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5.  The Research Results

5.4.  Usefulness of chapters

Respondents rated each chapter of the report that they had read, or to which they had referred, according to how useful it was for their information needs.  The overall result was as follows:

Usefulness of Chapters  (n=) Not at all useful % Not very useful % Quite useful % Very useful % Total %

Section 1:  Setting the Context
Chapter 1: Environmental reporting (203) 6 14 66 14 100
Chapter 2: Our Environment and people (203) 5 17 63 15 100

Section 2: Pressures on the Environment
Chapter 3: Household consumption (193) 6 14 56 24 100
Chapter 4: Transport (190) 3 16 61 20 100
Chapter 5: Energy (206) 3 11 60 26 100
Chapter 6: Waste (201) 3 16 58 23 100

Section 3:  State of the Environment
Chapter 7: Air (198) 4 14 64 18 100
Chapter 8: Atmosphere (185) 5 19 59 17 100
Chapter 9: Land (221) 3 13 49 35 100
Chapter 10: Freshwater (218) 3 17 48 32 100
Chapter 11: Oceans (185) 6 25 46 23 100
Chapter 12: Biodiversity (198) 8 15 48 29 100

This result indicates that eleven out of the twelve chapters were rated ‘very’ or ‘quite useful’ by more than 75% of readers.  The one chapter that fell below this level was ‘Chapter 11- Oceans’, which 31% of respondents regarded as ‘not useful’.

 

An analysis of the above result by sector reveals that the usefulness of the report content spans the various sectors.

Percentage of each sector rating the chapter
‘very’ or ‘quite useful’
Chapters Central Govt % Local Govt % Industry % Prof. Assoc. % CRI % NGO % Iwi/
Maori %		 Ed. Inst. % General
Public %
1. Environmental reporting 80 91 71 76 85 71 100 81 74
2. Our environment & people 78 95 69 71 92 57 100 75 67
3. Household consumption 83 90 79 76 69 33 80 89 83
4. Transport 67 80 78 88 91 50 80 94 79
5. Energy 100 85 84 91 100 50 80 94 77
6. Waste 88 82 69 75 93 50 83 82 89
7. Air 100 73 78 76 93 80 100 71 87
8. Atmosphere 100 83 74 63 92 80 83 65 69
9. Land 89 86 83 77 85 84 83 94 78
10. Freshwater 90 72 83 66 77 86 83 87 77
11. Oceans 77 53 70 55 64 80 66 73 76
12. Biodiversity 100 72 76 66 75 83 83 83 74

(Note:  The percentages in the above table are based on the number of people in each sector who read each chapter and who disclosed which sector they represent.)


5.5.  Chapters Considered Most Useful

Respondents were each asked to identify the one chapter that they found most useful. 
90% selected a chapter, but opinion was widely spread.  The overall result was as follows:

Chapter rated ‘most useful’ (n=254) %
1. Environmental reporting 7
2. Our environment and people 6
3. Household consumption 9
4. Transport 1
5. Energy 7
6. Waste 3
7. Air 9
8. Atmosphere 1
9. Land 16
10. Freshwater 13
11. Oceans 4
12. Biodiversity 14
Don’t know/unsure 10
Total respondents    100%

 

The highest rating chapters, by sector, were:

Central government (n=16)

 % Rating Most Useful
Chapter 11: Oceans 25
Chapter 1: Environmental reporting 19
Chapter 10: Freshwater 19

Local government (n=36)

  
Chapter 10: Freshwater 22
Chapter 3: Household consumption 17
Chapter 7: Air 17

Industry and Business (n=33)

  
Chapter 9: Land 33
Chapter 5: Energy 15
Chapter 10: Freshwater 15

Professional associations (n=13)

  
Chapter 5: Energy 23
Chapter 12: Biodiversity 23

CRIs (n=21)

  
Chapter 9: Land 29
Chapter 3: Household consumption 24
Chapter 7: Air 14

NGOs (n=11)

  
Chapter 9: Land 27
Chapter 10 Freshwater 27
Chapter 12: Biodiversity 27

Iwi/Maori (n=6)27
Chapter 2: Our environment and people 33

Educational Institutions (n=28)
Chapter 9: Land 21
Chapter 5: Energy 18
Chapter 12: Biodiversity 18

General Public (n=49)
Chapter 12: Biodiversity 31
Chapter 7: Air 16
Chapter 3: Household consumption 12

Respondents were asked to outline their reasons for choosing a particular chapter as ‘most useful’.  Their reasons were very diverse.  However, the relevance of the chosen chapter to the respondent’s work or information needs featured strongly, as can be seen in the summary table below.

Reasons for choosing a particular chapter as ‘most useful’ % Mentioning
It provided information that was most relevant to my current work/business project/study/research/area of interest 46
It gave good information about the people and the environment we live in/our relationship with the environment/human impacts; it explained how we contribute to environmental impacts 7
The concepts of measuring the environment/performance indicators/environmental trends are important/relevant/vital 5
It provided a useful overview/very good overall summary 4
It focused on an important issue/the most important issue/the issue of highest concern 4
Other reasons 16
Respondents who gave a reason 82%

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