Changing consumer behaviour through eco-efficient services: an empirical study of car sharing in the Netherlands

In this paper ‘innovation’ is discussed as a strategy to change consumer behaviour to reduce the environmental impact of consumption. Innovation aims to improve the ‘production process’ of certain end results or ‘units of service’ for the consumer, which is defined as the ‘consumption technology’. This concept includes the entire organization of how these units of service are produced. ‘Eco-efficient services’ are introduced as an innovation strategy, based on theoretical considerations through which more eco-efficient consumption technologies and less environmentally damaging consumption behaviour could be realized. This strategy is explored through an empirical consumer behaviour study on commercial car sharing services in the Netherlands. Based on an inventory of the environmental effects of this approach, as exemplified by the car sharing schemes, it can tentatively be concluded that the eco-efficient services concept offers an interesting framework for reconsidering the current consumption practice and for generating innovative activities in industry. © 1998 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd and ERP Environment.