Brands
How ESG and Corporate Ethics Impact Consumer Purchases
Report summary
Environmental, social and governance (ESG) initiatives aren’t just feel-good bullet points for PR teams, they have a real impact on people, and the planet we live on. Consumers think employees and customers should be at the top of companies’ priority lists, but only a subset are willing to reward brands that comply with their standards – and punish those that don’t.
Based on a survey of over 5,000 U.S. adults, we identified consumers’ attitudes toward, awareness of, and actions taken regarding brands’ ESG initiatives.
Key Takeaways
- There’s a disconnect between consumer expectations and corporate priorities: Consumers expect brands to prioritize their customers and employees. But in reality, they believe businesses have their eyes on profit before people.
- Overall awareness of ESG initiatives is low: Less than half of U.S. adults say they have seen, read, or heard about ESG initiatives across all categories in the past month.
- Ethics don’t always tie to purchasing: A plurality of consumers say they’ll overlook ethical behavior if the product and price is right, but more than one-third say if a company acts unethically, they’ll stop buying from them
- People issues are most likely to impact purchase: When it comes to ESG issues that do impact consumer decisions, employee treatment, safe working conditions and wages lead in consumers’ minds.
Data Downloads
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Methodology
The data in this report draws from a survey conducted Jul.15-17, 2025, among 5,007 U.S. adults, with a margin of error of +/- 1 percentage point. The survey interviews were conducted online, and the data was weighted to approximate populations of adults based on age, gender, race, educational attainment, region, gender by age and race by educational attainment.
About the authors
Lindsey Roeschke is an analyst whose work focuses on behavior and expectations of consumers in the travel & hospitality and food & beverage categories, particularly through a generational and cultural lens. Prior to joining Morning Consult, she served as a director of consumer and culture analysis at Gartner. In addition to her research and advisory background, Lindsey has more than a decade of experience in the advertising world. She has lived and worked in seven cities across four continents.
