Technology Consumers Consider Both Types of Green: The Environment and Their Wallets
Without a doubt, since Ipsos reported last year in this newsletter on Green: The New Color for Tech?, technology companies in general have significantly bolstered efforts around developing environmentally responsible practices at many stages of the manufacturing and marketing process.
- Since its inception in 2006, the number of desktops, laptops, and monitors registered under the EPEAT program (with its stringent 51 point environmental performance criteria) has grown to more than 600, representing over 25 different manufacturers.1
- CSCI (The Climate Savers Computing Initiative), only a year old, now boasts membership of almost 250 companies, rallying all levels of industry around the goal of a 50 percent reduction in computer power consumption by 2010.2
- Technology companies like AMD, Xerox and 3M have won the attention of the EPA through the 2008 Climate Protection and Energy Star Awards, while others like HP have been building on a solid environmental track record that spans more than two decades.
- Recycling programs for all types of electronic products have expanded around the country at both the manufacturer and retailer level.
- NGOs have an increasingly loud voice on this topic, with organizations like Greenpeace providing their own assessments of Tech 'green' leaders.
- The first tier includes those big ticket items, the energy guzzlers, automobiles and large appliances, where the opportunity to save is greatest (and where promotion of the importance of energy efficiency has been going on the longest).
- In the second tier are computers, printers, televisions, and small household appliances, where close to 1 in 3 have investigated the environmental impacts of the brands considered.
- Finally, in the third tier are the portable devices, ever popular but energy nibblers by comparison; cellular phones, digital cameras or camcorders, and MP3 players. For most consumers, environmental considerations have yet to enter their consciousness when considering brands and manufacturers in these categories.
But how are consumers perceiving technology companies' green initiatives and messages - and have their concerns changed over the past year?
Updating a 2007 study, Ipsos has found consumer perceptions of technology companies' green practices in 2008 to be little changed versus 2007. Of the 26 leading tech companies we asked about, no more than 18% of consumers associated any individual company with green or environmentally friendly business practices. And in spite of increased media coverage and resources to assess how green one brand is over another, no one brand emerges strongly ahead of others. Green Tech leadership continues to mirror broader brand visibility, regard, and (importantly) expectations. Results among the subset of recent purchasers in the tech category generally echo this pattern.
Consistent with 2007, technology consumers continue to be astute shoppers, and are most influenced by features that will not only benefit the environment, but also make sense financially. An Energy Star efficiency rating is more likely to influence a purchase decision for an electronics product than benefits related to device recycling or disposal, and particularly versus environmental practices taking place farther up the supply chain. Interestingly, higher income consumers are more likely than others to be influenced by energy savings, while the influences of other environmental practices on brand purchase are consistent across income level.
Products fall into three general tiers of environmental consideration when consumers are shopping brand or manufacturers, likely reflecting this same theme of "what's good for my wallet and for the environment is a win-win for everyone."
Interestingly, while there are no differences by gender on likelihood of considering the environment when purchasing automobiles and large household appliances, males were significantly more likely than females to say they had investigated the environmental impact of the computer, printer, and MP3 player brands or manufacturers they were considering when making their purchases.
So what does this mean for Tech Marketers? Clearly, consumers have priorities about products where environmental considerations matter the most when making brand and manufacturer choices. However, in a media environment where daily headlines trumpet the price of oil, coalescing concern about climate change, and pinched consumer wallets, it's unlikely that consumer attention toward energy cost and sustainability issues will fade. As notions of "green stewardship" increasingly merge with mainstream pocketbook concerns, Tech marketers need to monitor consumer perceptions and expectations (in North America, and beyond). Importantly, they need to ensure their companies' environmental initiatives that make for both a better tech experience and a greener world are being noticed by consumers. With an ever-increasing array of marketers (across various sectors) advertising their commitment to "green" corporate stewardship, this will become increasingly "normalized" as a consumer criterion for brand and product consideration.
More insights on awareness and perceptions of technology companies' environmentally friendly business practices, and how these differ by consumer segments can be found in The Ipsos Green Technology Report.
Methodology of study
Data presented are from the findings of two online surveys conducted by Ipsos MediaCT using the Ipsos U.S. online panel. Both surveys were conducted in the United States among a nationally representative sample of age 18+ adults, who own at least one device from a wide variety of technology categories. Data collection for the first survey occurred over April 3 through April 6, 2007, and for the second survey over April 24 to April 29, 2008, with sample sizes of 1,183 and 1,251 respectively.
1 Electronic Product Environmental Assessment Tool: http://www.epeat.net2 Climate Savers: http://www.climatesaverscomputing.org/
