Santa may have to change the colors of his elves’ suits. Green is not “in.”
According to the BDO Seidman “Retail Compass Survey,” which polled 100 CMOs at leading retailers across the country, holiday shoppers will see less environmental products on shelves this year.
When it comes to eco-friendly initiatives, only 35% of retailers are increasing their marketing push on green products this season.
That figure is down from 43% last year and even slightly lower that the 37% increase registered in 2007.
British consumers seem reluctant to bite. They want more information on genetically-manipulated (GM) food—sometimes referred to as Frankenstein, monster or freak food—before buying.
Make no mistake, a strong majority of Americans not only believe in global warming, a Washington Post / ABC News poll found that 82% of them view it as a serious problem.
Overall, 82% of respondents took global warming seriously, while 17% didn’t.
The third annual Zagat “Airline Survey” showed an overall decline in flying due to the economic downturn, with 33% of US respondents saying they fly less now, while only 7% indicated they were flying more.
Among those who are still flying, 28% said they would be more likely to choose an airline if it introduced more green practices.
It may sound hard to believe, but there are nearly two mobile phones for every three people on earth, and eMarketer estimates that by 2014 there will be four mobiles for every five people.
According to the Pew Internet & American Life Project, mobile phone ownership rose among US adults nearly 10% in one year—from 77% early in 2008 to 85% in April 2009.
That is a lot of phones, which end up—unfortunately—as a lot of trash.
According to the November American Pulse Survey, from BIGresearch, Americans are decidedly mixed on pending climate legislation before Congress, with nearly 35% of them for…
To more or lesser degrees, a majority of UK travelers are willing to change their travel habits to improve the environment.
In a poll conducted by the Institution of Civil Engineers (ICE), 83% of respondents said not only was climate change a serious threat—they were willing to make sacrifices to combat it.
In fact, 9% were willing to make “significant changes,” such as getting rid of their automobile or ceasing to travel by air.
As the world rushes to go digital, e-waste is becoming a growing problem.
In 2007, the last year numbers are available from the EPA, the agency estimated 30 million desktops and 12 million laptops were discarded in this country—that equates to 112,000 computers per day.
Last year Business Week predicted that when US consumers switched from analog to digital television service the result would be a mass junking of analog TVs: “The volume of e-waste will probably surge.”
Final figures are not in. But who would bet against the publication?
Lewis Gordon Pugh is planning to swim a glacial lake 5,300 meters above sea level under the summit of Mt. Everest to draw attention to climate change, and the rate at which the Himalayan glaciers are receding.
Yet those closest to the receding glaciers, the people of Nepal, are largely unaware of the issue.
A Gallup poll found that 61% of Nepalese have never heard of or don’t know anything about climate change.
Sustainability is no longer viewed as a niche activity in boardrooms across the country.
According to the “2009 Greening of Corporate America” report, from Siemens and McGraw-Hill Construction, US corporate involvement with sustainability issues has doubled in the last three years, growing from 18% of firms in 2007 to 27% this year.
Corporations are now involved with green “at the highest levels.”
New media users are on the cutting edge of internet communications, and often opinion leaders. The 2009 Cone “New Media Study” found that they are not only thinking about the environment, a lot, they are communicating their concerns.
Nearly 80% of US new media users think companies and nonprofits should use new media channels to raise money and awareness for causes, and 60% of them have used online or new media to support a cause.
New media isn’t just about communication, however, it directly affects users behavior.
Transformational—”out-of-the-box”—energy research projects across the country are receiving $151 million in grants from the US Department of Energy’s Advanced Research Projects Agency-Energy (ARPA-E), and there is more funding on the way.
In a year when most segments of the construction industry are being hammered (figuratively), green building is showing impressive growth.
The “Green Building Market & Impact Report: 2009,” published by GreenerBuildings.com, estimates that the floor area registered and certified by the US Green Building Council’s LEED green building rating system will grow over 40% compared to 2008.
While new non-residential construction may fall below the one billion square foot mark this year, registrations of LEED new construction projects in the US are projected to exceed 1 billion square feet, not counting LEED for Existing Buildings (EB).
The long-term impact this green building surge will have on energy, water, waste and employee productivity will extend over the next 20 years.
For consumer behavior to change, consumers have to understand the rules— and that means the wording of the rules.
In the “Green Gap Redux: Green Words Gone Wrong,” EcoAlign, tested awareness and acceptance of various terms used to communicate energy conservation, clean energy and smart grid concepts.
EcoAlign discovered that one-size-fits-all messages are not effective at acquiring customers, or even being understood—because perceptions and awareness of energy terms differ.
Using a scale of 1 to 10, (1 equaling “no understanding/don’t know” and 10 “very good understanding”) consumers rated terms used for billing and payment options connected to smart grid and utility bills. Showing almost no comprehension, 53% of respondents rated “green pricing” in the bottom three.
The Department of Labor reported that the US jobless rate moved to a 26-year high of 10.2% in October. Economists had expected merely a rise to 9.9% from September’s 9.8%.
The cross into double-digit unemployment figures was a shock.
Many are hoping that the pending climate legislation will provide a remedy.
According to the “Building a Clean Energy Assembly Line: How Renewable Energy Can Revitalize U.S. Manufacturing and the American Middle Class” report, released by the Blue Green Alliance, green energy could create 850,000 manufacturing jobs across the country.
The Renewable Energy Policy Project (REPP) projects that California, Texas and Illinois will lead the way in renewable clean energy manufacturing job creation.
