Report probes uphill fight to change use behaviors

Restructuring Today, © 2008 GHI LLC, October 21, 2008

Just telling consumers to cut back on energy use won't work since it flies in the face of their nature, said an EcoAlign report by cultural anthropologist Pippa Trench.  Instead, the focus should shift to the nature and quality of consumption, said the report called "Visibility, Ambivalence and Trust: Cultural Stumbling Blocks to Greater Household Energy Efficiency."
Going green and accepting responsibility for one's impact on global warming has been a growing trend among consumers.

But actual action is generally confined to older and wealthier consumers with most seeing green options as costly and inconvenient.

"Information and education alone are not enough.  Energy efficiency must be visible and consumable," said Trench.

"Utilities, manufacturers and retailers, as well as consumers, have a role to play in developing innovations that effectively allow people to consume, display and exchange energy efficiency in a way that is visible and valued within society on a day-to-day basis."

Consumers need to consume to survive, said the report, since buying shelter, food and energy are all vital, explaining the failure of just telling them to cut back.  Because they have to consume, telling customers to cut back leaves them feeling ambivalent about making a difference.
Most energy use is invisible to the outside world.  It's impossible to see whether a neighbor turns down his thermostat -- making it hard for such behavior to spread.

But even if it was visible, Trench believes efficient practices wouldn't spread everywhere.
The utility sector and others aren't well trusted by consumers who feel that profit drives firms over all values including green programs.

Instead of viewing consumption as the expression of greediness, Trench sees it as part of the way we fit into society.

Changing behaviors will have to come from that angle, with consumers still able to do what they need while contributing to solving the problem.

More research needs to be done on how energy use decisions are bundled with daily life, how information on energy use flows through social networks and identifying how energy efficient behavior can be made more visible in the media.