Consumers, the Green Computing Gap & the
Paper Trail

The Energy Star logo makes it easy. Slap that sticker on a refrigerator and consumers get it right away: this ‘fridge is no energy hog. Not so much with computers – when it comes to this category, many devices and users just don’t compute.

How do we know? Across the wide range of energy-consuming products included in Eco-Insights© (the Earthsense survey), electronics – notably computers – have some of the highest rates of clueless consumers. Only one in eight (12%) desktop purchasers believes his/her computer is green, 52% bought a non-green (conventional) version and 36% simply don’t know. The “don’t knows” appear in significant numbers across all computer-related equipment purchases.

Computer Equipment and Supplies
Purchased	Green	Not Green	Don't Know
Paper	35%	40%	24%
Printer cartridge/toner	15%	54%	32%
Desktop computer	12%	52%	36%
Laptop computer	10%	54%	36%
Printer	9%	53%	38%
Source: Eco-Insights Survey 2008

Even among those who do understand the distinction, consumers are more than four times more likely to opt for the conventional version (52% vs. 12%) over the green machine. This represents a two-fold challenge:

1. Customer knowledge - consumers need help understanding what makes a computer green.
2. Converting consumers - customers need to realize the benefits of green models and be persuaded to buy them over conventional versions.

Follow the Green Paper Trail

One route to computer buyers’ hearts can be found by looking at the computer supplies they buy. Specifically: paper. Consumers are three times more likely to buy “green” paper than a computer to use with it. Thus the paper trail begins.

Following this trail, we see a gap in consumer purchase behavior…and where there’s a gap, there are opportunities for smart marketers.

The Great Green Gap Green Purchasing: six in ten buy neither the computer nor its paper in a green version. Only 10% go green for both. Source: Eco-Insights Survey 2008

It’s easy to understand why people buy paper with the environment in mind but not the equipment it supplies:

Paper	Computers
Higher level of understanding of what green means	Lower level of awareness of what green means
More awareness of environmental impact	Modest level of awareness of environmental impact
More frequently purchased	Infrequently purchased
Modest incremental cost for green (if any)	Significant investment (with minimal understanding of relative cost)
Source: Eco-Insights Survey 2008

Following the green paper trail may be one way to begin converting customers – target green paper buyers when they’re ready to upgrade or replace their old computer.

Regulation of the computer and electronics industry is growing. Manufacturers and retailers need to pierce the green wall of consumer confusion and skepticism to be the winners for whom green computing is in the black.

The Takeaway

• Know what consumers know – and don’t know – about green computing.
• Learn about their other green purchases, link their shopping behaviors to your offering and target them efficiently.
• Consider partnerships with businesses that complement yours, such as paper companies or energy companies, to forge green associations in the minds of consumers.

In Their Own Words When Eco-Insights respondents were asked to tell us what green computing means to them in an open-ended question, we got all kinds of interesting answers. Here are a few of our favorites – from both the clueless and the clued-in: “Parts are able to be re-used or broken down into sections that will decay over time.” “Low energy output? Really have no idea.” “Uses as few parts as possible and is high quality to reduce the need for a replacement part/unit; also runs using minimal power; easy to upgrade to make each unit competitive longer.” “The green/eco-friendly label is more hype than actually doing anything for the environment. The title could mean anything from `no ladybugs were harmed in the making of this product` to `7,000,098.34 carbon credits were bought to offset the production of the keyboard keys for this desktop. ` To put it a bit more simply, `green` = more $ to make you feel like you`re doing your part.”

This article provides a small sample of the data available from Eco-Insights on green computing and other consumer behaviors, attitudes and products. Want to know what language consumers use to define green for computers? What about their motivations for buying green and their barriers? Just contact Earthsense for more information!