Carbon footprint information, prices, and restaurant wine choices by customers: A natural field experiment

Claudio Soregaroli, Elena Claire Ricci, Stefanella Stranieri, Rodolfo Nayga, Ettore Capri and Elena Castellari ()

Ecological Economics, 2021, vol. 186, issue C

Abstract: Growing evidence suggests that consumers should be involved in the solutions to climate change. To test the responsiveness of wine consumers to carbon footprint stimuli we set a natural field experiment in a restaurant modifying the choice architecture of wine decisions. We modified wine cards to provide different information and price incentives to consumers to test the effects of two policy interventions for reducing CO2 emissions. Specifically, we test the provision of carbon footprint information and an additional price for carbon emissions. We randomly assigned subjects to four different wine cards. Results show that carbon footprint information alone is not enough to affect wine choices, but its effect becomes significant when combined with a price change. A card showing the carbon footprint of wine bottles and proportionally higher wine prices was associated with choices leading to lower carbon emissions. However, when information about the additional price to offset wine carbon emissions was made explicitly visible to consumers on another card, an opposite effect of an increase in the choice of wines with higher carbon-emitting production processes was observed. This finding indicates that how the price increase is presented can affect wine choices, highlighting the importance of careful information policy design.

Keywords: Carbon footprint; Natural field experiment; Sustainability labels; Climate change; Wine consumers; Restaurant; Nudging (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2021
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (8)

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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:eee:ecolec:v:186:y:2021:i:c:s0921800921001191

DOI: 10.1016/j.ecolecon.2021.107061

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