Saving power to conserve your reputation? The effectiveness of private versus public information

Environmental damage is often an unseen byproduct of other activities. Disclosing environmental impact privately to consumers can reduce the costs and/or increase the moral benefits of conservation behaviors, while publicly disclosing such information can provide an additional motivation for conserv...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Published inJournal of environmental economics and management Vol. 67; no. 3; pp. 353 - 370
Main Authors Delmas, Magali A., Lessem, Neil
Format Journal Article
LanguageEnglish
Published New York Elsevier Inc 01.05.2014
Elsevier Science Publishing Company, Inc
Subjects
Conservation
Conservation behavior
Conspicuous consumption
Disclosure
Effectiveness studies
Electricity
Energy conservation
Energy efficiency
Environmental impact
Environmental impact studies
Image motivation
Public information
Signaling
United States
United States > US
Signaling
Electricity
Image motivation
Energy efficiency
Public information
Conservation behavior
Conspicuous consumption
Online AccessGet full text

Cover

More Information
Summary:Environmental damage is often an unseen byproduct of other activities. Disclosing environmental impact privately to consumers can reduce the costs and/or increase the moral benefits of conservation behaviors, while publicly disclosing such information can provide an additional motivation for conservation - cultivating a green reputation. In a unique field experiment in the residence halls at the University of California – Los Angeles, we test the efficacy of detailed private and public information on electricity conservation. Private information was given through real-time appliance level feedback and social norms over usage, and public information was given through a publicly visible conservation rating. Our analysis is based on 7,120 daily observations about energy use from heating and cooling, lights and plug load for 66 rooms collected over an academic year. Our results suggest that while private information alone was ineffective, public information combined with private information motivated a 20 percent reduction in electricity consumption achieved through lower use of heating and cooling. Public information was particularly effective for above median energy users.
Bibliography:ObjectType-Article-1
SourceType-Scholarly Journals-1
ObjectType-Feature-2
content type line 23
ISSN:0095-0696
1096-0449
DOI:10.1016/j.jeem.2013.12.009