The Iconoclast Investor

Even after being told by an energy auditor that our house was already too Green to trim the heating bill down, I thought, there has to be some more savings to eek out. So I went to Home Depot (HD) and bought some window weatherizing film to cover our cellar windows and some extra insulation to wrap around the few exposed spots of our pipes. I wasn’t the only one poking around for a heating bill edge. I presumed the October market scare would have kept people home, but there were plenty of cars in the parking lot and more than a few folks who seemed to be scrutinizing energy-saving light bulbs for the first time.

No doubt, stores like Home Depot are hurting from the housing market crash, but they are seeing a strong uptick in people looking to minimize their energy bills and maximize their efficiency. In a recent story, the Atlanta Journal-Constitution noted that Home Depot saw a $2 billion surge in people buying environmentally friendly products, including CFL bulbs, low-VOC (volatile organic compound) paints and programmable thermostats since it started its Eco Options program in the spring of 2007. The big box chain is now looking to capitalize on everyone’s newfound frugality by pushing Eco Options more, offering a do-it-yourself home energy audit questionnaire in its stores and rolling out new ad slogans, including the cringe-worthy “Caulk, Baby, Caulk.”

Beyond anecdotal evidence, survey after survey finds Americans are focusing in ever-greater numbers on being Green, be it for money savings or for the long-term near-certainty global warming will wreak havoc if left unabated. A poll released in November by Better Homes & Gardens taken at 15 different home shows across the country found some interesting results. More than half of the 2,300 people surveyed said they had spent more money on a product in the last 12 months because it was Green. One third said they were willing to spend $5,000 or more on eco-improving their house if it meant it would increase the sale value of their home. Other insights from the poll: 73% of people practice recycling, 69% had replaced incandescent lights with CFLs in the past 6 months, 57% report conserving water in the past half year, 51% adjusted the thermostat regularly, while 30% purchased energy efficient appliances. Most of those things are just up Home Depot’s–and Lowe’s (LOW)–alley.

Yet other surveys show that while Americans are rushing to embrace Green, they are also a little confused about what, exactly, they are being told. An April survey by the Boston College Center for Corporate Citizenship and marketing firm Cone LLC, found a “Green gap,” in that Americans want to buy Green products and believe environmental claims but suspect maybe they are not being told the truth. For instance, 47% of people trust the companies to tell the truth in their environmental claims and 45% believe companies are accurately relating their impact on the environment. Yet at the same time, 80% of Americans want third-party certifications on products and 76% want government regulation. All that means there’s a pretty large segment of people in there that trust corporate America, but only so far as they can throw them.

The study’s authors say the indication that Americans are both willing to trust companies and also want third party verification indicates how complex Green issues can be and how many people suspect they don’t fully understand the myriad issues involved. They may have a point. I’ll admit that when my tub drain was clogged recently I bought the “organic” orange cleaner from Zep at Home Depot. That’s even though I know the term “organic” means nothing with regards to chemical products and by every other measure on the label the cleaner seemed just about identical to the same nonorganic, non-scented product by the same company one shelf over. I hope the “organic” cleaner was better for the environment, but I fear the only true difference was that I paid $3 more.