Can an exposure to a single augmented reality (A.R.) event be sustainable and have a great impact on the environment?

It is not an outlook perhaps you may have had, but advancements in A.R. experiences are indeed capable of advancing positive environmental benefits along with added value to adoption and experience for consumers.

That is the conclusion of the latest survey report from Snapchat, in which the company partnered with Alter Agents, commissioned a survey of 7,500 people spread across France, India, Saudi Arabia, the U.K., and the U.S. to better understand how people think about the sustainability potential of A.R. and what that might mean for their own interest and engagement in it.

What does Snap mean here by "sustainability benefits"?

It's given some examples:

The ability to test beauty products virtually reduces returns and hence cut carbon emissions from delivery, cuts waste packaging, etc.

The visualization of portions sizes at restaurants to reduce food wastage

Consumers are supplied with such sustainability information as potential customers for products so that they can make more environmentally conscious purchase decisions
In other words, allows auto customers to dress up cars in A.R. before they actually buy them streamlines delivery processes (reduces carbon emissions)
Hosting virtual events so people can experience at home-not dumping waste in the real world
All these items, on their own, are probably relatively small, but stepping back you realize how widespread adoption of A.R. in all its forms might add up.

And with Snap being at the head of the A.R. game, it follows that means Snapchat itself can positively affect more if more make use of it.

How much of an impact?

To give some scope on the potential, the study takes a look at how many people would use A.R. more based on these stated benefits.
The research also showed that with these benefits in mind, customers would also have a willingness to pay more for the upgraded A.R. options.
Of course, that's somewhat relative to the quality of the A.R. experience, but at least on a conceptual basis, most people would factor those elements in mind in considering a purchase.

Which may make A.R. a more attractive consideration, for far more brands, and with Snapchat's A.R. creation tools always evolving, there are now many valuable, viable A.R. experiences that would indeed deliver significant benefits, both in experience and in broader impact terms.

This is an interesting consideration, which might very well see more companies lean into A.R. even more in the future. Though that was probably bound to happen anyway, with the coming arrival of A.R. glasses and enhanced experiences in A.R. and V.R. environments.

But perhaps now we start seeing things shift in a way, and more brands will make a move toward these new platforms in order to facilitate more experiences.