This is a poll, not a final result, obviously, but if it had proved inaccurate, some mention and correction would have taken place. 

Some things that were not mentioned was inflation hasn’t increased THAT much in the past year.

Another thing not mentioned was that the Canadian dollar has seen a huge increase in value in the past year, going past the US dollar for a while recently, even, and is close to parity that there is a lot of cross-border shopping of late. It buys more now, in other words, and for that, we Canadians are spending more.

Perhaps the saddest part in all of this statistic was that only half our holiday spendings go towards others, 50.6%.

That’s consumerism, my friends, not giving. Maybe we’re still thinking like a kid that Santa Claus will be doing the giving or something.

And what’s with the 6% not planning to give gifts? I appreciate it is difficult for some to give but you know, I still believe in it’s the thought that counts and I’ve had challenges to giving before, but I’ve always overcome them, and I’ve always felt better for it.

Minh Tan
Envirostats author

The poll, which surveyed 2,600 participants from Nov. 27 to Nov. 30, found that 94 per cent of Canadians planned on giving gifts, budgeting an average of $733.

The survey also found 97 per cent of shoppers planned to rely on bricks and mortar stores. The number of shoppers who planned to do some shopping online has increased to 43 per cent, up five per cent from last year.

About 29 per cent of Canadians planned to buy cash-loaded gift cards, representing a jump of 10 per cent over the past two years, according to the poll.

- Retail Council of Canada via the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation (CBC), Dec 14 2007

A very very interesting survey, with all kinds of other information below, but notice how there was no clear ‘problem’ to solve. Lots of policy implications there. But on the other side of things, it’s particularly nice for me, out of self-interest, to see the cleaning with non-environmentally friendly products being so notable. [Envirostats author]

The report also found that 57% of people felt the need to drive to the shops for heaving shopping, with 39% “unable to rely” on public transport.

Around 60% of Brits claim they are “going green”, the survey found, but many cite cost as a barrier. More than one third (39%) said they were not prepared to pay any extra for green products or services, and 41% said they believed green goods could be made more widely available.

A further 16% said they did not believe green products or services matched the quality and performance of their existing non-green brands.

Driving Forces

The survey also found that Britons want to be greener, but 79% felt the government should do more in terms of making green fuels readily available to all - 78% said there should be tax breaks for greener cars and that environmentally friendly fuels should be taxed at a lower rate.

The majority of respondents (60%) said they were choosing to be greener out of concern for future generations, but 10% said they were motivated by social image and the desire to look good in front of peers. Only 6% said they were going green as a result of government initiatives.

The report also revealed a level of confusion over pollutants and carbon footprints. According to the survey, most people believe industrial energy is the greatest pollutant (53%), followed by flights (16%) and cars (16%).

However, recent research shows that UK domestic air travel accounts for approximately 5.6% of CO2 emissions from the UK and is in fact thought to be more damaging. It is also thought to be the fastest growing of all contributions to global warming.

The report also revealed a lack of knowledge about carbon footprints. Some 15% of respondents wrongly believed that buying fair trade products would make a positive difference, while 5% cited “staying at home” as a way of reducing a person’s carbon footprint.

More than one third (36%) of respondents said they did not know anything about biofuel technology or the technology of hybrid cars (37%), while 85% said they understood the technology and benefits of loft insulation and 64% said the same about solar panels.

Demographics 

In British households, 65% of women that that they were the “eco-warrior” in the household - making the purchasing decisions and encouraging partners and family members to opt for environmentally friendly goods and services - compared with only 48% of men.

The survey found that people aged between 35 and 44 (62%) are leading the “green” charge, but the younger generation are influencing and driving their parents’ purchasing habits. Children in Northern Ireland have the most sway (15%), compared with Wales, where children do not appear to have the same influence.

Looking ahead, 81% of respondents said they had already decided on a green resolution for 2008 - 48% vowed to recycle more, 41% would monitor energy usage, while 36% would switch to low-energy light bulbs.

The figures were collected from a YouGov poll of 2,026 adults between October 26-30 2007. It was carried out on behalf of Saab.

- The Guardian, Nov 30 2007

E-waste contains hazardous materials such as mercury, cadmium, lead and brominated flame retardants. 

41% of Americans either throw e-waste in the trash or don’t dispose of them at all. This 41% is of the whole, not a share of the 77%.

The percentage of American disposing of e-waste were provided in a national survey by Staples, of which not much is known like sample size. However, let’s hope they had enough common sense to do a typical survey of about 1,000 with 3% error 19 times out of 20 to achieve validity generally required in the media.

Don’t forget, the 133,000 computers are those discarded and not recycled or reused. The number amounting to a daily e-waste total from computers alone would be larger than that by some significant amount, although it is not certain how much larger. [Envirostats author]

Staples makes it easy to recycle a range of used technology items every day in its 1,400 stores nationwide. In May 2007, Staples became the first national retailer to launch an in-store, everyday computer and office technology recycling program. Staples accepts all brands of items, regardless of whether they were purchased at Staples, and recycles them for a $10 fee.

- US annual e-waste statistic by US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)

- Computers discarded daily statistic provided by the National Recycling Coalition, quote by their Executive Director Kate Krebs

- Survey results by Staples

- Green Progress, Nov 12 2007

The article said 13 billion plastic bags were handed out in Britain annually that was in dispute with Stat 0435 which stated 17 billion, by the same media source but surely not the original sources (not mentioned). Sure, that is a big difference, percentage or absolute, but the plastic bag problem is far more significant than the discrepancy. Other statistics linking to Stat 0435 will outline some programs that work regarding plastic bags and fees, or alternatives like just bringing a real bag. [Envirostats author]

Opposition to free plastic bags has been growing. In May, traders in the Devon town of Modbury introduced a voluntary ban, since when Hebden Bridge in West Yorkshire and more than 70 other villages and towns have called for, or are considering, a similar move.

This week all 33 councils in London voted to table private legislation to the Commons instituting a ban across the capital on the free distribution of any disposable carrier, whether plastic, paper or biodegradable.

Environmentalists are concerned that light throwaway bags are a waste of precious oil, clog up landfill and harm animals. The plastics industry says that because so many bags are reused they are environmentally friendly. Cloth and paper bags are more damaging, its representatives argue.

Both online polls were conducted before the London decision. BMRB’s poll found that most people would be willing to pay for a sturdy plastic bag that would last up to 10 shopping trips. Most – 61 per cent – would be prepared to pay up to 10p, while 11 per cent would be willing to fork out 20p per bag. Most people would be willing to pay 50p for a reusable woven bag capable of lasting a year.

Shoppers said they currently reused carrier bags for a range of tasks, with the most popular being to line bins, carry shopping on further trips, and to pick up dog and cat mess. Young people aged 16-24 were most likely to reuse bags.

AC Nielsen’s survey asked one question: whether shoppers would change to a different store if their current supermarket stopped giving bags away. Only 16 per cent said that they would go elsewhere. AC Nielsen’s consumer insight manager, Maria Christoferson, concluded: “It suggests that retailers should have greater confidence in the success of such an initiative.”

The pressure group We Are What We Do said it hoped that carrying a carrier bag would become unfashionable. It is urging shops and shoppers to make this the first “plastic bag-free Christmas”. Eugenie Harvey, a co-founder of We Are What We Do, said: “Wouldn’t it be great if carrying a plastic bag was as unfashionable as wearing fur this Christmas?”

BMRB’s survey found a high level of opposition to people against food packaging in general, a problem highlighted by The Independent’s Campaign Against Waste.

Older people who grew up with few plastic wrappers around food were most annoyed about the level of packaging in supermarkets.

- Small poll by the British Market Research Bureau (BMRB), large poll by AC Nielsen, via The Independent, Nov 17 2007

Take this limited Sustainable Endowments Institute’s ranking for what they’re worth, but it’s the only thing like it out there, so it claims.

Interesting to see the Universities of Washington and Vermont at the top of this list, and I’ll intuitively bet their presence is not completely independent of their states being at the top of the greenest states list shown in Stat 0505. The fact these schools got only an A- was a bit discouraging, as well as the many Fs and Ds. Too bad the brilliant staff and students at Juilliard wasn’t so brilliant at being green. You’d have thought with minds like that they could and would get with the green movement, but then again, I suppose they’re exceptional for being different, not being the same.

There was no overall grade given for all the schools involved, and probably just as well because it would have been a tad misleading to weigh things one way or another, pun intended!

This would be a nice study to do in Canada for comparison using the same model already established and for comparison of similar indicators. [Envirostats author]

Cambridge, Mass. (October 24, 2007) – College campuses across the United States and Canada are stepping up green practices and policies, with more than two out of three schools showing improved performance over the last year, according to the new College Sustainability Report Card 2008.

While schools are earning higher marks for green initiatives in campus operations, a majority of the wealthiest institutions continue to lag in applying sustainability practices to their endowment investments. The categories with the lowest overall grades were Shareholder Engagement with 66 percent “Fs” and Endowment Transparency with 58 percent “Fs.” In contrast, failing grades averaged only 10 percent across the five campus categories of Administration, Climate Change & Energy, Food & Recycling, Green Building, and Transportation.

The Report Card is the only independent sustainability evaluation of campus operations and endowment investments. Published by the Sustainable Endowments Institute, it assesses the 200 public and private universities with the largest endowments, ranging from $230 million to nearly $35 billion.

The results clearly show a “green groundswell” on campuses, with nearly 45 percent of colleges committing to fight climate change through cutting carbon emissions. High-performance green building standards guide new construction at 59 percent of schools, while 42 percent are using hybrid or electric vehicles in transportation fleets. Notably, 37 percent of schools purchase renewable energy and 30 percent produce their own wind or solar energy. A substantial 70 percent buy food from local farms and 64 percent serve fair trade coffee.

“Colleges are rising to the sustainability challenge, but there remains much room for innovation,” said Mark Orlowski, Executive Director of the Sustainable Endowments Institute. “Many schools are missing opportunities to ‘connect the dots,’ and bring leadership on the endowment side into alignment with existing campus sustainability efforts.”

Only Harvard, Dartmouth, University of Washington, Middlebury, Carleton, and University of Vermont performed well enough in all categories to merit the highest overall grade of “A-,” earning them the distinction of College Sustainability Leaders.

The Juilliard School, Howard University, Regent University, and Samford University yielded overall “F” grades, followed by 21 schools carrying a grade of “D-.”

The cumulative grade distribution for the 200 schools was “A,” 3 percent; “B,” 28 percent; “C,” 42 percent; “D,” 25 percent; and “F,” 2 percent. Grades were determined by reviewing publicly available information, conducting surveys of appropriate school officials, and then assessing performance across 39 indicators in eight main categories.

Other key findings of the latest Report Card include:

• Carleton College, Northeastern University, University of Notre Dame, University of Southern California and University of Virginia demonstrated the greatest improvements – as much as one and a half grades.

• Twenty-five schools achieved Campus Sustainability Leader status by scoring high marks in all five campus categories (at least an “A-” average).

• Only Carleton, Dartmouth and Williams were recognized as Endowment Sustainability Leaders, with an “A-” or better across the three endowment categories.

• Schools performed best in the Food & Recycling category, with 29 percent earning “As.”

• More than one-third of schools have full-time sustainability staff, and more than two-thirds have a Web site dedicated to campus sustainability.

The College Sustainability Report Card 2008 is the second such report from The Sustainable Endowments Institute, and is published as part of the Institute’s broader effort to encourage discussion on sustainability in higher education. The Institute, a special project of Rockefeller Philanthropy Advisors, receives funding from the Rockefeller Brothers Fund, V. Kann Rasmussen Foundation and the Nathan Cummings Foundation, among others.

- US College Sustainability Report Card 2008 by the Sustainable Endowments Institute, Oct 2007 (3.1 MB)

- The Sustainable Endowments Institute, Oct 24 2007
Report Card 2008 Executive Summary (412K, offsite)
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