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Energy labels with compact information on the energy use of appliances have been adopted worldwide to encourage consumers to make informed investment decisions. This study examines whether communicating environmental emissions (CO2 and air pollutant emissions) on energy labels can increase the preferences for energy-efficient appliances, with a specific focus on the role of individual psychological traits. A survey with decision tasks was conducted among the adult population in the Netherlands. Results show that information on environmental emissions does not increase the intention to invest in energy-efficiency, while energy-saving attitudes and habits do. Nevertheless, presenting information on CO2 emissions as well as combined CO2 and air pollutant emissions on energy labels can increase the preferences for energy-efficient appliances among individuals with relatively strong postmaterialist values. Information on CO2 emissions also increases the preferences of individuals with strong environmental concerns. However, no significant effects are found for information on air pollutant emissions. Also, personal experience of environmental degradation was not found to affect the effectiveness of the tested information interventions. Finally, we discuss the role of attention and type of decision situation for the processing of emissions information on energy labels. Our findings provide insights for improving information display on energy labels and energy education.
Energy labels are used worldwide to overcome the inefficiency in household energy use. Presenting energy efficiency in grade-like categories has been found to induce heuristic decision-making, known as the “class valuation effect”. This study investigates whether visualising energy efficiency using a continuous-scale label increases consumers’ consciousness when purchasing appliances. We examine this question in an online survey with randomised decision tasks conducted in China and the Netherlands. In the Dutch sample, the effectiveness of continuous-scale labels depends on individuals’ holistic cognitive tendency and the type of comparison they are faced with, whereas the Chinese sample is not sensitive to these moderators. Moreover, energy literacy shows mixed influence on individual decisions. Results suggest that representing energy efficiency on continuous scales can be used as supportive visual information to facilitate purchase decisions. Regarding energy education, knowledge that directly links to daily energy use seems to translate well into consumers’ conscious decisions.
Social comparison feedback has been widely applied to encourage energy and water conservation, with the ultimate aim to protect ecosystems and the environment. Yet, the effectiveness of social comparison feedback varies. In this study, with 360 UK participants from Prolific, we conducted an online experiment based on a modified dictator game with multi-round purchasing decisions involving trade-offs between individual monetary payoff and real-world carbon offsets donation. A 2 × 3 between-subjects design was implemented, varying in the externality levels associated with the purchase (high versus low), and the type of feedback (self-feedback, social comparison feedback, and tangible emissions feedback – i.e. social comparison enriched with information relating environmental impacts to daily activity and nature). Furthermore, we measured several psychological traits of participants. Our findings show that social comparison interventions are only effective under certain circumstances. Both interventions with social comparison are more effective in the low-externality context. Furthermore, the effect of tangible emissions feedback is moderated by individuals’ tendency to conform to specific social norms and compete with others. Compared to standard social comparison feedback, social comparison feedback enriched with tangible emissions information is overall more effective. We highlight the importance of tailoring social comparison interventions to local environmental and cultural contexts.