71% of Americans think about the environmental impact of items before they make purchases. That’s up 5 percentage points since 2008. Even better, 90% of those who buy products with eco-friendly disposal options intend to use them.

Unfortunately those plans usually do not translate into reality. 70% of consumers admit they do not use green products in the way that minimizes their impact. And, 68% say they don’t dispose of products in the most environmentally friendly way.

Why is there a gap between intentions and actions?

The top explanation, cited by 33% of consumers, is that they don’t have the necessary resources. Their community does not have recycling facilities, they don’t have special bins, etc. An additional 19% say they don’t know the correct way to dispose of many products. 10% don’t make it a priority, and 8% just don’t have the time.

Almost three-quarters of consumers wish companies would provide more information about green products throughout their lifecycle, with the majority looking for more information via product packages or the Internet.

If you’d like to read more about the gap between green thoughts and behaviors, here’s the link to the research from Cone Communications. http://www.conecomm.com/2013-green-gap-trend-tracker-1

More and more experts have shifted from talking about how to prevent climate change to discussing how to deal with its inevitable effects.

Pricewaterhouse Coopers recently released a report detailing the impact global warming will have on business. Some of what they highlight has already been talked about extensively: warmers winters, more extreme weather events, and water shortages.

Other important business implications have received much less press: uncertainty, disruption, and new trade routes.

Pricewaterhouse identifies “uncertainty” as the #1 way climate change will affect the economy. The business environment will become less predictable because no one can accurately project the magnitude, location, or timing of the side effects of global warming.

“Disruption” is also near the top of the list. Climate change, in the form of weather events, will damage physical infrastructure. At the same time, climate refugees will leave areas that become too wet, too dry, or too hot, putting a further burden on infrastructure and services in areas that remain habitable.

Finally, the report highlights new trade routes as a significant positive impact for business. As the Arctic melts, a new, shorter shipping channel will open from the Atlantic to Asia.

You can read more about the report and Triple Pundit’s analysis of it here http://www.triplepundit.com/2013/03/top-ten-effects-global-warming-business/

Here’s a piece of research we all can love.

According to The Center for Economic Policy Research, if we all worked less, we could dramatically reduce climate change.

The CEPR calculates that an annual .5% reduction in work hours for the remainder of this century would eliminate 25-50% of anticipated global warming.

The paper’s author admits the relationships are complex and the math is not precise. However, he asserts there is a clear and fundamental connection between work hours, production, consumption, and global warming.

The logic is that the more we work, the more we produce. That production uses energy and emits greenhouse gases. Due to human nature, the more we produce, the more we consume. Consumption often uses resources and leads to more consumption.

Over the past four decades, worker productivity has increased, and that has led to increased production of goods. The CEPR asserts that in the future, people and the planet would both be better off if productivity increases were translated into fewer hours worked.

If you would like to share this paper with your boss, the link is below. http://www.cepr.net/documents/publications/climate-change-workshare-2013-02.pdf

BBMG, GlobeScan, and SustainAbility recently released a compelling green consumer segmentation. It caught my eye because it does a better job than most capturing how Americans think and act.

The research identified four distinct groups based on varying attitudes and actions.

Practicals (36% of the US population.) They are motivated to buy products with proven performance. Social and environmental benefits are “nice to haves,” not critical. Practicals are only interested in green products that match their current brands on all attributes and measurably reward them for being sustainable.

Aspirationals (32% of the US.) This group is motivated by style, status, and shopping. They would like to be sustainable, but struggle to match their attitudes with actions. When companies make a compelling case that being sustainable is on trend, and a critical mass of their friends convert, Aspirationals probably will too.

Indifferents (22% of the US.) The majority of Indifferents do not feel any sense of responsibility to help society and do not worry about their impact on the planet. They are skeptical of all green claims, and resist buying sustainable products even when they have obvious benefits. There is little chance this group will change.

Advocates (11% of the US.) The core of the sustainability movement, Advocates are motivated by responsibility and guilt. These are the influencers who live their values, evangelize a green lifestyle, and sway others to join them.

How can we design our marketing and new products to appeal to Advocates, reward Practicals, and deliver the style and status Aspirationals seek?

Will this be the year when global warming returns to America’s radar screen? There are some compelling reasons to think the answer is “Yes!”

• The percentage of Americans that believe climate change is occurring has rebounded from its low. Over 70% now think global warming is real, up 5 percentage points in six months and up even more dramatically from 2011 and 2010.
• More consumers favor companies that are eco conscious. 53% of shoppers say they will buy a brand with “social purpose,” when quality and price are equal, up 11 percentage points vs last year. 32% recently chose to do business with a company focused on reducing global warming over one that was not.
• The actual measurable results of climate change (ice melting, sea level rising, etc.) have been compared to the UN Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change’s projections. Virtually every indicator is deteriorating more rapidly than forecast.

There are also reasons to think that climate change will continue to be ignored for at least another year.

• Total worldwide press coverage of the phenomenon declined 2.4% in 2012 vs 2011.
• Consumers are increasingly pessimistic about their individual ability to impact the environment. Only 32% now say their actions could curb climate change, down from 37% six months ago.
• The topic remains highly politicized and hard to discuss. Roughly 40% of those who believe in climate change are uncomfortable sharing their views with non-believers.

What do you think? Will the nation embrace and address climate change this year?