Now there’s a will, where’s the way?
The Times, August 2007
For some, it was the film. For others, it is the hard fact of floods, hurricanes, tornadoes - or the fact that every media - from TV to news to the internet - is now full of it. Others had it years ago.
Whatever the spur, that moment of conversion to the climate change cause has been spreading through the nation. Most people now want to be “greener”. The will is there.
What’s not there is knowhow. The nation’s environmental intelligence level - we call it EQ - is low.
As this month’s survey shows, even vanguard Concerned Consumers are deeply confused by green energy tariffs. The majority think that buying “green energy” means that the energy supplied to their house will be from renewable sources. For the majority of people in the UK this is a technical impossibility. It’s certainly not the claim of the suppliers. This confusion is unsurprising. Figuring your way through the certificates and conflicting claims to work out which “green” product produces the greatest additional renewables investment is a high EQ task.
So are many others. What’s better: washing at low temperature with a normal detergent, or higher with an ecologically friendly version? Food miles or carbon footprinting? To carbon offset, or not? It’s new, complex and evolving fast.
What does this all mean? Well, because present EQ levels are low, consumers need brands to give them a helping hand. The best way to do this is by getting specific. Just telling people your product is “green” is not enough. You need to explain exactly what it does differently and what the environmental benefits will be. This will not only strengthen your case, it will also help to raise consumers’ EQ levels. As such, it puts you in the role of educator and adviser. And that’s a great place to win the battle for consumers’ hearts and minds.
It also means there’s a window for companies to get away with things –
but it won’t be there long. EQ levels will rise, albeit at different rates for
different segments, with Concerned Consumers leading the way. Green charlatans
will find themselves exposed. And no one likes finding out they’ve been taken
for a ride.
Giles Gibbons is the managing director of Good Business www.goodbusiness.co.uk
