Reveal Marketing Research and România Eficientă study: Healthier buildings, healthier Romanians
13 December 2022. According to the latest Healthy Homes Barometer 2022 study, 1 in 3 Europeans are exposed to risks with a direct impact on individual health and well-being caused by a problematic indoor environment, such as lack of natural light, heat, excessive noise or moisture and mold. In modern society, where people spend most of their time in buildings, Reveal Marketing Research set out to identify the perceptions of Romanians related to how the energy efficiency of buildings influences individual health, through a study carried out for the Romania Eficienta program.
- Two out of 10 Romanians believe that protecting health is the main benefit of increasing the energy efficiency of buildings.
- The top of the “unhealthy” buildings, in need of energy efficiency improvement, is made up of hospitals (88%), schools (86%) and apartment buildings (83%).
Protecting health is the second most important benefit of increasing the energy performance of buildings, after reducing bill values.
Romanians generally believe that the main benefits brought by energy efficiency are utility costs (43%) and individual health (18%), according to the results of the study. In the same vein, for 2 out of 10 Romanians, protecting personal and family health is perceived as the main benefit associated with increasing the energy performance of buildings.
The survey indicates that young people between the ages of 18-24 shape a social identity centered on the idea of general well-being. For them, protecting health (21%) and reducing pollution (19%) represent considerably more important benefits compared to the general population, with differences of 5 and 10 percentage points, respectively.
Hospitals, schools and apartment blocks are the main ‘unhealthy’ buildings that should benefit from energy efficiency measures.
The study reveals that one of the direct implications of increasing the energy efficiency of buildings is the protection of people’s health, and Romanians consider, in a proportion of over 80%, as very important to live in a thermally insulated home.
As for the types of buildings for which the increase in energy performance is perceived as the most important and necessary, respondents mostly mentioned hospitals (88%), schools (86%) and residential buildings (83%).
Methodology: The Reveal Marketing Research study was conducted online at the behest of the Energy Policy Group (EPG), for the Romania Eficienta program, between 07-10.06.2022, on a representative sample for the universe of people aged 18+, from urban areas, internet users . The sample size was 806 respondents and the maximum sampling error is +/-3.5% at a 95% confidence level.
The results of the study can be accessed here: https://www.romania-eficienta.ro/raport-de-cercetare-perceptii-privind-eficienta-energetica/
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About România Eficientă
România Eficientă is a private project of national scope, carried out by the Energy Policy Group (EPG) in partnership and financed by OMV Petrom. The project started in the summer of 2019 and consists of running a national program to promote energy efficiency. România Eficientă aims to support the achievement of Romania’s targets for 2030 regarding the reduction of carbon emissions and the increase of energy efficiency, both through information and education campaigns, as well as through major renovation projects in public schools in different regions of the country. More details on the romania-eficienta.ro website.
About Energy Policy Group
The Energy Policy Group (EPG) is an independent and non-profit think-tank specializing in energy and climate policy, market analysis and energy strategy, founded in 2014. EPG advocates for a technologically advanced energy system, sustainable and socially just. EPG also promotes long-term decarbonisation policies and actions in all economic areas, with a focus on the energy sector.
About OMV Petrom
OMV Petrom is the largest integrated energy company in Southeast Europe, with annual group crude oil and gas production of approximately 47 million boe in 2021. The group has a refining capacity of 4.5 million tonnes annually and operates an 860 MW high-efficiency power plant. On the retail oil products distribution market, the Group is present in Romania and neighboring countries through approximately 790 gas stations under two brands – OMV and Petrom.
OMV Petrom shares are traded on the Bucharest Stock Exchange and the London Stock Exchange. OMV Aktiengesellschaft, one of Austria’s largest listed industrial companies, owns 51% of OMV Petrom. The Romanian state, through the Ministry of Energy, owns 20.6% of OMV Petrom’s shares, and 28.4% are owned by individuals and legal entities.
OMV Petrom is the largest contributor to the state budget, with around 35 billion euros representing taxes and dividends paid between 2005 and 2021. In the same period, the company invested around 17 billion euros.
Since 2007, OMV Petrom has integrated the principles of corporate responsibility into its business strategy. Between 2007 and 2021, the company allocated over 80 million euros for the development of communities in Romania, focusing on environmental protection, education, health and local development.
On July 29, 2020, OMV Petrom announced its support for the recommendations issued by the Task Force on Climate-related Financial Disclosures (TCFD) regarding the risks and opportunities associated with climate change.
About Reveal Marketing Research
Reveal Marketing Research is a full-service market research company, specialized in market research, sociological studies, customer insight, business strategy, market development. With expertise in over 20 industries, Reveal Marketing Research believes that market research is the basis for the right decisions and brand positioning. Qualitative and quantitative solutions have been helping companies in Romania and Europe for 14 years.