Public Power - October 2008 - (Page 41)

dards or for polluting a nearby river?,” 28 percent said they would likely keep buying, 44 percent said they would likely stop buying and 28 percent said they would stop buying and encourage their friends not to as well. “This number really got our attention— that 72 percent of consumers said that a serious environmental infraction would cause them to take an activist-type role at the point of purchase—with more than onefourth going so far as to encourage others to boycott an offending company,” said Shelton. Eco Pulse confirms that consumers are divided on green perceptions. The majority of people do not have in-depth knowledge regarding green products or companies. Corporate motivations are suspect, and while many companies have gotten away with “greenwashing,” Eco Pulse indicates a substantial percentage of the market may be quite unforgiving should word of environmental inconsistencies or infractions emerge. While most think green products cost more, a significant number do not care, because they value green product attributes and are willing to pay a premium for them. Only a relatively small subset of the market is interested in green “for the greater good.” For most people, the “what’s in it for me?” factor overrides what is best for the environment. At home: paralysis—When it comes to making their homes green, consumers are paralyzing themselves to inaction based on overwhelming notions of what is required and what it costs, the study showed. When the Shelton Group asked consumers to choose from a provided list of features all of those they thought were “required” to make a home green, respondents were demanding. Out of 17 listed features, the average number of features checked by consumers totaled 10.4. Top features consumers believed were required included Energy Star appliances (cited by 82 percent), water-conserving features (78 percent), and high-efficiency windows and a renewable electric power generation system such as solar (71 percent each). Juxtaposed with this demanding stanwww.APPAnet.org dard, consumers demonstrated a high awareness gap when asked unaided questions earlier in the survey. While 55 percent of U.S. consumers said that having a green home is important to very important, when asked to then name (unaided) a green home feature, 42 percent could not. Twenty-eight percent cited “solar”; 12 percent cited compact fluorescent light bulbs; 10 percent cited energy-efficient or Energy Star appliances and 10 percent cited “the household recycles.” “Consumers seem to think green homes are an all-or-nothing proposition—and because of the real and perceived costs, many are throwing their hands up and saying ‘I just can’t do all of this’,” said Shelton. “For example, consumers’ heavy top-ofmind emphasis on solar—one of the most expensive home upgrades for energy efficiency that can be made—is a good case in point,” Shelton said. “For consumers who can only afford to take baby steps, the idea of installing solar panels as ‘required’ to make a home green—or even just greener —can be a total deal-breaker.” When Shelton Group asked consumers the primary reason to purchase a green home product, respondents’ answers were more financial than environmental: 49 percent said “to reduce my energy bill (save money),” 31 percent chose “to lessen my impact on the environment,” and 13 percent chose “to make my home healthier.” A majority (78 percent) of consumers said that green products sometimes to always cost more. Interestingly, there is a flip-side to the economic issue on green products. When taken as a whole, the vast number of green home products and their collective costs appear to overwhelm consumers. Yet on an individual product basis, U.S. consumers value green product features, and most are willing to pay some premium for them. In discrete choice testing of three products, with different levels of purchase risk—wood flooring, dishwashers and general purpose cleaners—the product with the green feature (respectively, rapidgrowth, sustainable bamboo; Energy Star and all-natural cleaning ingredients) commanded both significant purchase favor and a price premium. In fact, a substantial percentage of the market (ranging from 35 percent for bamboo to 66 percent for Energy Star valued the green feature so much, their response was almost completely inelastic, meaning those consumers continued to prefer the green product regardless of increases in price point. In these controlled, two-product comparisons, a significant percentage wanted the green feature, even at a significantly higher price point. “When it comes to green and sustainability, the consumer mindset and behavioral patterns are full of contradictions,” Shelton said. “With that said, one of the real take-aways of Eco Pulse that marketers should note is the idea of simplicity—making green purchase decisions easier and less overwhelming for consumers to get their arms around.” For the Eco Pulse study, the Shelton Group surveyed Survey Sampling International’s online community of more than 3.5 million respondents in May 2008. The survey was geographically stratified to mirror the geographic distribution of the population (111,617,402 households in contiguous United States) with a margin of error of +/3.09 percent. T OCTOBER 2008 41 http://www.phase-a-matic.com http://www.APPAnet.org

Table of Contents Feed for the Digital Edition of Public Power - October 2008

Public Power - October 2008 Contents Perspective 10 Questions The Future of Fuels in a Carbon-Constrained World An Energy Revolution Energy Policy in 2009 and Beyond A Green Reincarnation Beyond the Green Bandwagon Reliability Green Energy Community Broadband Customer Service Hometown Connections Human Resources Parting Shot

Public Power - October 2008

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