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Tech Purchasers Committed to 'Green,' Women More Environmentally Conscious

Nearly two-thirds (64%) of business technology purchasers agree that being perceived as “green” helps their brand image, and the same percentage of affluent consumers (64%) say environmental considerations are a primary concern in their purchasing process, according to the Green TECHpulse ‘08 survey from Hansa|GCR.

The survey - the first in a series - is designed to assess the green technology spending priorities of consumers as well as businesses to better understand purchase drivers and barriers and explore green technology leadership.

Findings among Business Technology Purchasers

• Female decision-makers are more environmentally conscious than males, placing higher levels of importance on a broader range of green indicators in corporate behavior:

• Slightly more than half of the companies (54%) surveyed are already buying greener IT products or services.
• Most companies (88%) that have purchased green in the past 18 months say they have experienced cost-saving benefits from reduced energy usage.
• One in seven companies (14%) has initiated a formal environmental sustainability plan.
• Nearly half (49%) say their organizations have made minimizing environmental impact a formal priority and have set specific performance goals.
• The No. 1 and No. 2 investment priorities for improving the environmental profile of IT operations are greener printers/multifunction devices/office equipment and data centers/server rooms.
• More than half (58%) of businesses are making an effort to reduce printing-related waste.
• The impact of the supply chain on the health of the environment is of more concern to larger companies, publicly traded companies, and companies that already have sustainability plans in place.
• No technology company emerges as the clear green leader in terms of technology purchasing, and no leaders emerge as business-oriented green organizations.
• When measuring a company’s environmental commitment, decision makers place the most emphasis on direct and active company behaviors.

Findings among Consumer Technology Purchasers

• Nearly half (47%) of affluent consumers believe greener products are likely to cost more than they are willing to pay, though they agree that greener products provide long-term value:

• The top reasons consumers make greener technology product purchases are a desire to help the environment and cost savings from reduced power usage.
• There is no clear green business leader, and consumers have difficulty identifying green leaders among technology companies. Even among more engaged eco-considerate consumers, nearly three out ten (27%) say there are no leaders.
• 92% of affluent consumers agree that environmental impact is a factor while making purchases.
• Nearly two-thirds of consumers (64%) indicate that environmental concerns are an important or primary consideration in the purchase decision process.
• 50% of consumer respondents say businesses should provide customers with greener products and services and should be environmentally responsible.
• Within the next year, nearly one-third of consumers plan to purchase a new TV/HDTV, and 26% of them report that green issues will have a significant impact on the purchase.
• Nearly 26% intend to purchase laptop/notebook computers and one-fourth of them report that green issues will have a significant impact on their purchasing decision.

About the survey: The survey was conducted online among 600 business technology decision makers (300 midsize and 300 enterprise businesses across several industries), and 1,200 affluent consumers with annual household incomes of $50K or more.