When rebates and tax incentives are being kicked back to you, there is no reason not to buy green. But now that those incentives are being reduced, it looks as though consumers might need some other kind of push to make environmentally friendly purchases.

New tax laws are slashing incentives from 30 percent down to 10 percent of costs for certain improvements. Energy efficient purchases that once totaled $1,500 in rebates are now capped at $500.

A national poll conducted by the Shelton Group shows that 25 percent of respondents would not have acted without an incentive. This proves that customers are not buying energy efficient products solely to benefit the environment. In today’s economy, something more has to be done to foster environmentally conscious purchases.

The study also states that about 30 percent of respondents who have undergone improvements have not seen bill reductions like they had expected. A large portion of this can be attributed to not making enough energy efficient improvements – it takes about five to make a difference in an individual’s overall bill.

In the future, marketers are going to have to be even more inventive in marketing energy efficiency. The question ‘Why buy green?’ is what consumers are asking when it comes to these purchases. We have to give hard and fast answers beyond the incentives to sway decisions.

I’m the first to admit that I am not “green.”  With the recent Earth Day celebrations all around me, I have experienced many sheepish feelings this past week.  I like to drink soda that’s individually packaged in cans or plastic bottles, I like my plastic bags from the grocery store (I use them for other things around my house), and in general, I like being a consumer.  What’s so bad about the way I live? The answers are obvious, I know.

This week, our agency held a kick-off event for sustainability and is making a concerted effort to be more conscious about the waste we create. The L&S Green Committee is taking action around the building. Quoted from our internal blog site, “We encourage everyone to brainstorm about green ideas for L&S because we are not just going green for Earth Day. It takes time to adjust life-long habits, but sustaining our environment is worth the effort.”

Green water bottles, reusable shopping bags, notes and tips are posted in the bathroom and on the paper copiers – it’s everywhere.  So I’ve been thinking – this won’t be as hard as I thought.  I can make some small changes that can have a great impact. 

Here’s my green commitment:

• No more water from individual plastic water bottles while at work or home;
• For a majority of my groceries, I will use a reusable cloth bag;
• I will recycle white office paper;
• And the most difficult one for me – I will not print documents only to make reading easier.

The last one is hard, I am a researcher after all. I have a tendency to print, read, and then toss, instead of just reading from my screen. 

So this is my commitment. What are your ideas and suggestions to make this a better world, or even just a better community?  Join me in my personal green evolution.

Gaily going green,

Billie Jo