UNECE Forest Communicator Network Meeting 9-11 October 2007, Bled, Slovenia

Transcription

1 UNECE Forest Communicator Network Meeting 9-11 October 2007, Bled, Slovenia University of Natural Resources and Applied Life Sciences Vienna Department of Economics and Social Sciences FCN-Report: European Consumers and their Attitudes towards Wood, Substitute Materials and the Image of Forest Industries Sub-group Consumer Attitudes Ewald Rametsteiner, R. Oberwimmer

2 a sequel to MCPFE-FCN Publication Meta-study - about 50 representative country-wide public opinion surveys in MCPFE region - published by FCN-UNECE and MCPFE Free download:

3 Feelings: Forests are nature Forests are threatened

4 Wood is good Forests are threatened Wood is good, but recreation is better

5 Background UNECE ToR of the FCN Expected Major Outputs: Report on consumer attitudes towards forest products (completion expected 2005) MCPFE MCPFE Work Programme Publication of European Consumers and their Attitudes towards Wood, Substitute Materials and the Image of Forest Industries in 2004/05

6 Material & Methods Scope: UNECE & Japan Total number of surveys considered: Germany UK Austria Netherlands Finland France EU 15/25 Norway Switzerland Ireland Sweden Number of surveys included Bulgaria Croatia Greece Italy Slovakia Spain Ukraine

7 Material & Methods Time period /6

8 Material & Methods Scope: private end consumers and business-to-business customers Topics: wood, wood products, forest industry Number of surveys Wood in general 25 4 Furniture 10 3 Construction 18 8 Consumers Paper products 5 Customers (B2B) Energy source Forest industry 10 11

9 Material & Methods Surveys: mostly personal interviews Surveys: 1/3 each by industry, governments, research orgs. 1% 17% 15% 56% 11% Personal interview Mail survey 8% Telephone survey 33% Qualitative n.a./others 28% 31% Industrial association Academic Research Governmental organization NGO

10 Table of Contents 1. Wood and Wood Products in General 2. Living with wood: Wood Furniture & Interior Use 3. Building with wood: Wood as Construction Material 4. Paper Products 5. Wood as Energy Source 6. The Forest Industry

11 User Manual Base Rules 1. Fact is fact, but perception is reality 2. Public opinion doesn t exist - the capacity of the public to even hold real and meaningful attitudes in the first place - the opinion we express in one public is not necessarily the same as that we express in a different public

12 ❶ Attitudes towards wood & wood products in general General attitudes towards wood are rather well known they are rather universal Percentage [%] Wood is a beautiful material Wood is a natural material Wood is a strong material Wood is a very versatile material Wood is expensive Wood is a fashionable material Wood is a material for the future Wood is high-tech Modern wood does not rot Slightly disagree Strongly disagree Slightly agree Strongly agree Source: Institut D Etudes Marché et D Opinion, France, 2003 link to positive forest perception is visible ( nature ) general perception sets the tone for applications (positive & negative)

13 ❶ Wood & substitute materials Wood is often seen as technically inferior to substitutes but it links to positive feelings: wood is warm and attractive and it is more environmentally friendly : % % Germany % Netherlands Great Britain Wood Steel Alu Wood Concrete Steel Plastic WoodAlu Steel Concrete AluPlastic Concrete Plastic Environmental friendliness of different materials; Lindholm 2000

14 ❶ Wood & substitute materials Domestic wood Glass Tropical wood Steel Aluminium Plastic 0% 20% 40% 60% 80% 100% very envir. friendly rather envir. friendly neither nor rather envir. harmful very envir. harmful Source: Rametsteiner 1997

15 ❶ General purchasing criteria: wood Wood is more environmentally friendly than substitutes but environmental friendliness doesn t count much - neither for private end consumer - nor for B-2-B customers Price-quality ratio 1,4 Quality 1,5 Not harmful to health 1,6 Availability Visual attractiveness 1,7 1,7 Environmental friendly production and disposal 2,7 Wood is from sustainable managed forests (1)=very important, (2)=important, (3)=less important, (4)=unimportant Wood purchase criteria of German retailers 2002

16 ❷ Living with wood: wood furniture & interiors People enjoy living with wood Wood improves the room climate I feel well in rooms furnished with wood Wood is synonymous to healthy living Percentage [%] Attitude of German consumers, TNS EMNID 2002

17 ❷ Living with wood: wood furniture & interiors But, overall, people look for technical quality and design, not for environmental friendliness high overall quality durable appealing shape appealing m aterial econom ically priced a natural product environm entally com patible in style, m odern product made in home country som ething exclusive 0% 20% 40% 60% 80% 100% special attention rather special att. neither nor rather no attention no attention at all Source: Rametsteiner 1997

18 ❸ Building with wood: Wood as Construction Material Consumers have a positive attitiude towards wood for building but it is seen as technically inferior : less safe & durable Perception of building materials in North America (Knoll & Company, 1998)

19 ❸ Building with wood: Wood as Construction Material Specifiers & architects see wood as attracttive but less fire resistant, less durable, and of less uniform quality Strength Weakness warm and inviting simple to install attractive appearance strong uniform consistent quality fire resistant safe durable non-combustible % Masonry Steel Concrete Wood Data from Kozak & Cohen 1995

20 ❹ Paper and paper products The green / environmental image originates from forests Recycling paper is seen as important to save trees Forestry/harvesting Furniture production Furniture disposal Forestry/harvesting Paper production Paper disposal 0% 20% 40% 60% 80% 100% very envir. friendly rather envir. friendly neither nor rather envir. harm ful very envir. harm ful Source: Rametsteiner 1997

21 ❹ Paper and paper products Consumers seem more environmentally sensitive in paper use but it is more environmentally friendly than other products environmental attributes on purchase decisions in Canada (Archer, 2004) G E R NL UK 60 % W ood P aper S teel A lu Conc rete P las tic Environmental friendliness of different materials; Lindholm 2000

22 ❺ Wood as energy source Renewable energy sources are strongly supported Renewables are seen as comparatively cheap, green & efficient Percent of EU25 citizens in favour of using biomass for energy (EU 2007) Solar, DE wind, hydroelectric are preferred over biomass for AT renewable energy; awareness of biomass (wood) for energy is SI often LU very limited SK DK CZ FI NL LV EE SE BE HU FR PL LT EL EU25 % PT IE in favour

23 ❺ Wood as energy source Keeping prices low and protection of the environment are the top priorities in relation to energy policy Strengthening bioenergy from wood depends on awareness and acceptance of intensive production forestry Energy issues EU25 (Eurobarometer 2007) Energy price 33 Renewable energy sources Energy supply Limited energy sources Nuclear energy Environmental issues Fuel Energy consumption Nothing/Don't know Others Percentage [%]

24 Table of Contents 1. Wood and Wood Products in General 2. Living with wood: Wood Furniture & Interior Use 3. Building with wood: Wood as Construction Material 4. Paper Products 5. Wood as Energy Source 6. The Forest Industry

25 Next steps 1. Complete publication version 2. Hardcopy / pdf publication? 3. MCPFE Conference leaflet? 4. Dissemination: free download from MCPFE, UNECE 5. Any other follow-up ideas?

26 UNECE Forest Communicator Network Meeting 9-11 October 2007, Bled, Slovenia University of Natural Resources and Applied Life Sciences Vienna Department of Economics and Social Sciences FCN-Report: European Consumers and their Attitudes towards Wood, Substitute Materials and the Image of Forest Industries Sub-group Consumer Attitudes Ewald Rametsteiner, R. Oberwimmer

27 ❸ Building with wood: Wood as Construction Material Do-it-yourself, new home builders: a similar overall picture Wood is a material that is simple to work with (Wood Promotion Network WPN, 2003)