UK resistant to increased cost of going green

While the idea of buying more environmentally-friendly technology may appeal in theory, the reality for UK users is much different, with them lagging behind their Western European counterparts in terms of the willingness to pay more to go green, research published this week has revealed.

Some 2,000 mobile and PC phone users across France, Germany, Italy, Spain and the UK were surveyed by analyst Canalys in a bid to delve deeper into consumer attitudes to technology, with the environmental concerns attached to IT being a key talking point.

Canalys' findings relating to the costs of going green and associated user behaviour echo comments made last month by executive at the Reuters Global Technology, Telecoms and Media Summit in Paris.

"More than two-thirds of respondents in Spain indicated they would be willing to pay a premium for greener electronic products, compared to 55 per cent in Italy, Germany and France. The UK came out badly in comparison to the other countries," said Pete Cunningham, a senior analyst at Canalys.

"It was bottom of the five by some way with only 40 per cent suggesting they were prepared to pay more. It also had the highest proportion, at 22 per cent, who disagreed strongly with the idea."

The results follow a pattern already being adopted by users in their kitchen appliance purchasing habits, with many buying more energy efficient products. For example, two third of Italian respondents, 61 per cent of French users and more than half of survey participants from Germany and Spain are already being more green in the kitchen. The figure was much lower for the UK, with just 41 per cent remembering the environment when out shopping for new kettles and so on.

For less thought-intensive environmentally-friendly activity, such as switching TVs or lights off at night, the UK was more in line with its European peers.

Across all geographies, users' willingness to pay more for green technology decreased as the age of the respondent increased, from 67 per cent of 15-17 year happy to pay a bit more, down to less than half (49 per cent) of people aged 50 or over, according to the research.

"Technology vendors exploring green initiatives in relation to the products they are building and marketing must be aware of these differences in attitude," added Cunningham.

"Current survey results suggest that they will see greater acceptance of those initiatives among younger buyers and that the response will vary by country. Overall there is good awareness of the need to conserve energy, and willingness on the part of consumers to do their bit. At the point of purchase they will often be influenced by other factors, but vendors that can boast genuine green credentials should expect to see a positive response from many customers."

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