What's the value of an environmentally literate America?
According to Kevin J. Coyle, the answer is: about $75 billion a year. And that's just the low-hanging fruit.
Coyle is president of the National Environmental Education & Training Foundation, or NEETF, a nonprofit group established by Congress to support environmental literacy in its many forms. In a recent paper, still in draft form, Coyle offers an assessment of the past decade of progress in educating Americans about the environment. There's good news, but mostly bad.
Why should all this matter? Coyle points to “a compelling body of evidence” that increased eco-literacy affects behavior. For example, NEETF/Roper data show that those with higher environmental literacy are 10% more likely to save energy at home or purchase environmentally safe products, and 50% more likely to recycle, or avoid using chemicals in their yards.
Simply put, an eco-savvy public is more apt to appreciate -- and support -- environmental leadership companies.
In his paper, Coyle also introduces the notion of an “E-literacy Domestic Product,” a dollar measurement of the value of environmental literacy on the U.S. economy. That's where the $75 billion comes in.
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