Using social marketing to incentivise household electricity conservation

David Gray, Belinda Bean

Research output: Chapter in Book/Report/Conference proceedingConference proceeding contributionpeer-review

Abstract

Australia is the highest per capita emitter of carbon dioxide in the world, therefore improving energy conservation efforts is important to Australia’s economic, social and environmental wellbeing. This paper discusses the role of social marketing as a means of affecting the required societal paradigm shift. More specifically it discusses the role of market consumer segmentation and the use of targeted actionable intervention consequent financial reward and feedback incentive programs to reduce the consumption of electricity. Electricity is significant because it produces the highest amount of carbon dioxide emissions, and it is the major form of energy generation in Australia. The residential sector consumes 30% of all electricity and is the fastest growing category and presents potential as the leading immediate, low-cost option for energy conservation. This paper discusses a number of propositions which focuses on motivating electricity conservation efforts in residential New South Wales (NSW), Australia. It is postulated that segmenting NSW residents according to Environmental Attitudes and Beliefs (EAB) will allow a meaningful study of consumer proclivity to conserve household electricity. Whilst such a model is yet to be tested it is proposed that incentive packages for energy conservation campaigns will be most effective when targeted to specific EAB segments. Whilst the discussion is specific to Australia there are implications for generalisation to other countries with similar energy conservation needs.
Original languageEnglish
Title of host publicationAM2008 conference proceedings
Subtitle of host publicationAcademy of Marketing Annual Conference : reflective marketing in a material world
Place of PublicationAberdeen, Scotland
PublisherAcademy of Marketing
Pages1-11
Number of pages11
Publication statusPublished - 2008
EventAcademy of Marketing Conference (2008) - Aberdeen, Scotland
Duration: 7 Jul 200810 Jul 2008

Conference

ConferenceAcademy of Marketing Conference (2008)
CityAberdeen, Scotland
Period7/07/0810/07/08

Keywords

  • energy conservation
  • electricity
  • environmental attitudes and beliefs
  • incentives
  • interventions
  • social marketing

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