Will consumers follow climate leaders? The effect of manufacturer participation in a voluntary environmental program on consumer preferences

Abstract

In 2002, the US Environmental Protection Agency (USEPA) established a voluntary environmental program called the Climate Leaders (CL) Program. Participating firms developed greenhouse gas emissions inventories, set emissions reductions goals, and annually reported progress toward those goals. While the program was not designed to function as an eco-labeling program, one possible motivation for participation in the program was to positively influence consumer perceptions for firm products and services. USEPA discontinued the CL program in 2011. In this study, data from a contingent choice experiment from a national online survey are used to examine whether the CL program could have been effectively adopted as a consumer product labeling program. Results suggest that consumers are willing to pay more for refrigerators manufactured by CL program participants and that willingness-to-pay is influenced by both respondent characteristics and attitudes.