Defra study reveals divided consumer attitudes

Defra has today urged businesses to make use of new government research which identifies different consumer groups' attitude to the environment and assessing the best means to communicate green messages to them.

A Defra spokeswoman said the study could be used by both public and private sector organisations to ensure green marketing messages are better tailored for the target audience. "The research will be used by Defra and other government departments to inform how they structure green messages for different audiences, " she said.

The 109-page report, entitled A Framework for Pro-Environmental Behaviours, is based on a recent Defra survey which saw 3,600 consumers questioned on their attitude towards 12 environmentally friendly activities, ranging from easily achievable actions such as recycling more to more disruptive lifestyle changes including avoiding short haul flights.

The report divides consumers into seven segments: positive greens, who are strongly committed to sustainable behaviours; waste watchers and concerned consumers, who have made some commitments to limiting their environmental impact; sideline supporters and cautious participants, who are concerned about climate change but have made done relatively little to limit their impact; stalled starters, who are characterised by somewhat confused environmental views and a tendency to prioritise other issues; and the honestly disengaged, who are openly sceptical or indifferent towards green issues.

The spokeswoman for Defra said the profiles would be used to inform government advertising and marketing decisions. "The Act on CO2 campaign has been quite wide reaching, but with this information we might be able to ensure messages are more targeted," she said.

The government said the information would also allow departments to target the most receptive audience with appropriate green messages, one hypothetical example being that positive greens, who are most likely to recycle and most likely to be interested in microgeneration, could be targeted with information on relevant technologies at recycling collection points.

Stephen Hale, director of environmental think tank The Green Alliance, said the research could prove useful to businesses looking to promote green initiatives. "What is clear is that you can not approach [green marketing] in a uniform way and say, "here's something I intend to sell to everyone"," he explained. "The more we all understand the different consumer constituents making up the market the more chance there is of successfully promoting behavioural change – the universal exhortation approach is obviously inadequate to the task in hand."