This study examines the socio-economic trade-offs required to foster public acceptance of green hydrogen production in Germany, focusing on regional differences in compensation needs for affected households near green hydrogen plants, based on a survey conducted in 2022/23. Using a choice-based conjoint experiment and Willingness-to-Accept (WTA) analysis, the preferences of households in three focus regions were analysed, emphasising their resistance to importing renewable electricity over locally sourced alternatives. Results indicate that urban areas require significantly higher compensation payments due to dense populations and limited production capacity, while industrial regions have lower compensation requirements due to fewer affected households and large-scale production. The study also evaluates the feasibility of financing compensation payments through cost savings by importing renewable electricity from Spain. Although economically viable under certain policy scenarios, such savings are insufficient to offset compensation costs in densely populated areas. The findings highlight the inevitability of imports due to Germany's limited renewable energy capacity but underscore the necessity for region-specific compensation schemes to address different regional preferences. Policymakers are requested to define transparent compensation mechanisms, prioritise localised renewable energy production where feasible, and establish international partnerships for cost-effective electricity imports. These strategies will ensure a balanced approach to advancing Germany's green hydrogen economy while maintaining public support.
Worldwide, billions of ultra-thin plastic bags for fruits and vegetables are used annually for convenience, contributing substantially to environmental pollution. To address this issue and better understand the drivers and barriers to adopting greener or packaging-free shopping behavior, this study examines real-life purchase decisions at the point of sale. A field experiment was conducted in four German supermarkets, combining structured observations of more than 3,000 fruit and vegetable purchases, followed by 413 quantitative interviews. Results show that more than half of consumers already avoid single-use plastic bags for bulk produce. Behavioral intentions, perceived knowledge, involvement, and emotional response contribute significantly to different packaging choices, whereas subjective norms, perceived behavioral control, and environmental concerns have only a limited impact. This study advances theoretical research with empirical insights from real-world consumer behavior and provides practical guidance for stakeholders seeking to foster sustainable consumer behavior.
Mehr
Pia Drechsel,
Alexander Kracklauer,
Klaus Menrad,
Thomas Decker
The intensive use of plastics, especially single-use packaging, in the food industry significantly impacts the environment. Reducing conventional food packaging is, therefore, a global challenge. While consumers drive market acceptance, it is essential to better understand their decision-making processes. Despite numerous studies, gaps remain in comprehending how consumers form preferences and behavioral intentions regarding sustainable food packaging, particularly concerning their affective and cognitive appraisals. This field study investigated 492 participants directly at the point of sale in four supermarkets across Germany, ensuring that participants were actively engaged in food-purchasing decisions, with their attention already focused on grocery shopping. The study reveals the multifarious factors influencing consumers' preferences and behavioral intentions toward environmentally friendly food packaging alternatives. By applying a structural equation model, it becomes evident that consumer choices are predominantly driven by preferences and emotions rather than knowledge and rational considerations. Environmental concerns also strongly influence consumer awareness and preferences; however, other factors have a greater impact on their behavioral intentions. Our study's distinct approach provides valuable insights into consumer decision-making and highlights that emotionally engaging consumers can strengthen their intrinsic motivation for responsible plastic packaging choices.
Transitioning from fossil fuels to renewable energies is imperative for Germany to reduce CO2 emissions and achieve greenhouse gas neutrality by 2045. Green hydrogen holds great potential to contribute to this energy transition by enabling the storage of surplus renewable energy. However, Germany's green hydrogen production industry is still in its infancy, with only a few green hydrogen plants existing. Studies examining the public's acceptance of green hydrogen production are scarce in this context. Still, high societal acceptance can contribute to the future expansion of green hydrogen production in Germany in terms of speed and volume. Therefore, our study aims to identify significant factors influencing the German population's acceptance of green hydrogen production within various acceptance groups with differing preferences for future green hydrogen production systems. We conducted an online survey (n = 1203) in Germany in 2022/2023, incorporating a choice experiment. Through subsequent latent class analysis, four acceptance groups with distinct preferences regarding local green hydrogen production were identified: Unconvinced citizens, Security-conscious citizens, Regional electricity consumers and Financial beneficiaries. A discriminant analysis identified 9 out of 11 factors as significant for distinguishing between these acceptance groups regarding their preferences for local green hydrogen production: trust in plant safety, trust in project managers, risk/benefit perception, environmental self-identity, negative attitude towards renewable energies, positive attitude towards renewable energies, emotions, age, and gender. However, no significant effects were observed for experience with green hydrogen and distance to the place of residence. Based on our results, it is recommended that required renewable energy for green hydrogen production should be produced as close to the green hydrogen plants as possible. It must be ensured and communicated to the public that the (planned) green hydrogen plants meet high safety standards and pose a very low risk of fire or explosion. The neighbouring population should also benefit through annual heating cost savings and financial participation. Implementing these measures can increase acceptance of local green hydrogen production, facilitating the transition towards a more sustainable energy future in Germany and beyond.
Considering global plastic waste pollution, current production and consumption patterns must be changed. Various measures address this challenge, which can be divided into efficiency, consistency, and sufficiency. Sufficiency has become more critical as research on sustainable consumption and packaging-related behavior has shown that efficiency and consistency strategies alonecannot solve environmental challenges. A deeper understanding of consumers’ packaging-related behavior is necessary to promote sufficiency-oriented consumption patterns and support consumersin everyday implementation. This study aims to investigate consumers’ packaging-saving practices in the fast-moving consumer goods (FMCG) sector and to explore to what extent the practices differ in their actual feasibility in everyday life. For this purpose, we conducted an online survey in Germany with open-ended questions (n = 299). We evaluated the open-ended questions using qualitative content analysis. Overall, the results show that reducing plastic packaging plays a significant role in the participants’ everyday lives. However, the extent to which plastic packaging is avoided or reduced varies by consumption sector. This study extends research on plastic packaging avoidance and reduction to non-food consumption sectors. It also provides essential impulses for actors from science, politics, and industry regarding how consumers can be more strongly supported in their packaging-related behavior in the future, through targeted measures.
To achieve greenhouse gas neutrality by 2045, Germany must reduce its CO2 emissions, and German policies aim to ramp up domestic green hydrogen production. So far, green hydrogen production in Germany is still in its early stages, with few existing green hydrogen plants. Amongst other factors, public acceptance is crucial for successfully expanding green hydrogen production. However, few studies have investigated the acceptance of green hydrogen plants or production. Thus, this study aims to identify key factors influencing the acceptance of green hydrogen plants in Germany, focusing on the influence of participation in green hydrogen projects. A nationwide online survey (n = 1203) collected data from 1203 respondents living in regions with existing or planned green hydrogen plants in Germany. A multiple linear regression model identified eight key factors that influence the acceptance, including trust in plant safety, trust in project managers, information, risk/benefit perception, experience with green hydrogen, and gender, all having a significant positive impact on the acceptance of green hydrogen plants in Germany. Conversely, participation in the form of consultation and environmental self-identity negatively influence the acceptance of green hydrogen plants in Germany. The results support political decision-makers and stakeholders in realising future green hydrogen projects with high societal acceptance and address potential concerns, thus facilitating the transition towards a more sustainable energy future in Germany and elsewhere.
Construction and use of buildings is one of the highest users of global energy (34%) and one of the highest contributors to greenhouse gas emissions (37%). Using wood instead of carbon-intensive materials such as bricks reduces a building's embodied energy and is a more eco-friendly alternative. Since the quota of newly built wooden houses in Germany is still relatively low, gaining insights into the perspective of consumers is crucial. This study aims to investigate factors from a consumer perspective that influence the selection of wood as the primary building material for residential houses. Therefore, an online survey was conducted in Germany to gather data from individuals (N = 510) who either bought or built a house in the last 5 years. By conducting a logistic regression, we have identified six influencing factors for the selection of wood. Positive views on wood's eco-friendliness and emphasis on renewable materials are key factors in choosing wood. Higher age and living in rural areas also increase the likelihood of selecting wood, while concerns about value stability and durability have negative effects. We conclude that increasing information activities, raising awareness about wood's ecological benefits, and dispelling prejudices can significantly impact its selection as a preferred building material.
Since, according to many scientific studies, price is a very important factor when buying fruits and vegetables, it is interesting to study whether price differences between them occur in retail markets. Because of the discussion regarding sustainability, we performed an observational, orienting study on the retail prices of frequently bought packaged and unpackaged fruits and vegetables (apples, tomatoes, and bell peppers) in the Munich area in February and March 2022. We also differentiated between organic and non-organic produce. The relationship between the type of packaging (packaged versus unpackaged) and the retail price (EUR/kg) was determined by means of correlation coefficients, and we examined whether unpackaged products were more expensive than the packaged variants. The results differed for the organic and non-organic variants of the products, as well as among the individual fruit and vegetable varieties. We found a tendency towards unpackaged products being more expensive than packaged fruits and vegetables, in three out of four cases for the non-organic and two out of three cases for the organic products. For all cases, single products and single cost values were observed where the opposite was found.
Mittels eines Feldexperiments am Point of Sale wurde un- tersucht, ob und wie Verbraucher alternative, nachhaltigere Verpackungslösungen für Tomaten wahrnehmen und auchwählen. Über einen Zeitraum von sechs Wochen wurden Verpackungslösungen aus Pappe, R-PET (Recycling PET), PLA (Biokunststoff) und konventionellem PET für Snacktomaten getestet.MESSUNG DER WILLINGNESS TO PAY/TO ACT FÜR NACHHALTIGE VERPACKUNGSLÖSUNGEN. Die Ergebnisse zeigen, dass 53 % der Verbraucher zu nachhaltigen Verpackungslösungen greifen und dafür auch bereit sind, einen Mehrpreis zu bezahlen. Obwohl die Mehrheit der Verbraucher eher Laienwissen über die Herstellung und Entsorgung der einzelnen Materialien hat, werden intuitiv umweltfreundliche Alternativen bevorzugt.
Mehr
Klaus Menrad,
Christiane Joiko,
Thomas Decker,
Andreas Gabriel,
Bettina Schmidt
Berechtigungen: Open Access
Material use of biogenic resources,Stoffliche Nutzung von Nachwachsenden Rohstoffen (2008) Berichte uber Landwirtschaft 86 (3), S. 480-501.
Bücher
Thomas Decker,
Maria Lippl,
Manuel Lorenz,
Friederike van den Adel
Herausforderungen für Verbraucherinnen und Verbraucher bei der Reduzierung von Kunststoffverpackungen für Lebensmittel (2020) In: Kröger, M.; Pape, J.; Wittwer, A. (Hrsg.): Einfach weglassen? oekom Verlag München, ISBN: 978-3-96238-243-8, S. 213-226 2020 , S. 213-226.
Buchbeiträge
Cord-Christian Gaus,
Klaus Menrad,
Thomas Decker
Verkaufsbereitschaft von Landwirten für Stroh in Bayern (2014) Wie viel Markt und wie viel Regulierung braucht eine nachhaltige Agrarentwicklung?, Schriften der Gesellschaft für Wirtschafts- und Sozialwissenschaften des Landbaues e. V. 49 , S. 409-410.
Ulla Kainz,
Marina Zapilko,
Thomas Decker,
Klaus Menrad
Consumer-relevant Information about Bioplastics (2013) Proceedings of the First International Conference on Resource Efficiency in Interorganizational Networks - ResEff 2013 -, Göttingen , S. 391-402.
Willie Stiehler,
Thomas Decker,
Klaus Menrad
Wahrnehmung, generelle gesellschaftliche Akzeptanz der Technologie Biogas sowie Anwohnerakzeptanz von bestehenden und fiktiven
Biogasanlagen-Standorten (2013) Vortrag und Tagungsbandbeitrag bei der 22. Jahrestagung und Fachmesse des Fachverband Biogas, Leipzig. Tagungsband , S. 43-49.
Willie Stiehler,
Thomas Decker,
Klaus Menrad
Public acceptance of biomass cogeneration heat (and power) plants (BCH(P)P's) in Bavaria (2011) Paper and Poster at the International Nordic Bioenergy Conference 2011. Jyväskylä, Finland. Book of Proceedings , S. 48-52.
Willie Stiehler,
Thomas Decker,
Marina Zapilko,
Klaus Menrad
Public acceptance of renewable energies in Bavaria using the example of biomass cogeneration plants and biogas plants (2011) Paper and Poster at the 19th European Biomass Conference and Exhibition. Berlin, Germany. Book of Proceedings , S. 2762-2766.
Klaus Menrad,
Thomas Decker,
Stefan Kurka,
Marina Zapilko
Consumer aspects and communication of bio-based products (2010) Bayern Innovativ (Hrsg.): Biopolymers - perspectives, technologies, markets. 2nd Cooperation Forum, Straubing, November 11th, 2010. Beitrag im Tagungsband .
Thomas Decker,
Marina Zapilko,
Klaus Menrad
Purchasing behaviour related to heating systems in Germany with special consideration of consumers’ ecological attitudes (2010) The Bioenergy Association of Finland (FINBIO) (Hrsg.): Forest Bioenergy 2010. Book of Proceedings 47 , S. 25-33.
Thomas Decker,
Marina Zapilko,
Klaus Menrad
Buying behaviour related to heating systems in Germany (2010) Beitrag im Tagungsband der Biomasse Konferenz vom 3.-7.5.2010 in Lyon .
Thomas Decker,
Marina Zapilko,
Klaus Menrad
Purchasing behaviour related to heating systems in Germany with special consideration of consumers’ ecological attitudes (2009) Contributed paper für Energy Engineering, Economics and Policy Conference (EEEP) 2009 in Orlando .
Klaus Menrad,
Christiane Joiko,
Thomas Decker,
Andreas Gabriel
Stoffliche Nutzung (2008) In: Hüttl, R. F.; Bens, O.; Plieninger, T. (Hrsg.): Zur Zukunft ländlicher Räume: Entwicklungen und Innovationen in peripheren
Regionen Nordostdeutschlands. Forschungsberichte der Interdisziplinären Arbeitsgruppen der Berlin-Brandenburgischen
Akademie der Wissenschaften, Akademie Verlag GmbH, Berlin, 20 , S. 261- 281.
Consumer acceptance of innovative resource-efficient Mycelium-Bound Composites (2025) Votrag auf der BEHAVE 2025 the 8th European Conference on Behaviour Change and Energy Efficiency, 12.12.2025, Paris 2025 .
Jonas Krauß,
Thomas Decker,
Klaus Menrad
Consumer acceptance of innovative resource-efficient Mycelium-Bound Composites (2025) In: Proceedings of the Behave 2025 conference, the 8th European Conference on Behaviour Change and Energy Efficiency, 11.12.-12.12.2025, S. 210-213 , S. 210-213.
Johannes Buchner,
Klaus Menrad,
Thomas Decker
Public acceptance of on-site green hydrogen production in Germany (2025) Poster at the Behave conference 2025, 11.12. – 12.12.2025 in Paris, Frankreich .
Johannes Buchner,
Klaus Menrad,
Thomas Decker
Green production, great solution? - Understanding Public Preferences for Green Hydrogen Production in Germany (Extended Abstract) (2025) In ADEME & EnR (Hrsg.), Proceedings of the BEHAVE Conference (S. 512-518), Paris, Frankreich .
Pia Drechsel,
Alexander Kracklauer,
Klaus Menrad,
Thomas Decker
Trade-offs in Sustainable Food Consumption: Insights from a choice-based conjoint experiment on eco-attributes in apple purchase decisions (2025) European Conference on Behaviour Change for Energy Efficiency (BEHAVE): Conference Proceedings, 118–121. .
Jonas Krauß,
Thomas Decker,
Klaus Menrad
Consumer Response to Mycelium-Bound Composites in the Construction Sector (2025) Poster auf der 6. International Conference on Bio-Based Building Materials (ICBBM-2025) in Rio de Janeiro, 17.-20. Juni 2025, Rio de Janeiro 2025 .
Johannes Grote-Weber,
Klaus Menrad,
Thomas Decker,
Paul Lampert
Verbrauchererwartungen bei torffreien Pflanzerden (2024) Poster auf dem IVG-Branchentag Erden & Substrate 2024, 21.11.2024, Bad Zwischenahn 2024 .
DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.13140/RG.2.2.31230.50246
Johannes Buchner,
Klaus Menrad,
Thomas Decker
Societal acceptance of green hydrogen production in Germany (2024) Poster in der TUM Summer School 2024, 23.09. – 27.09.2024 in Sao Paulo, Brasilien .
Pia Drechsel,
Thomas Decker
Do consumers want to reduce plastic packaging? (2021) Kurzvortrag und Posterpräsentation auf der BECC 2021, virtuell, 08.-10.11.2021 .
Andreas Bauer,
Thomas Decker,
Klaus Menrad
Berechtigungen: Peer Reviewed
About rebound- and spillover-effects: A two-step model for analysing influencing factors on environmental behaviour (2017) Konferenzband “International Conference on Human Dimensions of Environmen-tal Risks, 21.-26. Mai 2017 in Ascona (Schweiz) , S. 31.
Thomas Decker,
Klaus Menrad,
Magnus Fröhling,
Josef Huber,
Alexander Schulze
Planung und Bewertung von flexiblen Wohnkonzepten in Holzbauweise für verschiedene Lebensphasen (2024)
Thomas Decker,
Maria Lippl,
Stefan Albrecht,
Klaus Dieter Bauer,
Pia Drechsel,
Britta Frommeyer,
Dominik Heider,
Jochem Holterbosch,
Klaudia Klaene,
Julia Koch,
Manuel Lorenz,
Klaus Menrad,
Lea Muth,
Sven Sängerlaub,
Carla Scagnetti,
Gerhard Schewe,
Maren Tornow,
Friederike van den Adel,
Kristina von Gehlen
Thomas Decker,
Maria Lippl,
Stefan Albrecht,
Klaus Dieter Bauer,
Pia Drechsel,
Britta Frommeyer,
Dominik Heider,
Jochem Holterbosch,
Klaudia Klaene,
Julia Koch,
Manuel Lorenz,
Klaus Menrad,
Lea Muth,
Sven Sängerlaub,
Carla Scagnetti,
Gerhard Schewe,
Maren Tornow,
Friederike van den Adel,
Kristina von Gehlen
Im interdisziplinären Forschungsprojekt „Verbraucherreaktionen bei Plastik und dessen Vermeidungsmöglichkeiten am Point of Sale“ (VerPlaPoS) wurden im Zeitraum Oktober 2017 bis März 2021 von verschiedenen wissenschaftlichen Institutionen in Zusammenarbeit mit Partnern aus der Praxis Handlungsoptionen und die Rolle von Verbraucher*innen bei der Vermeidung von Plastik(müll) in den Bereichen Lebensmittel- und Textilverpackungen untersucht. Das Projekt wurde gefördert vom Bundesministerium für Bildung und Forschung (BMBF) innerhalb des Forschungsschwerpunkts „Sozial- ökologische Forschung“ im Rahmen der Fördermaßnahme „Plastik in der Umwelt – Quellen, Senken, Lösungsansätze“. Diese ist Teil der Leitinitiative Green Economy des BMBF-Rahmenprogramms „Forschung für Nachhaltige Entwicklung" (FONA3). Im vorliegenden Dokument werden ausgewählte Arbeiten und Ergebnisse zu den verschiedenen Themenbereichen in einzelnen Kapiteln beschrieben.
The report analyses the interrelationships between customer satisfaction and success of horticultural companies in Germany.
Mehr
Klaus Menrad,
Thomas Decker,
Bernhard Thoni
Informations und Kommunikationsstrategien für Nachwachsende Rohstoffe / Bereich Biowerkstoffe – Hemmnisse, Ziele, Instrumente (2009) Projektbericht für die Fachagentur für Nachwachsende Rohstoffe (FNR), Gülzow. Wissenschaftszentrum Straubing, 57 S .
Thomas Decker,
Christiane Joiko,
Klaus Menrad
Sichtweisen wesentlicher Akteure am Markt für Holzpellets in Deutschland (2009) Schlussbericht für das BMBF. Wissenschaftszentrum Straubing, 30 S .
Klaus Menrad,
Thomas Decker,
Andreas Gabriel,
Sebastian Kilburg,
Edmund Langer,
Bettina Schmidt,
Martin Zerhoch
Industrielle stoffliche Nutzung Nachwachsender Rohstoffe. Markt, makroökonomische Effekte und Verbraucherakzeptanz (2006) Bericht an das Büro für Technikfolgenabschätzung beim Deutschen Bundestag. Wissenschaftszentrum Straubing, C.A.R.M.E.N. e. V., Straubing, 143 S .
Klaus Menrad,
Thomas Decker,
Andreas Gabriel
Kompetenznetzwerk Nachwachsende Rohstoffe. Endbericht zur Akteursbefragung in der Region (2005) Bericht an die Stadt Straubing im Rahmen des Projektes „Donauhanse“. Wissenschaftszentrum Straubing .
Vorträge
Pia Drechsel,
Alexander Kracklauer,
Klaus Menrad,
Thomas Decker
Trade-offs in Sustainable Food Consumption: Insights from a choice-based conjoint experiment on eco-attributes in apple purchase decisions. (2025) Vortrag auf der European Conference on Behaviour Change for Energy Efficiency (BEHAVE), in Paris (France). .
Johannes Buchner,
Klaus Menrad,
Thomas Decker
Traktoren von morgen fahren klimafreundlich – fahren Sie mit? (2025) Online-Vortrag im Rahmen der Veranstaltung „Postfossile Antriebsenergien“ der Landwirtschaftskammer Nordrhein-Westfalen, 20.11.2025. .
Thomas Decker
Verpackt und zugemüllt – die Plastikkrise im Einkaufswagen (2025) Vortrag Mikroplastik im Fokus – Aktuelle Kenntnisse & Dialog, 04.11.2025 in Hamburg, Deutschland. .
Thomas Decker,
Pia Drechsel,
Alexander Kracklauer,
Klaus Menrad
A sustainable Switch: Field Experiment on Consumer Acceptance of Environmentally Friendly Packaging in Retail. (2025) Vortrag auf der 31. Recent Advances in Retailing and Consumer Sciences (RARCS) Conference, in Zagreb (Croatia). .
Thomas Decker
Plastic packaging and consumers – from shopping cart to landfill (2025) Vortrag bei den Environmental Lecture Series 25.06.2025 in München .
Johannes Buchner,
Klaus Menrad,
Thomas Decker
Was wird morgen in der Landwirtschaft geladen oder getankt? (2025) Vortrag auf dem Kraftstoff der Zukunft-Kongress 2025, 20.01.–21.01.2025 in Berlin. .
Praxisforschung für flexible und nachhaltige Wohnkonzepte (2023) Vortrag auf dem 30. CARMEN Forum – Zukünftiges Bauen & Wohnen am 23.03.2023 in Straubing .
Thomas Decker
Akzeptanz Erneuerbare Energie? (2022) Impulsvortrag auf der Online-Tagung Zukunftsdialog Straubing - Grüne Zeitenwende für Mensch, Umwelt, Klima & Energie, 22.11.2022 .
Thomas Decker
Reichen die Rohstoffe Holz und Stroh für einen Ausbau der Bioökonomie in Bayern? (2021) Impulsvortrag auf der Fachveranstaltung Bayern – Rohstoff-Potenziale und Standorte für Bioraffenerien?, 24.11.2021, virtuell .
Der Betriebszweig Soziale Landwirtschaft soll in Bayern gestärkt werden. Dazu werden werden innovative Ansätze zur Verbesserung der sozialen Strukturen im ländlichen Raum ausgearbeitet.
…
Wir verwenden Cookies. Einige sind notwendig für die Funktion der Webseite, andere helfen uns, die Webseite zu verbessern. Um unseren eigenen Ansprüchen beim Datenschutz gerecht zu werden, erfassen wir lediglich anonymisierte Nutzerdaten mit „Matomo“. Um unser Internetangebot für Sie ansprechender zu gestalten, binden wir außerdem externe Inhalte unserer Social-Media-Kanäle ein.
