New Women’s Survey Finds Business Owners Plugged in and Turned on about Clean Energy
– By April Murelio –
Women business owners understand the importance of clean energy and are committed to getting the country running on clean energy sources such as solar, wind, and nuclear, according to the national Women’s Survey on Energy & the Environment, the first in-depth survey of its kind commissioned by Women Impacting Public Policy (WIPP) in collaboration with the Women’s Council on Energy and the Environment (WCEE). The survey of 455 women business owners also shows they have
already made their businesses more environmentally responsible.
Strong Supporters of Clean Energy ─ Wind, Solar and Nuclear
Business women want action on global warming. Their responses indicate:
- Women who own businesses strongly support clean energy sources.
- 89 percent think solar energy should play a very or somewhat important role in addressing our country’s electricity needs.
- 86 percent think the same about wind energy.
- 71 percent think the same about nuclear energy.
- 54 percent see moving to cleaner energy as the country’s most important energy policy goal.
- 87 percent support federal tax incentives for companies to become more energy efficient and use more clean energy, including 52 percent who strongly support them.
- 63 percent believe global warming is one of the most serious problems facing the world and we need to address it now while simultaneously strengthening the economy, compared with 37 percent who think we can’t afford to address global warming right now.
According to the survey, 77 percent have reduced electricity use at their businesses, 98 percent have done the same at home, and nearly eight in 10 (79 percent) have taken steps to make their businesses more environmentally friendly. “We moved our company to a four-day work week, which reduces energy consumption at our
facility and reduces travel-related consumption by our employees,” said one business owner.
Another survey participant reported, “We try to conserve by controlling building temperatures, lighting, and investing in energy-efficient manufacturing equipment.” Another said, “We use daylight from windows and less from electrical lighting.”
Barbara Kasoff, president of WIPP, a national bipartisan organization that advocates on behalf of women and minorities in business, noted, “Many women business owners have taken significant steps to conserve energy, and they understand the urgent need to move the country toward clean energy. In order to grow and develop their businesses to the next level, it is imperative that they have an in-depth understanding of the key energy issues and policy
decisions we are facing today.”
In addition to being more supportive of clean energy than women overall, women business owners emerge as opinion leaders on energy and electricity and have more information than women who do not own businesses, the survey found, when compared to results of a nationally representative sample of 801 women 18 or older. For example, 41 percent of women business owners are aware that coal is our country’s largest energy source, compared with only 12
percent of women overall.
Women business owners are also more knowledgeable about the benefits of nuclear energy: Only 33 percent mistakenly believe nuclear energy releases a lot or some air pollution (compared with 54 percent of women overall), and only 18 percent mistakenly believe nuclear power is a big or somewhat of a cause of global warming (compared with 54 percent of women overall). In reality, nuclear energy does not release air pollution or cause global warming.
Survey Methodology
Greenberg Quinlan Rosner, the international public-opinion research and consulting firm,
conducted a national telephone survey of 801 women 18 years or older, and a national web
survey of 455 women business owners. The surveys were conducted between May 14 and 18,
2009. The margin of error for women 18 years and older is plus or minus 3.5 percent. The
survey was commissioned by Women Impacting Public Policy in collaboration with Women’s
Council on Energy and the Environment, and was underwritten through an educational grant by
Entergy Nuclear.
Resources for Women
Women can learn more about how electricity impacts their world and their planet by
downloading a brochure, Women and Clean Power: Electricity Matters, at www.wipp.org.
About WIPP
Women Impacting Public Policy is a non-profit national bipartisan group with more than half-amillion
members. WIPP is the collective voice in Washington, DC, for 48 national women and
small business organizations. WIPP advocates for and on behalf of women and minorities in
business in the legislative processes of our nation, creating economic opportunities and building
bridges and alliances to other small business organizations. WIPP’s policy agenda, the
Economic Blueprint, the Women Business Owners’ Platform for Growth, is found on the WIPP
Web site. Visit www.wipp.org.
About WCEE
The Women’s Council on Energy and the Environment is a non-partisan policy-neutral
organization that focuses on women, energy, and the environment. WCEE's mission is to
provide consistently high-quality, non-partisan and policy-neutral forums for dialogue on cuttingedge
energy and environmental issues, and to foster the personal and professional growth and
leadership abilities of its members. Visit www.wcee.org.