The myth of the climate premium

For many Americans, climate certification means higher prices, lower quality

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Can you find the most sustainable coffee bean grinder on Amazon?

(Mark Hulbert, an author and longtime investment columnist, is the founder of the Hulbert Financial Digest; his Hulbert Ratings audits investment newsletter returns.)

CHAPEL HILL, N.C. (Callaway Climate Insights) — Would you lower your opinion of a product’s quality if it became certified as climate friendly?

The depressing answer is yes, according to a recent study of Amazon’s Climate Pledge Friendly program. If you’re like the average consumer, your opinion of a product’s quality declines when nothing on its Amazon product page changes except for the addition of a certificate attesting to its sustainability. Even more paradoxically, the average consumer perceives the product as more expensive when it acquires this certification, even when there has been no change in price.