Consumer Behaviour towards CO2 Emissions from Aircrafts - Research Proposal Example

CONSUMER BEHAVIOUR TOWARDS CO2 EMISSIONS FROM AIRCRAFTS Brief Background: The threat of climate change owing to the rapidly increasing greenhouse gas emissions and the ensuing danger is imminent and a cause of grave concern for us all. We may be able to avert this threat to our environment by adapting to the changing needs of the times through economic, social and technological adaptation. Several studies and researches have been carried out in the field of investigating into the economic, technological and other probable strategies that could be implemented to address the issue of climate change; which proposed and stressed on the gravity of the need to control or reduce the greenhouse gas emissions, and other poisonous gases such as carbon dioxide. But, studies stressing on the need to bring about social transformation as a likely and effective tool to combat the ongoing global environmental crisis, are rare. There is a global consensus on the measures that need to be implemented in order to achieve a substantial reduction in carbon emissions. Some of these measures point to increasing the use of environmentally friendly products which have lower carbon foot prints. If such a reduction is to be achieved, it would call for a major change in our lifestyles. This paper on Consumer behavior towards CO2 emissions from aircrafts seeks to stress on this very aspect and investigate and analyze the level and extent of awareness of UK consumers in relation to eco friendly modes of transport. Introduction: Transportation plays a fundamental role in accelerating a country's economic development; however, the transportation sector must adhere to the ethical aspects of their businesses by adopting and implementing policies that avert global environmental threats. The aviation industry alone, accounts for a 3% of carbon emissions. Considering the spurt in public spending on transport, particularly aviation, this percentage could rise significantly posing a major threat to the global environment. A fundamental goal of the firms operating in this industry, thus, must be to strive to reduce carbon emissions and seek greener and sustainable options. Currently, there has been a major transformation in consumer attitudes in the UK towards sustainable products and services and are increasingly demanding greener and eco friendly products. The market for eco friendly products has not only emerged but has come to dominate the industry over time. Surveys and researches conducted in this behalf further substantiate this fact. Figure 1: Consumer Attitudes towards Eco Friendly Products Figure 2: Consumer Attitudes towards Eco Friendly Products (Source: PriceGrabber.com) The spurt in globalization has increased the importance of mobility but at the same time, initiatives by green organizations, the media, governmental efforts and other similar bodies, have also simultaneously managed to increase awareness about the harmful impact of air travel in terms of green house gas emissions. Several innovative and revolutionary measures have been implemented in the past to deliver an efficient and environmentally friendly transport system, which can support the rapidly growing economy as well as contribute immensely towards the environmental cause. Airline companies across the globe are coming with innovative measures to ensure that their carbon emissions are restricted to the bare minimum. This includes carbon offsetting, use of bio fuels, ensuring long haul flights with optimum passenger capacity among others. Facts and Figures: There have been several surveys and researches conducted in order to ascertain the awareness of consumers relating to sustainable air travel. Some key facts observed from such surveys are discussed below: A survey was carried out by the Travel Foundation1, to measure the importance attached to sustainability by UK consumers of international travel. The main aim of this research was to assess the awareness and understanding of sustainable tourism, quantify the relative importance of sustainability within the holiday decision making process and to segment the consumer base into like minded groups to provide a detailed understanding of the consumer priorities. Findings of the survey: Tourism is estimated to be the fastest growing industries in the world with an approximate 1.6 billion travelers by 2020. Recent reports aimed at investigating consumer attitudes towards air travel, suggest that consumers expressed their concern over the harmful effects of air travel on the environment. They were further found to be keen to be informed about the various options available to them that would help in reducing the carbon footprint and sought this information from their travel agents and tour operators. They showed high enthusiasm in contributing towards the environmental cause by responsibly choosing greener modes of transport. Certain consumers also expressed willingness to pay more as a gesture of doing their bit in protecting the environment through such ethical contributions. 2 in 3 consumers surveyed admitted of being extremely concerned about the environmental impact of air travel and 2 in 5 consumers have actually aware of the concept of sustainable tourism On being asked about the advantages or the need for promoting sustainable aviation, the responses were largely scattered: Figure 3: Consumer Awareness about Sustainable Aviation (Source: The Travel Foundation) Almost 87% of the respondents denied having heard about the sustainable aviation concept in the media. Of the 13% who did have prior knowledge about the same, claimed to have heard it from the various sources in the media which mentioned global warming or environmentally friendly tourism or other similar news related to eco friendly products and services. The statistics regarding the same are mentioned in the following diagram: Figure 4: Awareness from various sources The following pie chart shows the percentage of consumers who are aware of carbon dioxide emissions caused by aircraft and the percentage of probable emissions they believe are caused by aircrafts. Another similar survey carried out by the Department of Transport2 on consumer attitudes towards flying revealed that despite the hype generated around environmentally friendly products and services and the impact of aviation industry on carbon emissions, a majority of the consumers were reluctant to opt for green products citing cost issues. They categorically named cost as the major deciding factor while choosing flights and admitted that the awareness of environmental damage caused hardly deterred them. Of the total 1000 respondents interviewed only 1% of them showed genuine concern regarding the impact of air travel on the global environment and showed willingness to reduce air travel. However, irrespective of their reluctance to choose greener modes of transport over costs, almost 66% of the respondents agreed that air travel does have a severe impact on the environment. Minor fluctuations in consumer response to eco friendly travel options have been observed in successive surveys carried out in the past couple of years. In 2006, the 40% of the people surveyed by the Department of Transport admitted that they wouldn't mind paying more for flights that had low carbon emissions of which 29% showed willingness to pay up to 20% more price for greener options. According to the recent reports by the Marketing Magazine3, the green products have been severely hit by the ongoing economic recession. There has been a remarkable shift in the consumer behavior from premium goods to economy products. This is likely to affect the aviation industry as well, since consumers would preferably opt for lower priced and cost effective products, owing to financial limitations. A recent Guardian / ICM poll revealed that 52% of those interviewed considered that environmental protection deserves to be the top priority of the government while 44 % believed that economy should be on top of government agenda. A mere 19% of those interviewed said that they are willing to pay more for a relatively expensive product or service, if it would help in protecting the environment while 58% of the respondents said that they would rather opt for cheaper products even though they knew that such products were harmful for the environment. The studies further revealed that 70% of the consumers valued practical assistance and advise regarding the manner in which they can contribute towards the environmental cause. Hence environmental marketing must target such willing and environmentally aware set of consumers rather than indulging in mere advertising of their “general green messages”. This study reveals that although a substantial number of consumers may be aware of the impact of air travel on the environment, they are more likely to choose products based on cost considerations, particularly so in case of extreme financial crisis such as the one caused by the ongoing global economic meltdown. Thus, although environmentalists might have been considerably successful in promoting and upgrading the profile of CO2 emissions particularly those associated with the aviation industry, awareness alone does not and cannot influence the customer’s decision making process, the availability of the product as well as the capacity to buy such products play a major role in influencing their purchase decision. References: The Travel Foundation Consumer Research, (2007). Viewed: March 30, 2009 from: < http://www.thetravelfoundation.org.uk/assets/uploaded%20documents/consumer%20research.pdf> BusinessGreen.com, (2008). Aviation Industry Defies Environmental Pressure, viewed: March 30, 2009 from: Marketing Magazine (2008). Thrift usurps green at top of the new consumer agenda, viewed: March 30, 2009, from: Read More