Purchase Decision: Sustainability of Mountain Pine Beetle Wood Concrete Products

Abstract

In British Columbia, many communities are dependent on the forest industry and are consequently concerned about uses for the millions of hectares of pine forests killed by the mountain pine beetle. The wood fiber from those dead trees is normally useless for traditional manufacturing of dimensional lumber due to its fragility and poor quality, but wood concrete provides an alternative use. This was a market research study on mountain pine beetle wood concrete product (MPBWCP), an innovative wood product that is a blend of pine beetle–killed wood and concrete. Three building product applications were investigated, including countertops, floor tiles, and garden blocks. We assessed the relative importance that consumers place on the product attributes of wood chip size, color, price, location of production, and green certification. Qualified consumer participants from cities on the West Coast of Canada and the United States were invited to evaluate physical samples of MPBWCP on site. The results of the conjoint analysis revealed that the consumers placed high importance on attributes pertaining to two forms of sustainability, economic and environmental. Indeed, economic sustainability of local communities was the most important attribute. Moreover, sustainability and aesthetic attributes were more important compared with the relative price attribute. Cluster analyses revealed that consumers could be divided into five different segments for all product types. Moreover, one consumer segment highly valued both attributes of sustainability (economic and environmental) more than any other segment. As for demographic insights, the most price-sensitive consumer segment had significantly higher education levels. Overall, consumers showed a desire for sustainable building products in their acceptance of MPBWCP. This is consistent with the importance they placed on both sustainability attributes versus the traditional product attributes of aesthetics and price. By examining a broader concept of sustainability that incorporates economic and environmental dimensions, this study extends the literature on wood products and environmental friendliness.

Making Hemp Choices: Evidence from Vermont

“…This may be attributed to the increasingly complex decisions consumers face in order to engage in sustainable lifestyle choices [2]. Consumption behaviors related to more specific products have found that socio-demographics do play a role when characterizing consumer segments for therapeutic foods [35], sustainable apparel [36,37], sustainable wood products [38], sustainable convenience foods [39], food supplements [40], and alternative medicine [41]. Hemp has emerged as an ingredient in all of these products.…”

Changing institutions and consumer-driven development of forest products and services

“…The conjoint analysis method has also been applied in forest certification consumer market research (e.g. Bigsby and Ozanne 2002;Anderson and Hansen 2004a, Anderson and Hansen 2004b, Anderson et al 2005, Roos and Hugosson 2008Thompson et al 2010;Choi et al 2011). For example, Anderson and Hansen (2004a) detected a more than 30% drop in market share when a certified product was offered at a 2% premium over a non-certified option.…”

Marketing factors impacting imported wood products in Central America

“…Importing forest products into Central America may be necessary to meet the growing demand for building materials because of an increase in population, tourism, and deforestation (Fallas 2008; Rogers 2009; World Bank 2010; Montagnini et al 2003). Turner et al (2005) suggested that trade free agreements with Latin American countries might open the opportunity for forest products exporting countries to gain market share in the region. Current trade figures for Central American countries indicate an increased trend in the import of wood products.…”