2Sustain

If gas prices continue to climb, will you consider making significant changes to your driving habits? Will you consider buying a different car, or maybe even abandoning auto ownership all together?

Interesting new research from Oliver Wyman and the ESB Business School Reutlingen in Germany reveals that for many urban dwellers in Western Europe and Asia, the answer to all of those questions is a resounding “yes.”

The “Future of Mobility” found that, if fuel prices rose significantly by 2030, more than three-fourths (77 percent) of the 3,000 people polled would change their mobility behavior by:

• switching to a smaller car,
• switching to an electric car, or
• abandoning car ownership entirely and replacing it with a mixture of transport modes.

Survey respondents in Shanghai (91percent) and France (82percent) were particularly open to changing their mobility patterns. High-income respondents (71percent) were the least likely demographic segment to consider a switch.

The survey also asked respondents to predict how their behavior would change under a more aggressive “sustainability mobility” scenario. For this particular scenario, those polled were asked to imagine a 2030 with fuel costs at 4 euro/liter (the equivalent of about $20/gallon), more traffic congestion, better quality public transport and the possibility of planning multimodal trips using smartphone apps. Under this “sustainability mobility” scenario: (more…)

Communications conglomerate AT&T, in collaboration with global sustainability consultancy Business for Social Responsibility (BSR), is continuing its march on environmentally-conscious business practices with the release of a new eco-rating system for its products.

In just a few months, consumers will find AT&T eco-ratings on simple, easy-to-read-and-understand labels included with AT&T-branded mobile devices.

As a recent Deloitte study showed, sustainability is becoming increasingly important for consumer purchasing decisions. In fact, more than half (54 percent) of surveyed shoppers said they consider sustainability to be one of their top decision-making factors.

To provide consumers with information so they can make more educated and environmental decisions, AT&T’s new eco-rating system will cover attributes such as: (more…)

The University of Victoria has released a new report ranking the eco-labels used to distinguish seafood produced with less damage to the environment. This is the first study of its kind evaluating how eco-labels for farmed marine fish compare to unlabeled options in the marketplace.

How Green is Your Eco-label? will help seafood buyers sort through competing sustainability claims and better identify which labels result in farming methods that are less damaging to the ocean.

Here are a few key findings of the report: (more…)

The EPA estimates that Americans generate almost 2.5 million tons of used electronics each year. But, are we throwing away equipment that’s in perfect working order?

New research from the UK suggests that in many cases, we are.

A recent study conducted by the Waste & Resources Action Programme (WRAP) revealed that nearly one-quarter of the electrical and electronic equipment routinely thrown away by consumers could be reused. What’s more, the researchers found that there is the potential to generate significant resale value from the repair, refurbishment and open market resale of waste electrical and electronic equipment (WEEE).

WRAP estimates that each year consumers in the UK take 348,000 tonnes of WEEE to recycling sites, while another 149,000 tonnes gather in bulky waste collections. WRAP’s research found that: (more…)

It’s a familiar debate in the month of December. Eco-minded consumers want to know which is more sustainable: a fresh cut Christmas tree or an artificial one?

This year, an ISO-compliant third-party peer reviewed Life Cycle Analysis (LCA) gives us some insight and helps clear up common misperceptions about the environmental impacts of Christmas trees.

The study, conducted by the international research firm PE International, found that ultimately, consumers need to consider a number of different factors before deciding which type of tree is more environmentally friendly. For instance, the findings show that length of ownership, disposal method and “tree miles” can make a difference regarding which tree is more “green.”

The ISO-compliant third-party peer reviewed LCA was sponsored by the American Christmas Tree Association (ACTA), a non-profit organization representing artificial Christmas tree retailers and real Christmas tree retailers.  Based on the results of the study, the ACTA recommends that consumers demonstrate responsible consumerism by following these steps: (more…)