According to the lender, only 25 per cent of those surveyed understood what the term ‘carbon neutral’ meant. In addition, one in four respondents said they would not invest any money to improve their home's ‘green credentials’.
Despite this lack of knowledge and possibly due to extensive media coverage, over a third of respondents (34 per cent) expect carbon neutral homes to become the norm in the future - as people look to reduce their carbon footprint.
The majority of consumers are not prepared to put their money where their mouth is though. While 25 per cent of all respondents said they would refuse to spend a single penny to improve their homes green credentials, the majority (47 per cent) would only spend up to £1,000 in order to make improvements. Only 19 per cent would be happy to spend between £1,000 and £5,000 and a mere 7 per cent would spend over £5,000 in order to make their home more environmentally friendly.
Not hearts but wallets motivated these expenses. Most respondents (57 per cent) state that saving money in the long run is their main motivation for making green improvements to their homes. The rest had more altruistic reasons, with 29 per cent doing so in order to create a more sustainable way of life and 11 per cent refusing to make any green improvements at all.
Jeremy Russ, head of marketing and compliance at Beacon Homeloans, commented: “With green issues currently such a hot topic in the media, it is surprising to find that only a quarter of respondents could accurately define the term ‘carbon neutral’ even though many expect these types of developments to become more popular in the future. Although it is encouraging to find that almost half of respondents are willing to spend money to improve the green credentials of their home, they are not willing to spend enough to make the most effective changes. It is also disappointing to see that the main motivation behind their efforts is to save money, as opposed to lowering their carbon emissions or helping the environment.”
Other aspects of the research highlighted further ignorance of important green issues. Only 15 per cent of respondents were aware of Energy Performance Certificates (EPCs) and what they will contain - despite the current media hype surrounding Home Information Packs.
Of those who were aware of EPCs and their contents, the majority (42 per cent) said that their outcome would only have a small effect on their decision to buy a particular property, and only a small minority (11 per cent) said they would refuse to buy a property without a positive EPC.
Jeremy Russ commented: “This research highlights the fact that going green is still far from the forefront of most consumers minds and it seems that the imminent introduction of EPCs will only have a minor effect on most homebuyers decisions. Although it is encouraging to see that a small proportion of respondents will base their decision around the outcome of the report, we hope this number will increase as EPCs are made more mainstream.”
