SHU Poll Reveals Americans Want Improved Focus on Environment, Social Equity
Environmental education, clean water and renewable resources are sustainability priorities
In a new nationwide, participants responding to questions about environmental sustainability and social justice were overwhelmingly supportive in their views regarding the importance and relevance of both topics and perceived value to their communities.
Conducted by the Sacred Heart University Institute for Public Policy & Civic Engagement, in partnership with GreatBlue Research, the poll measured relative importance, personal conceptual alignment, perceived benefits and the overall value to society and communities. Topics included environment, social justice, education, corporations and health care. When presented with these five sustainability initiatives and asked to rank them in the order respondents believe will have the most beneficial impact on society, more than one-third (34%) ranked health-care sustainability as the most important, followed by environmental sustainability (26.5%).
Concerning environmental issues, nearly one-third of respondents (31.7%) ranked “protecting drinking water” as the most important aspect of environmental sustainability, followed by “increasing renewable resources” (26.1%). On a related note, more than one-quarter of respondents (25.4%) ranked “impact on the environment” as the most important aspect of sustainable education, followed by “science” (23.1%).
For the purposes of this survey, Sacred Heart University (SHU) defined “environmental sustainability” as “focused on responsible interactions between humans and the environment to avoid depletion or degradation of natural resources and allow for long-term environmental quality.”
Over three-quarters of respondents (77.7%) are either “very aware” (34.1%) or “somewhat aware” (43.5%) of the term environmental sustainability. When presented with SHU’s definition, more than four-fifths (87.3%) indicated it is “very similar” (52.8%) or “somewhat similar” (34.5%) to their own definition. Additionally,
- 81.8% of those ages 18-34 indicated being aware of the term “environmental sustainability” compared to 71.6% of those ages 65 or older
- 83.2% of Democrats indicated being aware of the term, compared to 74.8% of Republicans
- 85.5% of those earning $100,000 or more indicated being aware of the term compared to 70.6% of those earning $20,000 - $39,999
Nearly nine out of 10 participants (88.9%) reported environmental sustainability is either very important (62%) or somewhat important (26.9%) to them. A similar number (91.3%) indicated that improving environmental sustainability would be very beneficial (68%) or somewhat beneficial (23.3%) to the community. Related metrics included:
- 95.3% of Democrats indicated environmental sustainability is important to them, compared to 83.8% of Republicans
- 93.6% of those earning $100,000 or more indicated environmental sustainability is important to them, compared to 83.7% of those earning less than $20,000
- 96.2% of Democrats indicated environmental sustainability would be beneficial to the community, compared to 87% of Republicans
- And 94.2% of those earning $100,000 or more indicated environmental sustainability would be beneficial to the community, compared to 86% of those earning less than $20,000
When queried about social justice, more than a third of respondents (34.1%) ranked “social equity for unrepresented or underrepresented racial and ethnic populations” as the most important aspect of social justice, followed by “economic well-being” (19.6%). Additionally,
- 42.5% of Democrats ranked “social equity for unrepresented or underrepresented racial and ethnic populations” first in importance, compared to 24% of Republicans
- 21.1% of Democrats ranked “social equity for women” as a high priority, compared to 13.5% of Republicans
- And 31.3% of Republicans ranked “economic well-being” first in importance compared to 10.3% of Democrats
“The environmental sustainability and social justice issues queried in this survey proved valuable, relevant and high on the radar for many of these nationwide participants, who comprise a diverse mix based on age, gender, income and political affiliation,” says Steven Michels, director of SHU’s Institute for Public Policy & Civic Engagement. “While there clearly were differences based on political alignment, everyone seems to agree on the need to focus on environmental challenges, particularly clean drinking water and renewable resources, and to address social inequities linked to race, ethnicity and gender.”
This 33-question digital survey was conducted between November 14 and November 23, 2022, involving 1,500 participants. The margin of error is +/- 2.53%.