 10% forecast by executives and consumers. The concern is nevertheless real: almost two in three consumers have already changed their behaviour, limiting what they share, changing platforms or giving up certain tools.

“Within companies, at the same time, a significant difference emerges in how AI is interpreted as a sustainability lever: almost all organisations that are more advanced in adopting artificial intelligence believe that this technology will contribute to achieving their sustainability goals, compared with 41% of those that are further behind,” the experts conclude.

This article was translated from the original Italian version with the assistance of artificial intelligence. In case of discrepancies, please refer to the original Italian version.