Mar 17, 2009

Shoppers still recognise the importance of reducing carbon emissions in spite of recessionBy Gráinne GilmoreBusiness.TimesOnline.co.uk

Businesses that assume the deepening recession has dampened consumers’ desire to go green should think again. Despite the worsening economic outlook, shoppers are still placing an emphasis on environmental concerns, new research suggests.

Two thirds of customers say that environmental considerations inform their purchases to the same extent as they did a year ago, while more than a quarter said that they were now even more conscious of the environmental impact of what they buy, figures from the Carbon Trust, which operates the first carbon-reduction award scheme, show.

While this may help to influence how shops stock their shelves, many businesses may have had to look closer to home to satisfy customers’ desire to know that the companies to which they are giving their custom are also making efforts to become more environmentally friendly. Two out of three people think it is important to buy from environmentally responsible companies, with about one in seven saying that they had even decided to take their custom elsewhere if they felt a company’s environmental reputation was not up to scratch.

Add the consumer goodwill to the reduction in energy costs brought about by cutting carbon emissions and it seems like a win-win situation for most companies. But as businesses weather the most damaging economic turbulence in decades, many are focusing first and foremost on survival, placing green issues down their list of priorities.

Harry Morrison, chief executive of the Carbon Trust, sympathises. “I understand this sentiment that for some businesses, survival is critical now. But from an environmental perspective, the clock is ticking — we don’t have much time. In addition, cutting carbon has an immediate bottom-line effect as costs drop, and a medium-term benefit for the brand.”

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