Joel Makower, renowned author, consultant, and environmentalist, has a great article at his website, Two Steps Forward, about a recent study conducted by the data analysts at Yankelovich on how conscious the population really is on the environment.
Many of those involved in green industries will tell you they are excited to hear so many talking about the environment. They feel the movement is reaching the mainstream. But is it?
According to the Yankelovich study, it might not be. Their recent study, "Going Green", which is based on attitudes AND actual behaviors, states that there's something missing between belief and action.
Here's some uncomfortable statistics, especially for those of us that thought this was in the spotlight:
- Only 37% of consumers feel "highly concerned" about environmental issues.
- 25% of consumers feel "highly knowledgeable" about environmental issues.
- And, a meanger 22% of those feel they can make any difference at all in the environment.
The Yanelovich study also segments their consumers into categories, (which you can probably figure out their mindset based on the name):
- 13% are considered Greenthusiasts
- 14% Greenspeaks
- 25% Greensteps
- 19% Greenbits
- 29% Greenless
Ouch. The largest group of consumers have either no interest in Green, no knowledge, or no desire.
According to Walker Smith from Yanelovich, Green attitudes don't always predict green behaviors. For example, Greenbits SAY they are likely to pay more for green products than Greenspeaks, but they rarely do.
Yankelovich uses the Mushiness Index to determine the firmness of an opinion. Using a system they developed, the index measures how sure a consumer is about their own opinion.
Consumers are very mushy on this subject.
Smith goes on to say that when it comes to getting through to the Greenless and the Greenbits, education is NOT the key. They way to get through to them is to make it personally relevant.
All the studies in the world about raging weather, rising shorelines, global warming, and carbon emissions mean nothing to them... Unless all those things affect them directly.
As we continue to promote sustainable behaviors, it helps to understand that our clients may be vacillating over environmental subject matter. If we can approach their concerns in a way that is relevant to them, we have a better shot at success.
I encourage you to visit Joel Makower's website and read his article.
1 comment:
Ellen: Your article has hit the nail on the head. Relevancy to mushy green clients starts with their pocketbooks. Green means green when the project is approached with a value-engineered or value-managed view.
Because the Green movement is just now breaking out of the infancy stage, the financial data to support Green means Green is scarce. However, as your green projects accumulate, and relevancy becomes clearer the mushy green clients will begin to take a closer look.
Judy, Jincy, Ruairi & I spent the weekend in Gainesville at the Florida Museum of Natural History. Two items really caught my eye - the first a plaque pointing to the fact that 99.9% of all species ever to have inhabited the earth are now extinct. The next - a large fossilized cypress tree dated 18 million years old. What I took away from the two was the thought that we need to stop the trend of extinction and natural resource destruction, however - it is going to take time, lots, lots of time and effort.
Small steps forward add up over the years. Resources such as your blog are critical to the Green movement. Keep up the good work!
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