“In their fourth survey that measures and monitors consumer behaviors that have an impact on the environment, the National Geographic Society and the research consultancy GlobeScan have found that environmentally friendly behavior among consumers has increased from 2010 in only five of 17 countries surveyed. Sustainable consumer behavior has decreased in nine. In only one country surveyed has environmentally friendly consumer behavior slipped below our 2008 baseline levels. So, while progress remains positive overall, some momentum has been shed in the past two years. By environmentally friendly consumer behavior, we mean people’s transportation patterns, household energy, and resource use, consumption of food and everyday consumer goods, and what consumers are doing to minimize the impact these activities have on the environment. Greendex 2012: Consumer Choice and the Environment—A Worldwide Tracking Survey measures consumer behavior in areas relating to housing, transportation, food, and consumer goods. Greendex 2012 ranks average consumers in 17 countries according to the environmental impact of their consumption patterns and is the only survey of its kind. The top-scoring consumers of 2012 are in the developing economies of India, China, and Brazil, in descending order. Those in emerging economies continue to round out the top tier of the Greendex ranking, while the lowest scores are all earned by consumers in industrialized countries. American consumers’ behavior still ranks as the least sustainable of all countries surveyed since the inception of the study, followed by Canadian, Japanese, and French consumers.”