Expectations are growing: it is important for almost 60 percent of the population that businesses use clean electricity

The growing tendencies of environmental protection and renewable energy in Lithuania are clearly reflected in the requirements that the population imposes on the business operating in the country. According to a recent survey of the country’s population, almost six out of ten people care whether companies use clean electricity.

According to the opinion poll, for as many as 57.4 percent of the population, it is partially or very important that businesses whose services or goods they buy use electricity produced from renewable sources. By comparison, this aspect is partially or completely irrelevant to just 10.3 percent of the population.

“In recent years, we have been monitoring the ongoing transformation of the Lithuanian energy sector. The contribution of state institutions, business enterprises and the population is very important for the country to achieve its ambitious goal – to use only clean electricity. The issues of renewable energy, environmental protection and climate change are being discussed and receive more and more attention in the public space. All this is reflected in the data obtained during the opinion poll – as the population’s interest in these topics grows, so do the expectations and requirements of business enterprises whose services or goods they buy,” says Aistis Radavičius, the CEO of the Lithuanian Wind Power Association.

Radavičius notes that the youngest group of the population stands out when analysing the survey data. It is significantly higher than the national average – as many as 75 percent of the population aged 18-29 believe that it is partly or very important for them that businesses choose clean electricity. The 30-39 age group is slightly above the national average by just a few percentage points.

Residents of major cities in the country are more likely to have the expectation that businesses will use electricity produced from renewable sources.

Opportunities for business to meet the expectations of the population

According to Radavičius, such results of the population survey are a signal to business enterprises operating in the country. In order to meet the expectations of customers as accurately as possible, they will have to increasingly take into account and adapt to the trends of environmental protection, climate change and renewable energy.

“Major foreign companies such as Google, Amazon, Facebook, Apple, IKEA, Honda, BMW, LEGO and many others have been stating for some time that they use only clean – solar or wind-powered – electricity purchased directly from the parks that produce it. There are still relatively few such examples in Lithuania, but the current situation may change quite quickly,” says Radavičius.

The expert notes that the choice of businesses to use electricity produced from renewable sources is determined by several reasons: the ability to secure an attractive price for electricity in the long run and the desire to contribute to reducing climate challenges. In addition, by making such a decision, they can both strengthen their reputation and increase the value of the goods or services they produce. In other words, keeping the wholesale price of electricity on the market and the cost of clean electricity production at a similar level, the principled decision to use only green energy can become a competitive advantage for the enterprise. Meanwhile, as the price of electricity on the power exchange rises, energy produced from renewable sources becomes more attractive and, for pragmatic reasons, the price becomes lower.

A representative survey of the opinion of the Lithuanian population was commissioned by the Lithuanian Wind Power Association and conducted by the Public Opinion and Market Research Centre Vilmorus. One thousand Lithuanian residents aged 18 and older were interviewed during the survey.