Are Consumer Green Leanings Toward Apple Eco-Logical?
Apple Perceived as the Most Environmentally Friendly Consumer Tech Company
Despite Less Than Favorable Environmental Record
October 9, 2008 (Dallas, Texas) – According to new research from TDG, when asked which consumer technology brand they considered to be the most environmentally friendly, Apple topped the list. Almost one-third of adult Internet users selected Apple, compared with Dell at 21% and HP at 15%.
“Keep in mind that consumers were asked to select the one brand they considered most environmentally friendly,” notes Michael Greeson, president of TDG and author of the new report. “In other words, this does not mean that only one-third of consumers believe Apple is an environmentally friendly brand, but that one-third of consumers believe Apple to be the most environmentally friendly brand.”
Consumer perception, however, often belies reality. According to Greenpeace’s September 2008 environmental evaluation of consumer technology companies, Apple scores a 4.1 on a 10-point scale, behind Sony, Toshiba, Dell, Acer, HP, and Panasonic.1
So why does consumer perception of Apple’s ‘greenness’ varies so significantly from performance-based rankings?
“Chalk it up to effective marketing and the brand’s aura of simplicity in both design and usage,” notes Greeson. “In today’s market, aesthetics in branding and design matter when it comes to portraying a pro-environment message. Independent of whether Apple’s products and services are actually environmentally friendly, consumers perceive them as such. While other CE vendors may have to invest a fortune to improve their green image, Apple doesn’t seem to have this problem.”
It’s Not Easy Being Green, Part 3: Consumer Perceptions of Leading Technology Brands is the third in a three-report series on ‘green’ behavior and dispositions among adult Internet users. The report is available for $995, while the three-report series can be purchased for $1,995. TDG has also published a free dBrief, The Lean on the Green Scene, which features key findings from the three reports. To obtain a free copy of this new Market dBrief,™ visit TDG’s research library.
For more information about TDG’s 3-part report series on ‘green’ consumer behavior, or to order a copy of the reports, please visit TDG’s website or by contacting the firm at 469.287.8050.
1 Guide to Green Electronics. Published quarterly by Greenpeace. (Version 9, September 2008). Greenpeace conducts a thorough quarterly analysis of how various companies perform across a wide variety of environmental and energy-related aspects. The Guide ranks 18 different consumer technology companies as to their performance.
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