Sommerville, J; Craig, N and Callaghan, N (2011) Consumer demand for zero carbon homes within the UK. In: Egbu, C and Lou, E C W (eds.) Proceedings of 27th Annual ARCOM Conference, 5-7 September 2011, Bristol, UK.
Abstract
Household emissions currently account for some 25% of the overall CO2 emissions within the UK, whose government has a clearly defined series of directives, strategies and targets aimed at achieving widespread zero carbon (Zc) housing by 2016. Lack of consumer demand is a potential hindrance to the drive for Zc homes and therefore it becomes vital that the delivery of such homes align with the attitudes and values of potential home buyers. This extends to consumer buying decisions as a result of differing levels of concern and motivation surrounding carbon emissions, with some home buyers engaging in more pro-environmental behaviour than others due to varying levels of awareness of the benefits to be gained from Zc homes. To date, there is little evidence within the existing literature to either confirm or refute the presence of a buoyant market demand for Zc homes. Consequently, this research focuses on buyer decisions related to Zc, private, housing. The findings from the analysis of a number of questionnaire responses provides views and opinions of potential home buyers when asked to consider the drivers of their choice of new home and views on Zc homes. The findings suggest that consumers currently have a moderate to strong Zc awareness and are able to determine potential benefits of the concept. However, such awareness does not necessarily result in increased pro-environmental behaviour, which is often dependant on a much wider range of contributing factors.
| Item Type: | Conference Paper (Paper) |
|---|---|
| Uncontrolled Keywords: | consumer demand; zero carbon homes |
| Index terms: | motivation, strategy, carbon emission, CO2 emissions, housing, questionnaire, evidence, pro-environmental behaviour, presence, household |
| Subjects: | environmental behaviour, psychology, environmental science, air quality, construction type, evaluation and assessment methods, data collection methods, climate science, demography, management |
| Topics: | Human Resources, Urban Studies, Sustainability, Construction Technology, Research Practice, Business Strategy |
| Descriptive scope: | 3 PCA |
N.B. Descriptive scope is a count of how many of the five facets of empirical research are indicated by the words used in title, abstract and keywords. It is not intended as a judgement on the research; merely a count of the kind of word we would expect to indicate Phenomenon, Concepts, Theoretical framing, Empirical techniques, Analytical techniques. If all five are present, then a code of “5 PCTEA” will indicate this. If you feel the coding for this record is questionable, we welcome discussion around the terms we matched or the way we categorized them. The facet you would expect may not be coded, or a facet may be coded inappropriately. This can also bear on a larger question, of which facets should be treated as defining in construction management research. Please get in touch, and we will look at it. More details here