A recent report from L.E.K. Consulting found that over a third of consumers in the UK believe they are ultimately responsible for their own carbon footprint, and a further third place the blame at the feet of manufacturers and producers. Perhaps surprising in this era of “Big Government” only seven percent of respondents to the L.E.K. survey believe the government is responsible.
The report was commissioned in July 2007 to “explore the attitudes of UK consumers towards the issue of carbon footprints and to examine who they believe should be responsible for tackling the issue of reduction.”
The researchers hoped to identify how much information — and specifically what information — consumers would value when making purchasing decisions and their propensity to increase personal expenditure to reduce their carbon footprint.
Recent trends show an increase in producers and retailers exploring the efficacy of carbon labeling.
For example, the Carbon Trust (
News -
Alert) launched the initial phase of a carbon labeling pilot in the UK earlier this year.
According to Euan Murray, Carbon Footprinting General Manager of the Carbon Trust said, “The roll out of the Carbon Trust label … is a significant step forward in our pilot scheme. Having the carbon reduction label in the market enables us to test consumer understanding and refine how this information is communicated. The carbon footprinting of products and its communication via the label offers companies the opportunity tackle the indirect carbon emissions from products and help consumers understand the climate impacts of the purchasing decisions they make.”
The L.E.K report found that “with reliable information regarding the carbon footprint of a product or service, close to half of consumers (44%) would change their buying behavior in some way.”
The report authors concluded the following:
The research clearly illustrates that consumers now regard carbon as an important element of their purchasing criteria — 56% would value information about the carbon footprint of a product or service, 44% will change their purchasing decisions on the back of this information and 43% would even pay more to reduce their carbon footprint.
These results are of particular importance for the manufacturers and producers of products and services. Although their ‘green claims’ are perceived to be lacking credibility, consumers are expecting them to take the lead in minimizing product carbon footprints, with the support of a regulatory framework.
