Making sustainable choices is important for more than half of consumers when making electronics purchases, but it turns out to be decisive for only 1 in 5 when actually making these purchases. Additionally, the Dutch are not always aware of the CO2 emissions resulting from their purchases, although this varies by product group. For example, only 1 in 5 Dutch people (20%) are unaware of CO2 emissions when it comes to energy and fuel, but 1 in 3 respondents are unaware that there are CO2 emissions associated with electronics purchases. This is shown by a study from HP conducted by the independent research agency DirectResearch among more than 1000 Dutch people aged between 25 and 50 years old.
HP is launching a new product line: the HP ENVY Inspire to offer consumers sustainable choices. This versatile all-in-one printer for home use is made up of 45% recycled plastic, and with HP+, HP invests in forests for every printed page.
The importance of sustainable choices is significant for half of the Dutch
When making purchases such as electronics, there are clearly two decisive factors for consumers. Price plays an important role for 70% of respondents, followed by quality (64%). Notably, sustainability is one of the top concerns for 1 in 5 (20%) Dutch people when making electronics purchases as well as other purchases. Specifically asked about the importance of making sustainable choices when making electronics purchases, 53% find this important.
Sustainability plays a larger role after having children
Sustainability plays a larger role in parenting for parents aged 25 – 35 years (50%) than for parents aged 36-45 (47%) and parents aged 45-50 years (44%). Additionally, 1 in 3 (34%) parents indicate that sustainability plays a larger role in their purchasing decisions since they have children. Interestingly, the awareness of parents regarding the CO2 emissions associated with their purchases is greater than that of Dutch people without children across all product categories.
Rob Idink: "Sustainability is an important topic for consumers. More than half state that they find this important when making electronics purchases. Yet, at the moment of purchase itself, it is less decisive. This indicates how important it is to continuously give attention to sustainability and to keep consumers informed about the relationship between purchases, the consequences for the environment, and what we, for example, invest in from HP."
Climate compensation is the responsibility of the producer
In general, the Dutch are positive about the possibility of climate compensation when making purchases. More than 2 in 5 (41%) Dutch people value brands that offer this more than brands that do not, while 38% are neutral about it. 1 in 3 respondents also indicate that they are more likely to buy a product if such compensation is possible. Among parents, this willingness to purchase is even 46%.
When asked for a top 3 of product groups where respondents want the possibility of CO2 compensation, nearly a quarter (22%) of the younger generation (25-35 years) indicate they want to compensate for CO2 emissions when purchasing electronics. Electronics thus ranks third after energy/fuel (34%) and vacations/travel (37%) for this age group. The older age groups (35-45 and 46-50) prefer to compensate for food and drink (18% and 19%) and clothing (15% and 20%).
More than 4 in 5 Dutch people believe that the responsibility for climate compensation of a purchase lies partly or entirely with the producer.
Sustainable printing
The decisive factor for purchasing a printer appears to be predominantly price and ease of use. When asked about the reasons for not purchasing a printer, more than 1 in 10 cite the impact on the environment as a decisive factor.
4 out of 5 Dutch people (80%) are completely unaware of the possibilities for climate compensation of printed pages via a printer.
Rob Idink: "It is interesting to see that the Dutch believe that the responsibility for climate compensation largely lies with the producer and that particularly the younger generation would like to have the option to compensate their purchase in terms of CO2 emissions much more often. At the same time, we also see that the possibility of climate compensation when printing is still not known to everyone. But these possibilities do exist. At HP, we have been investing in sustainability for many years, including in the field of printing."
HP ENVY Inspire
Although knowledge about the possibility of compensating for CO2 emissions is limited, a quarter (23%) does indicate that this possibility is a decisive factor in purchasing a printer. HP is aware of the consumer's desire to make sustainable choices and meets this with HP+. Through HP+, consumers can print in a sustainable way.
All original ink cartridges contain recycled material, and 80% of the cartridges contain even 45 to 70% recycled material. With HP Instant Ink, consumers can therefore trust that they are making a sustainable choice when purchasing cartridges.
In addition to sustainable cartridges, HP is also committed to sustainable printers. An example of this is the recently announced HP ENVY Inspire. This versatile all-in-one printer for home use is made up of 45% recycled plastic and is suitable for HP+. This not only means that consumers can trust the delivery of sustainable cartridges but that they also contribute to a sustainable, green future through HP's Forest First initiative. Forest First is the global initiative where HP invests in forests for every printed page. HP collaborates with reliable environmental NGOs that are experts in forest ecosystems. In this way, HP can contribute to the responsible management, protection, or restoration of forests. Recently, HP collaborated with the Dutch NGO Trees for All. From this collaboration, 2,500 trees will be planted in the Netherlands and beyond.
