Green Marketing PDF

EXCEL International Journal of Multidisciplinary Management Studies
Vol.2 Issue 5, May 2012, ISSN 2249 8834 Online available at http://zenithresearch.org.in/
GREEN MARKETING
MRS. FATI SHAFAAT*; ARIF SULTAN**
*Sr. Lecturer, Technical Education & Research Institute (TERI), P.G.College, Ghazipur. **Lecturer, Technical Education & Research Institute (TERI), P.G.College, Ghazipur.
ABSTRACT Today there is growing interest among the consumers all over the world regarding protection of environment. Worldwide evidence indicates people are concerned about the environment and are changing their behavior. As a result of this, green marketing has emerged which speaks for growing market for sustainable and socially responsible products and services. The past decade has shown that harnessing consumer power to effect positive environmental change is far easier said than done. The so-called "green consumer" movements in the U.S. and other countries have struggled to reach critical mass and to remain in the forefront of shoppers' minds. While public opinion polls taken since the late 1980s have shown consistently that a significant percentage of consumers in the U.S. and elsewhere profess a strong willingness to favor environmentally conscious products and companies, consumers' efforts to do so in real life have remained sketchy at best. One of green marketing's challenges is the lack of standards or public consensus about what constitutes "green," according to Joel Makower, a writer on green marketing. In essence, there is no definition of "how good is good enough" when it comes to a product or company making green marketing claims. This lack of consensusby consumers, marketers, activists, regulators, and influential peoplehas slowed the growth of green products, says Makower, because companies are often reluctant to promote their green attributes, and consumers are often skeptical about claims. The popularity of such marketing approach and its effectiveness is hotly debated. Supporters claim that environmental appeals are actually growing in number the Energy Star label, for example, now appears on 11,000 different companies' models in 38 product categories, from washing machines and light bulbs to skyscrapers and homes. The difference is, however, that greenrightfully sois on the wane as the primary sales pitch for products. As resources are limited and human wants are unlimited, it is important for the marketers to utilize the resources efficiently without waste as well as to achieve the organization's objective. So green marketing is inevitable. This paper will cover all the aspects regarding green marketing, its issues, benefits, and practices by different companies. KEYWORDS: Social Marketing, Green Marketing, Socially responsible Products & Companies, Green Products. ______________________________________________________________________________
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INTRODUCTION Consumers want to do the right thing when it comes to protecting the environment and their health. Even in this economic climate, the green movement is gathering momentum, and it's hard to miss the deluge of ads introducing new green products from well-known national brands. These manufacturers are leading the way; studies such as the newly released BBMG Conscious Consumer Report now show that nearly 80 percent of Americans agree they can make a positive difference by purchasing products from socially or environmentally responsible companies. As resources are limited and human wants are unlimited, it is important for the marketers to utilize the resources efficiently without waste as well as to achieve the organization's objective. So green marketing is inevitable. Today in this turbulent and competitive environment where so many unethical practices are going on in businesses which are regularly losing the interests of consumers. So society expects business to act as responsible members of the social community as well as to provide goods and services efficiently. By this the social responsibilities of any corporate houses has became an important aspects of today's era, in which the conscious efforts are being made by an organization to maximize its positive impact and minimize its negative impact on society as well as a whole and on various groups and individuals within society. Business is marketing and vice versa forcing corporate to go for social responsible activities in which it produces products and render services for exchanging for money by which needs of man can be fulfilled and the needs of the society can also be looked after. In this situation when the consumers are becoming more concerned about what they as well as business firms can do to protect the environment and the majority of society wants to help firms clean up the air, water and land. They also must go for finding the new ways to dispose of garbage, recycle and reuse of packaging. This expectation of the society gave the birth of Green Marketing as a tool of performing corporate social responsibility. MEANING Green marketing refers to the process of selling products and/or services based on their environmental benefits. Such a product or service may be environmentally friendly in it or produced and/or packaged in an environmentally friendly way. The obvious assumption of green marketing is that potential consumers will view a product or service's "greenness" as a benefit and base their buying decision accordingly. The not-so-obvious assumption of green marketing is that consumers will be willing to pay more for green products than they would for a less-green comparable alternative product - an assumption that, in my opinion, has not been proven conclusively. While green marketing is growing greatly as increasing numbers of consumers are willing to back their environmental consciousnesses with their dollars, it can be dangerous. The public tends to be skeptical of green claims to begin with and companies can seriously damage their brands and their sales if a green claim is discovered to be false or contradicted by a company's www.zenithresearch.org.in
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other products or practices. Presenting a product or service as green when it's not is called green washing. GREEN MARKETING- DEFINITION According to the American Marketing Association, Green Marketing is defined as the development and marketing of products designed to minimize negative effects on the physical environment or to enhance its quality. However, applying a concrete definition to such a slippery concept, which has taken many forms and shapes over the years, has proven to be anything but simple or manageable. And, as you have seen on our Source and Resource site thus far, green marketing can include a variety of activities in diverse areas. Green marketing refers to the process of selling products and/or services based on their environmental benefits. Such a product or service may be environmentally friendly in it or produced and/or packaged in an environmentally friendly way. As per Mr. J. Polonsky, green marketing can be defined as, "All activities designed to generate and facilitate any exchange intended to satisfy human needs or wants such that satisfying of these needs and wants occur with minimal detrimental input on the national environment." Green marketing involves developing and promoting products and services that satisfy customers want and need for Quality, Performance, Affordable Pricing and Convenience without having a detrimental input on the environment. GREEN MARKETING CAN BE DEFINED IN THREE WAYS RETAILING DEFINITION: The marketing of products that are presumed to be environmentally safe. SOCIAL MARKETING DEFINITION: The development and marketing of products designed to minimize negative effects on the physical environment or to improve its quality. ENVIRONMENTAL DEFINITION: The efforts by organizations to produce, promote, package, and reclaim products in a manner that is sensitive or responsive to ecological concerns. Green marketing is the process of developing products and services and promoting them to satisfy the customers who prefer products of good quality, performance and convenience at affordable cost, which at the same time do not have a detrimental impact on the environment. It includes a broad range of activities like product modification, changing the production process, modified advertising, change in packaging, etc., aimed at reducing the detrimental impact of products and their consumption and disposal on the environment. Companies all over the world are striving to reduce the impact of products and services on the climate and other environmental parameters. Marketers are taking the cue and are going green. Green marketing was given prominence in the late 1980s and 1990s after the proceedings of the first workshop on Ecological marketing held in Austin, Texas (US), in 1975. Several books on green marketing began to be published thereafter. According to the Joel makeover (a writer, www.zenithresearch.org.in
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speaker and strategist on clean technology and green marketing), green marketing faces a lot of challenges because of lack of standards and public consensus to what constitutes "Green". The green marketing has evolved over a period of time. Green marketing is a vital constituent of the holistic marketing concept. It is particularly applicable to businesses that are directly dependent on the physical environment; for example, industries like fishing, processed foods, tourism and adventure sports. Changes in the physical environment may pose a threat to such industries. Many global players in diverse businesses are now successfully implementing green marketing practices. EVOLUTION OF GREEN MARKETING There is growing interest among the consumers all over the world regarding protection of environment. Worldwide evidence indicates people are concerned about the environment and are changing their behavior. As a result of this, green marketing has emerged which speaks for growing market for sustainable and socially responsible products and services. The green marketing has evolved over a period of time. According to Peatti (2001), the evolution of green marketing has three phasesFirst phase was termed as "Ecological" green marketing, and during this period all marketing activities were concerned to help environment problems and provide remedies for environmental problems. Second phase was "Environmental" green marketing and the focus shifted on clean technology that involved designing of innovative new products, which take care of pollution and waste issues. Third phase was "Sustainable" green marketing. It came into prominence in the late 1990s and early 2000. WHY GREEN MARKETING As resources are limited and human wants are unlimited, it is important for the marketers to utilize the resources efficiently without waste as well as to achieve the organization's objective. So green marketing is inevitable. As we have all witnessed, consumer and corporate environmental consciousness has dramatically elevated in recent years. Related news, events, and proposed legislation seem to emerge and change at warp speed. More apparent causes and effects of global climate change, depleting fisheries, deforestation, and the current energy and impending water crises have all caused people to reassess what they put in their cupboards, dishwashers, and gas tanks, along with what they do with such things once theyve been used. Because of this intensified environmental awareness, it has become increasingly important how a firm deals with such global challenges. Or, one might argue, it may be even more crucial how a
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firm is viewed in approaching such issues. In this manner, CSR environmental behavior and cleantech investments have become essential to a companys core operations, regardless of the sector in which the company operates. That is, companies are not only sensing the rising accountability demands of shareholders, the public, and governmental bodies, but also the opportunities involved in a green products market estimated at US$209 billion. There is growing interest among the consumers all over the world regarding protection of environment. Worldwide evidence indicates people are concerned about the environment and are changing their behavior. As a result of this, green marketing has emerged which speaks for growing market for sustainable and socially responsible products and services. Thus the growing awareness among the consumers all over the world regarding protection of the environment in which they live, People do want to bequeath a clean earth to their offspring. Various studies by environmentalists indicate that people are concerned about the environment and are changing their behavior pattern so as to be less hostile towards it. Now we see that most of the consumers, both individual and industrial, are becoming more concerned about environment-friendly products. Most of them feel that environment-friendly products are safe to use. As a result, green marketing has emerged, which aims at marketing sustainable and sociallyresponsible products and services. Now is the era of recyclable, non-toxic and environmentfriendly goods. This has become the new mantra for marketers to satisfy the needs of consumers and earn better profits. ADOPTION OF GREEN MARKETING Most of the companies are venturing into green marketing because of the following reasons: A. OPPORTUNITY In India, around 25% of the consumers prefer environmental-friendly products, and around 28% may be considered healthy conscious. There fore, green marketers have diverse and fairly sizeable segments to cater to. The Surf Excel detergent which saves water (advertised with the message"do bucket paani roz bachana") and the energy-saving LG consumers durables are examples of green marketing. We also have green buildings which are efficient in their use of energy, water and construction materials, and which reduce the impact on human health and the environment through better design, construction, operation, maintenance and waste disposal. In India, the green building movement, spearheaded by the Confederation of Indian industry (CII) Godrej Green business Center, has gained tremendous impetus over the last few years. From 20,000 sq ft in 2003, India's green building footprint is now over 25 million sq ft. B. SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITY Many companies have started realizing that they must behave in an environment-friendly fashion. They believe both in achieving environmental objectives as well as profit related objectives. The HSBC became the world's first bank to go carbon-neutral last year. Other examples include Coca-Cola, which has invested in various recycling activities. Walt Disney World in Florida, US, has an extensive waste management program and infrastructure in place.
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C. GOVERNMENTAL PRESSURE Various regulations rare framed by the government to protect consumers and the society at large. The Indian government too has developed a framework of legislations to reduce the production of harmful goods and by products. These reduce the industry's production and consumers' consumption of harmful goods, including those detrimental to the environment; for example, the ban of plastic bags in Mumbai, prohibition of smoking in public areas, etc. D. COMPETITIVE PRESSURE Many companies take up green marketing to maintain their competitive edge. The green marketing initiatives by niche companies such as Body Shop and Green & Black have prompted many mainline competitors to follow suit. E. COST REDUCTION Reduction of harmful waste may lead to substantial cost savings. Sometimes, many firms develop symbiotic relationship whereby the waste generated by one company is used by another as a cost-effective raw material. For example, the fly ash generated by thermal power plants, which would otherwise contributed to a gigantic quantum of solid waste, is used to manufacture fly ash bricks for construction purposes. BENEFITS OF GREEN MARKETING Today consumers are becoming more and more conscious about the environment and are also becoming socially responsible. Therefore, more companies are responsible to consumers' aspirations for environmentally less damaging or neutral products. Many companies want to have an early-mover advantage as they have to eventually move towards becoming green. Some of the advantages of green marketing are It ensures sustained long-term growth along with profitability. It saves money in the long run, though initially the cost is more. It helps companies market their products and services keeping the environment aspects in mind. It helps in accessing the new markets and enjoying competitive advantage. Most of the employees also feel proud and responsible to be working for an environmentally responsible company. Maintaining the ecological balance. Maintaining the environment eco friendly. Increasing awareness of consumers towards their planet. Better utilization of natural resources.
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Performing the social responsibility. THREE KEYS TO SUCCESSFUL GREEN MARKETING Show potential customers that you follow green business practices and you could reap more green on your bottom line. Green Marketing isn't just a catchphrase; it's a marketing strategy that can help you get more customers and make more money. But only if you do it right. For green marketing to be effective, you have to do three things; be genuine, educate your customers, and give them the opportunity to participate. 1)BEING GENUINE means that a) that you are actually doing what you claim to be doing in your green marketing campaign and b) that the rest of your business policies are consistent with whatever you are doing that's environmentally friendly. Both these conditions have to be met for your business to establish the kind of environmental credentials that will allow a green marketing campaign to succeed. 2) EDUCATING YOUR CUSTOMERS isn't just a matter of letting people know you're doing whatever you're doing to protect the environment, but also a matter of letting them know why it matters. Otherwise, for a significant portion of your target market, it's a case of "So what?" and your green marketing campaign goes nowhere. 3) GIVING YOUR CUSTOMERS AN OPPORTUNITY TO PARTICIPATE means personalizing the benefits of your environmentally friendly actions, normally through letting the customer take part in positive environmental action. GREEN MARKETING MIX Every company has its own favorite marketing mix. Some have 4 P's and some have 7 P's of marketing mix. The 4 P's of green marketing are that of a conventional marketing but the challenge before marketers is to use 4 P's in an innovative manner. PRODUCT The ecological objectives in planning products are to reduce resource consumption and pollution and to increase conservation of scarce resources (Keller man, 1978). PRICE Price is a critical and important factor of green marketing mix. Most consumers will only be prepared to pay additional value if there is a perception of extra product value. This value may be improved performance, function, design, visual appeal, or taste. Green marketing should take all these facts into consideration while charging a premium price. www.zenithresearch.org.in
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PROMOTION There are three types of green advertising: Ads that address a relationship between a product/service and the biophysical environment Those that promote a green lifestyle by highlighting a product or service Ads that present a corporate image of environmental responsibility PLACE The choice of where and when to make a product available will have significant impact on the customers. Very few customers will go out of their way to buy green products. CHALLENGES TO GREEN MARKETING Green products require renewable and recyclable material, which is costly Requires a technology, which requires huge investment in R & D Water treatment technology, which is too costly Majority of the people are not aware of green products and their uses Majority of the consumers are not willing to pay a premium for green products DIFFERENT EXAMPLES OF GREEN MARKETING PRACTICES INTRODUCTION OF CNG IN DELHI New Delhi, capital of India, was being polluted at a very fast pace until Supreme Court of India forced a change to alternative fuels. In 2002, a directive was issued to completely adopt CNG in all public transport systems to curb pollution. ELECTRONICS SECTOR The consumer electronics sector provides room for using green marketing to attract new customers. One example of this is HP's promise to cut its global energy use 20 percent by the year 2010. To accomplish this reduction below 2005 levels, The Hewlett-Packard Company announced plans to deliver energy-efficient products and services and institute energy-efficient operating practices in its facilities worldwide. WAL-MART Wal-Mart launched its highly visible environmental strategy in 2004. Since then, their goals have encompassed everything from: www.zenithresearch.org.in
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Cutting energy usage at stores by 30% to reduce greenhouse gas emissions Spending $500 million per year to improve truck fleet fuel economy Working towards monitoring overseas suppliers to ensure they meet environmental standards FAIRMONT Fairmont has attempted to position their brand as an industry leader in green practices through several approaches, including: Hiring a full time director of environmental affairs Launching a 200-ton per year recycling program Offering free parking for guests with hybrid cars Retrofitting lighting with energy efficient bulbs GENERAL ELECTRIC In 2005, GE launched their Ecomagination campaign. Clarifying how the green positioning is integrated with their overall business strategy, CEO Jeffrey Immelt notes that the campaign is primarily a way to sell more products and services. To this end, GE has pledged to: Double investments in clean R&D by 2010 Increase revenues from Eco magination products to $20 billion by 2010 Reduce their own greenhouse gas emissions by 1% over 7 years (when they would have increased by 40%) PHILIPS LIGHT'S "MARATHON" www.zenithresearch.org.in Philips Lighting's first shot at marketing a standalone compact fluorescent light (CFL) bulb was Earth Light, at $15 each versus 75 cents for incandescent bulbs. The product had difficulty climbing out of its deep green niche. The company re-launched the product as "Marathon," underscoring its new "super long life" positioning and promise of saving $26 in energy costs over its five-year lifetime. Finally, with the U.S. EPA's Energy Star label to add credibility as well as new sensitivity to rising utility costs and electricity shortages, sales climbed 12 percent in an otherwise flat market. CAR SHARING SERVICES Car-sharing services address the longer-term solutions to consumer needs for better fuel savings and fewer traffic tie-ups and parking nightmares, to complement the environmental benefit of more open space and reduction of greenhouse gases. They may be thought of as a "time-sharing"
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system for cars. Consumers who drive less than 7,500 miles a year and do not need a car for work can save thousands of dollars annually by joining one of the many services springing up, including Zip Car (East Coast), Flex Car (Washington State), and Hour Car (Twin Cities). SOME OTHER CASES OF GREEN MARKETING ARE AS FOLLOWS McDonalds restaurant's napkins, bags are made of recycled paper. Coca-Cola pumped syrup directly from tank instead of plastic which saved 68 million pound/year. Badarpur Thermal Power station of NTPC in Delhi is devising ways to utilize coal-ash that has been a major source of air and water pollution. Barauni refinery of IOC is taken steps for restricting air and water pollutants. Low Carbon Food Service by Bon Appetit Green Building Green Drivers Programme adopted by Novo Nordisk Hotel Room Energy Management Key-card enabled systems Hybrid Trucks for municipalities in US Greenputers Mahindra Hariyali Project Potato starch trays made by Dutch Paper Foam used in i-Phone reduces 90% carbon footprint compared to plastic tray CORPORATE INITIATIVES RESPONSIBILITIES FOR GREEN MARKETING AS SOCIAL www.zenithresearch.org.in
a. Broadcaster New Delhi Television Ltd, or NDTV, in partnership with car maker Toyota Kirloskar Motor Pvt. Ltd launched Greenathon on 7 Februarya 24-hour live television event to create awareness about environmental issues. b. Reva Electric Car Co. developing a market for electric cars and thereby a sustainable businessfirms are gearing up to bring about a change in the way their businesses and products are perceived. c. Panasonic Corp. is working out a go-to-schools interactive campaign to spread awareness among students on global warming and other environmental issues, to begin with.
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d. Nokia India Pvt. Ltd has launched a campaign to recycle electronic waste. Consumers are encouraged to dump old mobile phones and accessories, irrespective of brand, at any of the 1,300 green recycling bins at Nokia priority dealers and Nokia care centres. e. Henkel India Ltd launched "eco-learn"a learning initiative to inculcate environmental concern and sustainability.
f. Hindustan Unilever Ltd's, or HUL's, Surf Excel Quick Wash talked about how housewives could save two buckets of water while using premium detergent powder to wash clothes. g. Reckitt Benckiser Group Plc. has launched a global campaign Our Home Our Planet to help consumers save money and minimize their carbon footprint as part of its Carbon 20 programme. CONCLUSION Green marketing is based on the premise that businesses have a responsibility to satisfy human needs and desires while preserving the integrity of the natural environment. This latter concern has been ignored throughout most of recorded human history does not mean it will be unimportant in the future. Indeed, there are significant indications that environmental issues will grow in importance over the coming years and will require imaginative and innovative redesign and reengineering of existing marketing efforts on the part of many businesses. Solutions to environmental problems can be characterized into roughly three categories: ethical, legal, and business (economic and technological). Green marketing and the promotion of responsible consumption are related with business category. A clever marketer is one who not only convinces the consumer, but also involves the consumer in marketing his product. Green marketing should not be considered as just one more approach to marketing, but has to be pursued with much greater vigor, as it has an environmental and social dimension to it. Recycling of paper, metals, plastics, etc., in a safe and environmentally harmless manner should become much more systematized and universal. Green marketing should not neglect the economic aspect of marketing. Marketers need to understand the implications of green marketing. If we think customers are not concerned about environmental issues or will not pay a premium for products that are more eco-responsible, we should think again. The marketer must find an opportunity to enhance their product's performance and strengthen the customer's loyalty and command a higher price. Green marketing is still in its infancy and a lot of research is to be done on green marketing to fully explore its potential.
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REFERENCES ARTICLES Chopra, S. Lakshmi (2007), "Turning Over a New Leaf", Indian Management, Vol-64, April-2007 Ottman, J.A. et al, "Avoiding Green Marketing Myopia", Environment, Vol-48, June2006 Charter M. 1992. Greener Marketing: a Responsible Approach to Business. Greenleaf Sheffield. Fuller D. 1999, Sustainable Marketing: Managerial Ecological Issues. Sage: Thousand Oaks CA. Greenpeace. 1994. The Greenpeace Book of Greenwash. Greenpeace International: Amsterdam. JOURNAL Marketing Mastermind, January 2009, Green Products: Their Growth and Expansion WEBSITES www.greenpeace.org www.coolavenues.com www.google.co.in www.ask.com www.altavista.com www.infoseek.com www.greenmarketing.net www.zenithresearch.org.in
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Green Marketing PDF

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EXCEL International Journal of Multidisciplinary Management Studies

EXCEL International Journal of Multidisciplinary Management Studies

EXCEL International Journal of Multidisciplinary Management Studies

EXCEL International Journal of Multidisciplinary Management Studies

EXCEL International Journal of Multidisciplinary Management Studies

EXCEL International Journal of Multidisciplinary Management Studies

EXCEL International Journal of Multidisciplinary Management Studies

EXCEL International Journal of Multidisciplinary Management Studies

EXCEL International Journal of Multidisciplinary Management Studies

EXCEL International Journal of Multidisciplinary Management Studies

EXCEL International Journal of Multidisciplinary Management Studies

EXCEL International Journal of Multidisciplinary Management Studies

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