COP26 is here – "our last best hope to get our act together"

The COP26 summit is almost upon us, kicking off in Glasgow on Sunday. 

The importance of the talks cannot be understated. The event has been described by the US climate envoy John Kerry as the world’s ‘last best hope’ to get its act together and to commit to the changes needed if we are to have any chance of reducing global carbon emissions by the amounts required to slow the rate of global warming.

Results published from the surveys we’ve worked on suggest that, on the face of it, most of the population in Scotland recognise the significance of the twin challenges of climate change and biodiversity loss. The Scotland’s People and Nature survey undertaken for NatureScot found that back in 2014, 39% of the population agreed strongly that they were concerned about the effects of climate change on Scotland’s natural environment and 42% agreed strongly that they were concerned about the loss of native animals and plants in Scotland. However by the start of 2020 these percentages had increased significantly to 60% very concerned about climate change and 57% very concerned about bio-diversity loss. 

Our research undertaken earlier this year for Zero Waste Scotland suggests that levels of concern about environment issues have grown further during the pandemic with 46% of Scots claiming to have become more concerned over this period.

Also, as a business we’ve noticed a change in the importance attached to environmental protection by our clients. Since we launched two and half years ago we’ve moved from a situation where only clients with a direct remit related to the natural environment wanted to understand public attitudes and behaviours about this topic, to one where the subject is of importance to nearly all of our clients (from transport and tourism operators, to food manufacturers and utility companies) and at least touched upon in the majority of the studies we undertake.

It’s encouraging to see the increased importance being given to protecting the natural environment by both the population and business community, but will this concern translate to credible actions that make it difference, or is it all just ‘blah, blah, blah’?

We know from many of the studies we’ve worked on over a number of years that a significant ‘value-action gap’ exists between the values that individuals hold (e.g. feeling concerned about climate change) and the actions that they take. Often mandated and/or easier to do behaviours such as curbside recycling are the only actions undertaken regularly while other activities which cost more or are harder to do tend to be put off as something to do sometime in the future.

Knowledge of the relative impacts of different activities and the benefits of different possible pro-environmental actions can also make it difficult for consumers to know what actions they should be taking. Our knowledge of the potential benefits of more responsible consumption is a case in point. Around 80% of our carbon footprint in Scotland comes from our consumption habits (i.e. the stuff we buy!) yet our recent survey for Zero Waste Scotland showed that only around a fifth of the population were aware of this fact.

There are many challenges ahead but we hope that we can play a small part by helping our clients to ensure that they have the insights needed to help consumers to ‘bridge the gap’ between their values and actions, by providing an understanding of the barriers that make it harder to change behaviours, how products and pricing can be designed so that right choices are also the easier ones, and how communications can be improved to provide greater clarity on the right steps to take.

If you’d like to hear more about the work we are undertaking in this area or discuss how we can help please get in touch.

Understanding the State of Play in the Scottish Performing Arts sector

The performing arts sector is one of the sectors most severely impacted by the Covid-19 crisis with theatres forced to close their doors for months and many of the (often freelance) workforce unable to continue working.

As the sector started to re-open this summer we were delighted to be commissioned by the Federation of Scottish Theatre (FST) to work with them on their ‘State of Play’ sector research study.

This national study will provide FST with the vital feedback it needs to hear from the sector as they work together to rebuild and recover. Specifically, the research will provide new information on the health of the sector at this critical time, covering a wide range of topics including equality and diversity, climate action, policies and working practices, the impacts of Covid 19 and aspirations for the future.

The results will be used to inform a new Scottish Theatre and Dance strategy which FST is leading the development of, as well as providing insights to support their wider decision making and advocacy work. The study will also establish measures which can be used as a baseline to measure changes in future, with surveying repeated periodically to obtain an update from the sector.

Fieldwork has just completed - this involved two separate online surveys, one targeted at organisations in the sector and the other completed by individuals working in the sector. We are delighted with the response received and are now working with FST to analyse, interpret and report the findings. Look out for more updates in the near future.

If you’d like to find out more about this study or other research we are undertaking in the arts and culture sectors please get in touch.

Assisting Anglian Water to help their customers to love every drop

As an essential service which homes and businesses can’t live without, customer service is essential in the water sector. Yet, the services delivered by water companies are taken for granted by most of us and our interactions with water companies tend to be few and far between.

Indeed, if asked to provide our opinion on our water company it’s likely that many of us might opt for the Don’t Know option or gravitate towards the middle of the scale if presented with the classic Net Promoter Score rating question. Feelings of indifference are common when it comes to water and many of us don’t have a full appreciation of the full scope of services provided by and supported by our water company.

However, although levels of customer engagement tend to be low, given the critical nature of the services they provide, water companies can’t afford to ignore customer experience. In England and Wales the regulator, Ofwat, measures household customer’s levels of satisfaction using C-MeX (Customer Measure of Experience). The results of the surveys which feed into this measure are taken very seriously by all of the water companies, not least because those companies which perform above average are rewarded financially while those performing below par are penalised.

During the last year we’ve been delighted to be working with Anglian Water to help them to tackle the issues of low customer engagement with the sector and to identify the best ways for them to boost levels of customer satisfaction.Recognising how many people take the water that comes through their tap for granted, Anglian Water have an ambition to change how people think and feel about their brand, moving from a position where people have little or no interest to one where the organisation and its work feels more relevant to them and their communities. The advertisement below is an example of how they are seeking to do this with the key message that “Water is our business, but there is so much more we do for the people, communities and environment we look after.”

During the last year we’ve helped Anglian Water to gain valuable insights from a range of data sources available to them including their quarterly brand and communications tracking and the data available from the Ofwat surveys which drive the all-important C-MeX score.

Our work is supporting Anglian Water by making the most of the data collected from these existing surveys, helping them to move from a position of simply tracking satisfaction and communication metrics to one where they have a clearer understanding of the actions needed to become more meaningful to and appreciated by customers.

If you’d like to find out more about our work in utilities, brand and communications or customer experience research please get in touch.

Understanding how housing challenges in the Highlands are impacting rural businesses

There’s been a great deal of news coverage recently regarding the significant challenges facing businesses across the UK when it comes to the recruitment and retention of staff. Businesses in a whole range of sectors are facing a ‘perfect storm’ of factors including reduced access to labour following our departure from the European Union and changing patterns of demand caused by Covid 19.

However, in addition to these challenges, As reported in our blog on 3rd August, the April to June 2021 Cairngorms Business Barometer found that many business based in this area were also experiencing recruitment and retention challenges because of a lack of housing for their employees to live in.

Our survey and anecdotal evidence gained from conversations with businesses suggests that with increasing house prices (partly driven by the number of houses becoming second homes or holiday accommodation), this issue is becoming increasingly urgent for employers in many parts of rural Scotland, affecting a wide range of sectors from tourism businesses to food and drink producers.

Indeed, it is feared that this issue could significantly constrain the potential growth of many businesses in areas such as the Cairngorms or even threaten the survival of some.

To better understand this issue we were commissioned last month by Cairngorms Business Partnership to undertake new research to understand the scale of the issue amongst business in the Badenoch and Strathspey area and we are delighted to announce that we have also just been commissioned to undertake a similar study in Lochaber on behalf of Lochaber Chamber of Commerce.

In both areas we will soon be launching surveys of businesses which will collect evidence to ensure we can determine the scale of the issue currently, details of the sectors, skills and roles most affected plus an understanding of how the issues is impacting businesses.

By collecting this evidence we hope that these studies will play a key role in future decisions on housing provision in the Highlands, helping business to survive and grow sustainably.

If you’d like to find out more about these studies or how we can support your with your research needs – including surveys of businesses get in touch.

It’s blast off for 2021 European Space Agency brand tracking project!

At 56 Degree Insight we love all of our clients but working with the European Space Agency is an especially ‘out of this world’ experience! We’ve just been commissioned for the second year running to analyse and report on the results of their huge 22 country annual brand tracking study which explores what people across Europe know about the ESA, how they feel about the brand and their attitudes towards the organisation’s work. Fittingly the 2022 fieldwork is getting under way during World Space Week which starts today and will celebrate the accomplishments and contribution of women to the space sector and sciences.

Not all of our brand and comms work is extra terrestrial of course - if you’d like to find out more about our other work in this area, visit the Brand & Comms pages on this website, or just contact either of us directly for a chat.

And yes, now it’s time to cue the ‘what a pair of space cadets’ jibes!!

Shining a light on energy consumers during a time of crisis

Britain’s domestic energy market is in crisis. With soaring wholesale gas prices, many consumers face the prospect of significant increases in their energy bills and,
on writing, 6 energy firms have gone out of business this month and dozens more are on the brink of collapse.

56 Degree Insight have just completed a study for one of the larger energy companies to obtain detailed feedback from consumers who have recently gone through the process of being assigned to a new supplier when their current company goes bust – a process managed by the regulator Ofgen which is known as “supplier of last resort”. 

Our research used a mix of methods with a survey of several hundred customers using an online survey method followed by programme of qualitative ‘Zoom’ interviews with consumers.  We explored all of the areas which concern customers when their supplier fails - from worries about continuity of supply to price increases and loosing credit accrued, to the best ways to keep customers informed during this difficult time. We hope that our recommendations will help our client to make this process as painless as possible as the sector continues to react to the current crisis.

If you’d like to find out more about our experience working in the energy and utilities sector or how we can help your business to improve customer experience please get in touch.

Cairngorms Business Barometer goes LIVE!

This week we were delighted to complete our first wave of the Cairngorms Business Barometer – a quarterly survey of businesses located in the Cairngorms National Park which we have been commissioned to undertaken by Cairngorms Business Partnership (CBP). The survey provides CBP, their partners and the businesses that take part with information on business performance, confidence and barriers to growth. Particularly vital insights at this critical time.

Just over 100 businesses took part and the key results from the Quarter 2 survey have received coverage in the local press. As described in the article, we found that business confidence for the summer months is now higher than at any stage since before the pandemic. However, businesses told us that a number of barriers continue to restrain growth – most notably the burdens of bureaucracy and rising administration costs. Also for some businesses a shortage of local, affordable housing is making it difficult for them to recruit and retain staff.

We look forward to continuing to work with CBP on future waves of the Barometer: get in touch if you’d like to find out more about the approach or if you are a business based in the Cairngorms and would like to take part in the next wave.

COVID-19 Impacts: Supporting the arts sector’s recovery from COVID 19

Results from the third fieldwork wave of a survey of the Scottish population we conducted for Creative Scotland were published this week. The research provides an up to date picture on how the population is feeling about returning to arts events and venues as the sector reopens, with a focus on key areas of interest such as levels of comfort attending different types of venue, social distancing requirements, requirements for Covid testing and other potential protective measures.

The findings show that the desire to attend cultural events and venues remains strong with audiences keen to return – this is especially the case in relation to live music, cinema, comedy and theatre. 3 in 5 of the population would be comfortable with the option of 1 metre distancing (a significant increase since 2020) and over half support the idea of cultural events only being available to people who have just obtained a negative Covid test.

A summary of results and the full report are available on the Creative Scotland here