ABSTRACT
The objective of a net green analysis is to identify and assess all environmentally significant consequences of a household activity, such as a purchase or a change in behavior. The job of net green is to help households identify those activities that offer large net environmental impact reductions with acceptable uncertainty. There is no question that households need incentives to embrace net green purchases and activities. To be net green, such shifts in spending pattern require that the avoided impact per dollar is significantly larger than the incurred impact per dollar. Labor is also the key ingredient to making maintenance, repair, and reuse possible and net green. Applying the net green concept to households provides the major insight that households typically shift rather than reduce their consumption. A better way to green households might therefore be to consider how changes and shifts in total spending impact their overall environmental footprint.
