Page 80 - North American Clean Energy January/February 2019 Issue

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energy efficiency
Who’s Going Green?
Maybe not who you think
by David Bywater
ere are plenty of pre-conceived notions about going green, from the cost
of eco-friendly measures, to the lifestyles and political leanings of those who employ them. But according to results from a recently-completed 2018 report, people across political, cultural, and generational spectrums are likely to nd it equally easy being green.
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Surprisingly, older generations lead the way in eco-consciousness
Among the 3,000 American adults polled for the study, 60 percent consider themselves to be conscious of environmental issues. Broken out by age demographics, a large portion of millennial (58 percent) and Gen Z (57 percent) respondents considered themselves eco-conscious, but baby boomers outpaced both groups, with a full 66 percent saying they considered themselves eco-conscious.
Contrary to popular perception, green consumers are both red and blue
Regardless of age, the study found several touchpoints of common ground between the 60 percent who did consider themselves green, and the 40 percent who considered themselves to be
more conventional consumers. Politically, one in four of the eco-conscious respondents voted for Donald Trump in the 2016 election—the same rate as their conventional counterparts. And green consumers were just as likely to identify as Democrat as Republican—28 percent on both sides of the aisle. e bulk of respondents overall (43 percent) identi ed politically as independents. Even on controversial political issues, both sides were generally in harmony. e majority of both groups (68 percent of green respondents, and 59 percent of conventional respondents) similarly supported the legalization of marijuana.
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More similarities than differences
For too long, perceptions of green consumers – the young vegan who cycles to
farmers markets – have not aligned with reality. As our report indicates, the bulk of the population with an interest into being eco-conscious, or going green in the future, is far more diverse.
While di erences certainly abound, the results suggest that the gulf between green and conventional consumers is much narrower than originally believed; it likely has more to do with perception, not practice.
What divides green and conventional consumers
Of course, the two groups don’t see eye to eye on everything. ere is a considerable gap between the groups’ belief that climate change is real (83 percent of green respondents versus 65 percent of conventional respondents). Green consumers were twice as
likely to believe that it could be reversed, as opposed to the 14 percent of conventional respondents who said they felt nothing could be done about the issue.
Di erences also abound in the perception versus reality of eco-friendly folks. One quarter of conventional respondents viewed green respondents as a group keeping vegan diets, yet just 4 percent of green consumers reported being vegan. In fact, 88 percent of them said meat is a regular part of their diets.