The National Geographic Society and the international polling firm GlobeScan today released the results of “Greendex 2008: Consumer Choice and the Environment — A Worldwide Tracking Survey,” an unprecedented study that measures and monitors consumer progress toward environmentally sustainable consumption around the world. The survey was conducted online between Jan. 11 and Feb. 13, 2008.
This research project differs from other environmental surveys in that it goes beyond attitudes and concerns to focus on the actual behavior and lifestyle of consumers across 14 countries — Australia, Brazil, Canada, China, France, Germany, Great Britain, Hungary, India, Japan, Mexico, Russia, Spain and the United States.
Surveys were conducted online with 14,000 consumers: 1,000 people in each of the 14 countries. While Internet panels cannot be thoroughly representative of a country’s population (the poorest of the poor and those living in remote areas without Web access are not included), it is felt that the objective of measuring consumer behavior could be well met by the use of Internet research. Respondents are therefore referred to throughout as “consumers.”
The demographic groups surveyed in each country reflect the demographic profile of each country and are a representative cross-section of consumers in each country who have access to the Internet in their homes, workplaces, or in libraries, cafes or schools. Data from the online respondents were weighted according to the latest census data to reflect the overall demographic profile of each country in terms of age, gender and education.
Parallel face-to-face surveys were conducted in Egypt and Nigeria, but these were not technically comparable to online surveys, so were not included in the core report. As online survey research becomes viable in Egypt and Nigeria with increased Internet penetration, it is envisioned that consumers in these countries will be included in future Greendex surveys.
Prior to selecting the countries to include in the Greendex study, GlobeScan mined its extensive survey database to classify countries according to the environmental behaviors and attitudes of their consumers. Countries were then selected that would be indicative of these classifications as well as a variety of geographies and different levels of environmental impact and economic development. The 14 countries selected represent 55 percent of the world’s population and include seven of the 11 most populous nations. In 2007, the 14 countries accounted for 75 percent of the energy consumed in the world.
During the survey design process, GlobeScan consulted with a group of 27 international experts in environmental sustainability to identify which consumer behaviors should be included in the Greendex survey.
-For individual questions on the Greendex survey, the margin of error per country is approximately +/- 3.1% 95 percent of the time.
The Greendex focuses on four components — Housing, Transportation, Food and Goods — and includes such measures as consumers’ residential and household footprint, energy and fresh water use, commuting habits, food consumption and the use of green products versus traditional products.
Although the importance of regulatory frameworks, country-specific climate conditions, culture, economic development and other factors affecting consumption are recognized, the study is focused specifically on measuring consumer behavior. Sixty percent of the index is based on choice or discretionary behavior; 40 percent on factors determined by circumstance. Regardless of the reasons for their behavior — whether driven by health or environmental concerns, culture, climate, income, or a conscious decision to be more “green” — on average, individual consumers in developing countries have less impact on the environment than the average consumer in wealthy countries. In this sense, it doesn’t matter why consumers behave as they do. The fact is their behavior, whether it’s done by active or passive choice, does have an environmental impact, and consumers anywhere can change many of their behaviors for better or for worse.
The Housing component takes into account such variables as size of residence relative to number of inhabitants, home heating and cooling, hot water and water heating equipment, recent upgrades that result in more efficient heating and cooling, consumption of renewable energy, use of energy-efficient major appliances and water usage. Brazilians earn the highest score for housing, with fewer average rooms per home, rare use of home heating and wide penetration of renewable electricity (the result of increased use of biomass and biofuels there). Japanese score second-to-last, partly due to the use of oil for home heating. U.S. consumers fare worst, with large homes and prevalent air-conditioning. More Chinese and Indian respondents have installed solar panels to heat water. Of the four components of the Greendex, housing holds the greatest opportunity for increasing scores, as many consumers report they are planning efficiency upgrades for their homes in coming years.
The Transportation sub-index consists of variables measuring, among others, ownership of motorized vehicles, size of vehicle and distance driven, use of public transport, air and train travel, riding a bicycle, walking and location of residence relative to primary destination. Chinese consumers receive the highest scores due to widespread use of self-powered transportation and low (but increasing) automobile use. Consumers in the United States, where use of public transport is way behind many of the other countries surveyed, rank last, with Australian consumers second-to-last. Respondents in North America, France and Australia drive alone in a car or truck much more frequently than people in China, Brazil, India and Russia. Most Chinese say they never do.
The Food component variables measure consumption of locally produced foods; foods grown or raised by oneself; and consumption of fruits, vegetables, beef, chicken, seafood and bottled water. Indian consumers far outscore the others by virtue of their low levels of meat consumption and high amount of fruits and vegetables eaten. Australians and British also do well, with frequent consumption of locally produced food. Despite their top-four ranking overall, Japanese consumers score lowest in the Food category, as both meat and seafood are large components of their diet. Mexicans rank second-to-last in the Food component.
The Goods sub-index, a combination of everyday consumption and waste disposal plus ownership of big-ticket items, consists of such variables as purchase and/or avoidance of specific products for environmental reasons, avoidance of excessive packaging, preference for reusable goods over disposable products and for used goods over new items, willingness to pay an environmental premium, recycling, and number of TVs, PCs, refrigerators, dishwashers and laundry machines per household member. Consumers in China, India and Brazil decisively top the ranking, with widespread preference for green products and ownership of relatively few appliances and expensive electronic devices. Japanese consumers score highest among wealthy countries because of their preference for reusable items and moderate number of big-ticket items. Americans score lowest. While an average of 19 percent of respondents overall say they generally prefer to buy second-hand items, a majority in most countries say they prefer to repair broken items rather than replace them with new ones. Australians, Canadians and Europeans are the most likely to practice conventional environmentally friendly behavior such as recycling and using their own bags for shopping.
BELIEFS AND ATTITUDES
The survey found certain beliefs and attitudes are important drivers of the respondents’ Greendex score — that is, those who strongly hold those attitudes or beliefs are likely to score higher on the Greendex. The most significant drivers in terms of increasing scores are level of concern about the environment, belief that environmental problems negatively affect one’s health, support for pricing that reflects full product lifecycle costs, learning something recently that had a major impact on one’s environmental views, belief that global warming will worsen one’s way of life in one’s lifetime, having been encouraged by family or friends to be more environmentally responsible and the belief that people need to consume less to improve the environment for future generations.
An analysis of beliefs and attitudes shows consumers in Russia and the emerging economies of Brazil, India, China and Mexico appear more concerned about environmental problems than consumers in Europe, North America and Australia, especially regarding the negative impact they believe environmental problems are having on their health. Brazilians, Mexicans and Chinese are most worried about the effects of global warming. Consumers in Brazil, China, India and Mexico are also more likely than others to feel guilty about their environmental impact and to try hard to reduce it. They are willing to pay more for products to cover environmental costs and to save energy. Many consumers in Brazil, China, India and Mexico report having heard something that impacted their environmental views or have had encouragement from friends and family, signaling the emergence of widespread environmental consciousness in these developing countries.
Though Germans’ Greendex score is in the middle of the pack, these consumers are less likely than others to say they are working hard to reduce their environmental impact. They are also less concerned about environmental problems and the environment. These findings may reflect the fact that environmental priorities were institutionalized in Germany well before most, if not all, other countries. Certain green behaviors are more standard in Germany than elsewhere and are less likely to be considered an effort.
Large numbers of consumers in all the surveyed countries, and especially in France, Hungary, Russia and Brazil, agree that the media and advertising are encouraging people to consume far more than a responsible amount.
Most consumers say locally produced foods, organically produced meats, poultry, fruits and vegetables, and green products such as energy-saving light bulbs, recycled paper products and green cleaning products are available to them, although availability seems to be lowest in the developing countries and Japan.
Brazilian, Mexican and Indian consumers are more likely than others to have attended a demonstration, supported an environmental group or voiced concern to a company or government. U.S., Canadian and French consumers are less likely than those in emerging economies to engage in activism.
Greendex respondents also answered six questions to assess their environmental knowledge, including “What was the primary cause of Earth’s recent temperature increase?”, “Which fuel produces the most carbon dioxide when burned?”, “What is the projected population of the earth in 2050?” and “What is nearly all plastic originally made from?” On average, they answered less than half correctly. The British were the top scorers with 3.24 correct, followed by Germans with 3.23 correct and respondents in Australia, Canada, Japan and Mexico with 3.21 correct. Lowest scorers were people in India with 2.13, Russia with 2.69 and China with 2.70 correct.
For more details on these findings and for full reports on all the major components of the Greendex study, please visit nationalgeographic.com/greendex.
Quelle: Press release of National Gepgraphic
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