April 9th, 2010

The other week I was out for the day with my family and was struck by the petrol prices on the forecourt.  Only 2 years ago we have blockades and demonstrations about petrol breaking £1.10 but now we are at £1.20 and higher.  The question for me here is do these prices influence our behaviour towards using fuel in general?

Clearly with petrol, as opposed to other energy uses  like electricity and gas, consumers buy frequently in smaller amounts (what the tank can take) and each time see the price so have many reasons to be reminded about the cost. So you would think that petrol consumption must be directly influenced by price?  But is this the case?

Is there a disconnect between the amount in the tank and and the way we use it? When driving do we recognise that how/how much we drive is costing us more. Do we drive slower, reduce revs or cut out the short journeys? The motorways seem as busy as ever. Is there is a lack of  ‘connection’ of behaviour towards driving and energy usage?

Luckily, in the workplace we can create this awareness through the GAIA Model of Environmental Impact Reduction, our behavioural change and energy awareness programme, but for cars the problem may be better information on the impact of consumption on driving.

GAIA April 2010 (Haydn)

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