green report card

Green Report CardConsumer Perceptions of Corporations’

Efforts to Go Green

September 2008

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The Green Report Card Study

• A Baseline Study of Perceptions of Corporate Greenness– Goals:

• Gather “environmental friendliness” ratings for a range of companies.

• Track perceptions against these initial baseline ratings over time.

– Companies Measured:

• 71 business-to-consumer-based companies, across a variety of industries:

– Airlines

– Automotive

– Beverages

– Computer/Software/Web

– Consumer Electronics & Appliances

– Delivery Services

– Financial

– Media & Entertainment

– Oil

– Pharmaceuticals

– Retailers

– Telecom

– TV Service Providers


Study Approach

• Online Survey of U.S. Consumers – 617 Total Interviews:

• Interviews conducted from July 30-August 5, 2008.

• Interviews balanced to reflect nationwide gender-by-age distribution

• 7-minute average interview length

• Data cleaned of poor quality (e.g., obviously inattentive) online respondents

– Key Measure:

• 0-10 rating for each company. Full question wording:

• Important Note: No answers/not sure responses were deliberately not accepted—respondents needed to provide a rating for each company.

– Those not sure of a company’s environmental record likely answered “5” on the 0-10 scale. Thus, companies with mean ratings around 5 either have an “average” image or no clear image.

We’re interested in your general impression of how environmentally friendly each company is, when it comes to its products, services, corporate policies, and business practices. Rate each company on a scale of 0 to 10, where 0 means your impression is that the company is not at all environmentally friendly, and 10 means your impression is that the company is very environmentally friendly. Base your responses on anything you may know or have heard about each company—even just a gut feeling.


Interpreting the Ratings

• The Greenness “Meter”– Throughout this report, companies are placed on a greenness “meter” based on

the ratings offered by survey respondents.

● This graphical device was designed primarily for ease of presentation and comparison of ratings.

● For example, note that the distance between scale points 4, 5, and 6 is greater than the distance between other points. Since the majority of the companies rated fall in the 4-6 range, the additional space allows for clearer, less cluttered placement of companies on the scale.

● For more precise results and comparisons, please refer to the table of actual mean ratings included on each chart.


The Top-Rated Companies

• Image Perceptions: The 2008 Green Report Card study measures the environmental image of a variety of U.S. companies, based on consumer perceptions.

– It’s important to note that these perceptions may be based on anything relevant to the consumer—including direct knowledge of the company’s green initiatives, broader brand perceptions about the company generally, or in some cases, a lack of information about the company’s efforts.

• Top-Rated Companies: The companies with the highest green ratings as of September 2008:

●National Geographic●Discovery Channel●PBS●Whole Foods●The History Channel●Google●Johnson & Johnson

●Staples●Walt Disney●Microsoft●Apple●Yahoo!●Honda●Toyota


Implications

• Three Green Groupings: The ratings results suggest that at present, consumers tend to group U.S. companies into three broad green categories: A handful of companies that are clearly perceived as green, including companies with:

• A specific environmental or “organic” legacy (National Geographic, Whole Foods)

• A scientific or historical focus (Discovery Channel, The History Channel)

• A family-friendly image (Disney, PBS, Johnson & Johnson)

• A youthful, hip, or high-tech image (Google, Yahoo!, Apple, Microsoft, Staples)

• A line of green/hybrid products, aggressively marketed (Toyota, Honda)

A handful of industries that are clearly perceived as not green, especially industries associated with the distribution or large-scale use of fossil fuels (oil companies, airlines). Note that even non-legacy companies in these industries are generally seen as un-green “by association” (JetBlue).

The great amorphous in-between, including companies that either have no green strategy to speak of, have not promoted their green strategy, or have not promoted their strategy effectively enough to make a dent in consumer consciousness.


Implications

• Amorphousness is a Double-Edged Sword: The fact that so many U.S. companies have an average or indistinct environmental image means that:

Most have much work to do if they wish to be perceived as strongly environmentally focused, especially if they wish their green image to be both distinct and compelling.

The green brand image field seems wide open at this point, with much opportunity for companies to set themselves apart from a generally indistinguishable competitive set.

8

Industry Group Averages

TV Service Providers - 5.4

Consumer Electronics/Appliances - 6.0

Telecom - 5.6Media & Entertainment - 6.0

Financial - 5.6Delivery Services - 6.1

Beverages - 5.8

Retailers - 5.9

Automotive - 6.0

Computer/Software/Web - 6.3

Overall Mean

Oil - 4.2

Airlines - 4.5

Pharmaceuticals - 5.6• Computing/Web is seen as the greenest industry of all. – Companies in this group received the highest average ratings from

consumers.

– Delivery services, media & entertainment, consumer electronics, and automotive cluster in a second tier; each is above the average rating (5.7) for all companies tested.

– By far the lowest-rated industries on environmental friendliness: airlines and oil.

9

Computing, Software, Web

IndustryMean

Google

Microsoft

Yahoo

Apple

HPDell

IBM

Overall Mean

IBM - 5.9

Hewlett-Packard - 6.1

Dell - 6.2

Google - 6.6

Yahoo - 6.4

Apple - 6.4

Microsoft - 6.4

• Google is considered the greenest of the Computing/Web companies.

– Tier two is made up of Microsoft, Apple, and Yahoo, all with identical ratings.

– The oldest computing company in the group (IBM) trails the field—but still receives a higher rating than the average company included in the survey.

10

Delivery Services

Overall Mean

FedEx - 6.0

UPS - 6.2

UPS

FedEx

IndustryMean

• UPS has a slight edge over FedEx in the Delivery category.

– Both companies receive similar, above-average grades, although UPS has a two-tenths of a point rating advantage.

11

Media & Entertainment

FOX - 5.7

TIME - 5.7

Sports Illustrated - 5.3The History Channel - 6.6

NY Times - 5.3PBS - 7.0

USA Today - 5.6Discovery Channel - 7.4

CNN - 5.9

A&E TV Network - 6.0

Disney - 6.4

National Geographic - 7.6

Overall Mean

Movie industry - 5.0

Music industry - 5.1

ESPN - 5.6

National Geographic

Discovery Channel

PBSThe History Channel

Disney

A&ECNN

Time

FOXESPN

USA Today

NY TimesMusic industry

Movie industry Sports Illustrated

Industry Mean

• Perceptions vary widely in the Media & Entertainment industries.

– Leading the group are nonprofits with a strong environmental or philanthropic legacy (National Geographic, PBS), a network with a focus on science (Discovery Channel), and a company with a strong family image (Disney). The History Channel also enjoys high ratings.

– The music and movie industries are considered the least green in this category, with significantly below-average ratings.

12

Consumer Electronics & Appliances

Overall Mean

Samsung - 5.8

LG - 6.0

Sony - 6.1

GE - 6.2

Sony

GELG

Samsung

Industry Mean

• All Consumer Electronics/Appliances companies receive above-average ratings.

– General Electric narrowly edges out Sony and LG as the most environmentally friendly company tested in the category.

– Samsung receives the lowest ratings of the four, but is still seen as slightly more green than the average company.

13

Automotive

Overall Mean

GM - 5.5

Honda - 6.4

Toyota - 6.4

Ford - 5.5

Toyota

Honda

Ford

GMIndustry

Mean

• Stark differences exist among Auto manufacturers based on U.S. versus non-U.S. status.

– The two non-U.S. companies tested (Toyota and Honda) both receive strong ratings on their green efforts.

– The two U.S. manufacturers (GM and Ford) both receive below-average ratings.

14

Retailers

Wal-Mart - 5.7

eBay - 5.8

Best Buy - 5.6The Home Depot - 6.1

Sears - 5.6Staples - 6.5

Starbucks - 5.6Whole Foods - 6.7

Target - 6.0

Amazon.com - 6.1

Overall Mean

Blockbuster - 5.4

Whole Foods

The Home DepotStaplesAmazon

Target

Starbucks

Best Buy

Blockbuster

Sears

eBay

Wal-Mart

Industry Mean

• Whole Foods’ environmental/organic focus helps contribute to a strong green brand image; Staples is not far behind.

– Forming a second grouping are three other retailers—The Home Depot, Amazon.com, and Target.

– Starbucks’, Sears’, and Best Buy’s ratings are all perceived as marginally less green than average, with Blockbuster falling further behind.

15

Beverages

Overall Mean

Anheuser Busch - 5.7

Pepsi - 5.9

Coca-Cola - 5.9

Coca-Cola

Pepsi

Anheuser Busch

IndustryMean

• Little variation exists among the three Beverage companies measured.

– However, the two soft drink/water companies (Coca-Cola, Pepsi) fare somewhat better than the beer company (Anheuser Busch).

16

Pharmaceuticals

Overall Mean

Sanofi-Aventis - 4.9

Johnson & Johnson - 6.6

GlaxoSmithKline - 5.3

Bristol-Myers Squibb - 5.5

Pfizer - 5.7

Johnson & Johnson

Bristol-Myers Squibb

Pfizer

GlaxoSmithKline

Sanofi-Aventis

IndustryMean

• Johnson & Johnson stands apart in the Pharmaceutical industry.

– Pfizer is the only other pharmaceutical company with an average or above rating. All others hover around the 5.0 mark, suggesting either an “average” image, no strong image either way, or an unknown green track record.

17

Financial

Overall Mean

Bank of America - 5.6

American Express - 5.7

Citibank - 5.5

American Express

Citibank

Bank of America

IndustryMean

• Consumers see little difference across the three Financial firms included in the survey.

– American Express scores at the all-company average of 5.7, with Bank of America and Citibank within two-tenths of a ratings point.

18

Telecom

Overall Mean

AT&T - 5.8

Sprint Nextel - 5.3

Verizon - 5.8

Verizon

AT&T

Sprint Nextel

IndustryMean

• Verizon and AT&T receive identical green ratings from consumers.

– Both score slightly above average.

– Sprint Nextel falls significantly behind, perhaps a function of lower familiarity with/use of the company.

19

TV Service Providers

Overall Mean

DISH Network - 5.3

Time Warner - 5.3

Comcast - 5.4

DIRECTV - 5.4

DIRECTVTime Warner

DISH Network

Comcast

IndustryMean

• Four key nationwide Television Service providers are seen as virtually indistinguishable.

– The ratings around 5.0 for all four suggest that consumers don’t have a strong sense of environmental initiatives on the part of these companies.

20

Airlines

Overall Mean

United - 4.5

American - 4.5

JetBlue - 4.6

US Airways - 4.4

Continental - 4.4

Delta - 4.5

Southwest - 4.7

American

Southwest

United

ContinentalUS Airways

JetBlue

Delta

IndustryMean

• All Airlines tested score far below the survey average.– With so much recent attention paid to airlines’ reliance on fuel (and

the costs of fuel), it’s perhaps not surprising that consumers offer low scores to all airlines tested.

– Even the non-legacy airlines tested (Southwest, JetBlue) don’t escape the less-than-green perception.

21

Oil

Overall Mean

ExxonMobil - 3.9

Chevron - 4.1

BP - 4.5

BP

Chevron

ExxonMobil

IndustryMean

• Oil companies receive the lowest green ratings by far.

– BP sets itself apart somewhat, receiving a higher rating than Chevron and ExxonMobil.


Summary: Highest and Lowest Ratings Overall

Total Sample

Lowest RatedHighest Rated

14

13

12

11

10

9

8

7

6

5

4

3

2

1

Toyota

Honda

Yahoo!

Apple

Microsoft

Walt Disney

Staples

Johnson & Johnson

Google

The History Channel

Whole Foods

PBS

Discovery Channel

National Geographic

6.4

6.4

6.4

6.4

6.4

6.4

6.5

6.6

6.6

6.6

6.7

7.0

7.4

7.6

3.9

4.1

4.4

4.4

4.5

4.5

4.5

4.5

4.6

4.7

4.9

ExxonMobil

Chevron

US Airways

Continental

BP

Delta

United Airlines

American Airlines

JetBlue

Southwest

Sanofi-Aventis

71

70

69

68

67

66

65

64

63

62

61

• Across all 71 companies measured by consumers:

– National Geographic and Discovery Channel receive the highest overall green ratings.

– Chevron and ExxonMobil receive the lowest ratings.


Highest and Lowest Among Green Purchasers

Among those most likely to say:

“I try to make environmentally responsible purchasing decisions”

Lowest RatedHighest Rated

14

13

12

11

10

9

8

7

6

5

4

3

2

1

Dell

Honda

Yahoo!

Apple

Microsoft

Walt Disney

Johnson & Johnson

Staples

Google

Whole Foods

The History Channel

PBS

Discovery Channel

National Geographic

6.5

6.7

6.7

6.7

6.7

6.8

6.9

7.0

7.0

7.1

7.1

7.5

7.8

8.0

3.8

4.1

4.5

4.6

4.6

4.6

4.6

4.7

4.7

4.9

4.9

ExxonMobil

Chevron

US Airways

BP

Continental

Delta

United Airlines

JetBlue

American Airlines

Sanofi-Aventis

Southwest

71

70

69

68

67

66

65

64

63

62

61

• The green image rank order is similar among those consumers who are especially likely to say they “make environmentally responsible purchase decisions.”

– National Geographic and Discovery Channel are still the highest rated; Chevron and ExxonMobil are still the lowest rated.

– Note that the rating for any given company tends to be a bit higher among this segment than for consumers generally.


Top of Mind: Most and Least Green

% Naming% Naming

Which company comes to mind first as being . . .

The least environmentally friendlyThe most environmentally friendly

Wal-Mart

Johnson & Johnson

Toyota

Discovery Channel

National Geographic

Whole Foods

5%

5%

6%

7%

11%

13%

5%

6%

28%

Wal-Mart

Chevron

ExxonMobil

• Survey respondents were also asked to name the one company that “comes to mind” as the most green and the one company that comes to mind as the least green.

– Whole Foods and National Geographic are almost equally likely to be named most green, followed by Discovery Channel, Toyota, Johnson & Johnson, and Wal-Mart; however, no single company runs away with this measure.

– The “least green” choice was less controversial, with over 1 in 4 choosing ExxonMobil.


Additional Data Cuts Available

• This summary report offers a high-level overview of the Green Report Card findings.

• Upon request, the findings from this report can be cut by a variety of attitudinal, behavioral, and demographic consumer characteristics, including:

– Degree of attention and concern about environmental issues

– Degree of concern about global warming in particular

– “Green” habits engaged in currently (recycling, efforts to reduce energy use, etc.)

– Political philosophy and party identification

– Age

– Gender

– Marital status

– Presence of children in household

– Home area characteristics (urban, suburban, rural, small town)

– Race/ethnicity

– Education level

– Income


For More Information

• For further information about this report or additional data, please contact:

Jeff Radcliffe, Director of Client Services

[email protected]

603-422-7612

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