GREEN MARKETING: PREFERENCES AND PATHS?

Nigamananda Biswas1

Abstract:

Green marketing is a vital constituent of the holistic marketing concept. Many global players in diverse
businesses are now successfully implementing green marketing practices. Green marketing is a new
marketing concept and has become a corporate buzzword. It has been a new fashion for the marketers to
be greener for gaining competitive advantage over the competitors in the turbulent market. The present
paper has made an attempt to highlight the reasons of adopting green marketing approaches over the
traditional marketing by the organizations. It has also identified some paths of going green to have edge
over the other players in the same industry.

Introduction

Green marketing is inevitable for any type of organization. According to the American Marketing
Association (AMA) ‘green marketing’ is the marketing of products that are presumed to be
environmentally safe. It incorporates a broad range of activities, including product modification,
changes to the production process, packaging changes, as well as modifying advertising. Defining green
marketing is not a simple task where several meanings intersect and contradict each other. Other similar
terms used are ‘Environmental Marketing’ and ‘Ecological Marketing’. Ecological Marketing is a
holistic marketing and environmental approach (Green or Environmental Marketing) comprise of all
activities designed to generate and facilitate any exchanges intended to satisfy customer needs or wants
with minimal detrimental impact on the natural environment with a view to have long-lasting impact on
the creations of almighty. Business firms have risen to the occasion and have started responding to
environmental challenges by adopting green marketing approaches. Green consumerism has played a
catalystic role in ushering corporate environmentalism and making business firms green marketing
oriented. "Green Marketing" refers to holistic marketing concept wherein the production, marketing
consumption an disposal of products and services happen in a manner that is less detrimental to the

1
Assistant Professor, Deptt. of Business Administration, Assam University, SIlchar -788011. E-mail:
nigam_biswas@yahoo.c.in

Electronic copy available at: http://ssrn.com/abstract=1656201

environment with growing awareness about the implications of global warming, non-biodegradable solid
waste, harmful impact of pollutants etc. Both marketers and consumers are becoming increasingly
sensitive to the need for switch in to green products and services. While the shift to "green" may appear
to be expensive in the short term, it will definitely prove to be indispensable and advantageous, cost-
wise too, in the long run.

The evolution of green marketing has three phases (According to Peattie, 2001). First phase is 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 is
"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 came into prominence in the late 1990s and early 2000.

Some Cases of Green Marketing

• 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.

• 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.

• McDonalds changed its plastic packaging with waxed paper owing to increasing consumers’

concern about plastics and their ill effects. Coca-Cola, Tata group of companies, HLL, Colgate

Electronic copy available at: http://ssrn.com/abstract=1656201

 Palmolive, Jindal Vijaynagar Steel, Essar Power and Gujarat Flurochemicals Ltd. etc. have

invested large sums of money in various recycling activities, as well as having modified their

packaging to minimize its environmental impact.

• Nike is the first among the shoe companies to market itself as green. It is marketing its Air

Jordan shoes as environment-friendly, as it has significantly reduced the usage of harmful glue

adhesives. It has designed this variety of shoes to emphasize that it has reduced wastage and used

environment-friendly materials.

• Wal Mart unveiled its first recyclable cloth shopping bag.

• IKEA started charging consumers when they opted for plastic bags and encouraged people to

shop using its "Big Blue Bag".

• British petroleum (BP) displays gas station which its sunflower motif and boasts of putting

money into solar power.

• Indian Tobacco Company has introduced environmental-friendly papers and boards, which are

free of elemental chlorine. Toyota is trying to push gas / electric hybrid technology into much of

its product line. It is also making the single largest R&D investment in the every-elusive

hydrogen car and promoting itself as the first eco-friendly car company.

• International business machines Corporation (IBM) has revealed a portfolio of green retail store

technologies and services to help retailers improve energy efficiency in their IT operations.

Why is Green Marketing Preferred?

Both consumer and seller are becoming more concerned about environment-friendly products and

services. It is the process of developing products & services & promoting them to satisfy the customers

who prefer products of good quality, performance & convenience at affordable cost, which at the same

time do not have a detrimental impact on the environment. There is growing interest among the

consumers all over the world for protection of the environment. Worldwide evidence indicates people

are concerned about the environment and are changing their behavior and there is growing awareness

among the consumers all over the world regarding protection of the environment where 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 socially-responsible products and services. Now is the era of recyclable, non-toxic and environment-

friendly goods. This has become the new mantra for marketers to satisfy the needs of consumers and

earn better profits in a greener way. 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 marketer can attract

customers on the basis of performance, money savings, health and convenience, or just plain

environmental friendliness, so as to target a wide range of green consumers.

Modern companies are venturing into green marketing because of some benefits and factors / forces

which can be termed as “5 Cs” of green marketing. These 5Cs are Competitive advantage, Corporate

social responsibilities (CSR), Country pressure, Competitive Pressure and Cost or Profit issues.

Corporate
social
responsibility

Country
Pressure

5 Factor of
Competitive Green
advantage, Marketing

Competitive
pressure
Cost or
Profit issues

Figure: 5 Cs (Factors) of Green Marketing

The ‘marketing mix’ elements of green marketing are product, price, place and promotion. In India,

around 25% of the consumers prefer environmental-friendly products, and around 28% may be

considered healthy conscious. Therefore, green marketers can ensure preference of the products and

services offered by the competitors. 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. 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 bank. Other examples include Coca-Cola, which has invested in various recycling

activities. 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. 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. 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 company 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. In addition to above mentioned factors of green marketing there are some other causes and

advantages of going green.

• It ensures sustained long-term growth along with profitability.

• It saves money in the long run, thought initially the cost is more.

• It helps companies market their products and services keeping the environmental 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.
 • The result of green marketing may be improved performance, function, design, visual appeal, or

taste of the products and services.

• It helps in increasing market share by retaining existing customer base and attracting new ones.

Paths to Greenness

Green marketing involves focusing on promoting the consumption of green products and services.

Therefore, it becomes the responsibility of the companies to adopt creativity and insight, and be

committed to the development of environment-friendly offers. This will to help the society in the long

run. Companies which embark on green marketing should adopt the following principles in their path

towards "greenness."

• Marketers should adopt new technology / process or modify obsolete one so as to reduce

environmental impact.

• Companies must establish a management and control system within the organization that will

lead to the adherence of stringent environmental safety norms.

• Producers must use more environment-friendly raw materials at the production stage itself.

• Companies ought to explore possibilities of recycling of the used products so that it can be used

to offer similar or other benefits with less wastage.

• Recycling of paper, metals, plastics, etc., in a safe and environmentally harmless manner should

be much more systematized and universal.

• There should be transformation of all the marketing activities from chemical oriented to natural

oriented.

• Some unique marketing mix strategies need to be adopted to challenge those obstacles for

making green marketing project successful.

 • SWOT analysis and Marketing Audit (including internal and external situation analysis) can be

implemented meticulously with a view to ensure a grant green marketing effort successful.

• Developing marketing plan outlining strategies with regard to 4 P's of marketing mix variables is

necessary.

• The outcomes of efforts put for green marketing need to be evaluated in a continuous basis and

in case of any deviation; proper actions need to be taken immediately.

CONCLUSION

Green marketing is still in its infancy and a lot of research is to be done with a view to explore its

potential fully. Green products require renewable and recyclable material, which is costlier and may not

be affordable by common man of a developing country like India. It requires sophisticated technology

and huge investment in Research and Development. Promotional efforts from the marketers will further

enhance the price of green offers which may unaffordable. Further, distribution network, availability,

reliability, awareness etc. for green products and services are some of the critical challenges of green

marketing. Despite these challenges, green marketing has continued to gain adherents, particularly in

light of growing global concern about climate change. This concern has led more companies to promote

their commitments to reduce their climate impacts. 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. Consumer awareness must be created by transmitting the message

among consumers about the benefits of environmental-friendly products and services. The economic and

ecological aspects of green marketing should not be neglected. Marketer needs to understand the

significance of green marketing and have to be very sensitively towards environmental and ethical

aspects as well, or they may have to pay a premium price in near future.
References:

• Biswas, Nigamananda. (2008). “Green Marketing Approach: The New Survival Mantra of

Business Organizations”, JIS Management Vista, JIS Kalyani, December.

• Shrotriya V. (2008). Green Marketing- A Perspective, Marketing Mastermind, @2008 the ICFAI

University Press, July, pp- 13-15.

• Chopra, S. Lakshmi (2007), "Turning Over a New Leaf", Indian Management, Vol-64, April.

• Ottman, J.A. et al. (2006), "Avoiding Green Marketing Myopia", Environment, Vol-48, June.

• Mukherjee W. (2008). Brand Brainer- Getting Connected with Green Mobile, The Economics

Times, July 19.

• Dhar R.(2008). Plastics- Creating Exiting Opportunities in Packaging, The Economics Times,

April 28, pp- 10.

• The Indian Express, July 26, 2007, pp- 3.

• Claudia M. B. and Wendy B. W. (2008). Going Beyond Green: The "Why and How" of

Integrating Sustainability Into the Marketing Curriculum, Journal of Marketing Education, Vol.

30, No. 1, April 1, pp- 33-46.

• Marketing Mastermind, @2008 the ICFAI University Press, March, pp- 31-34.

• Vikram J.G (2008). Going Green- The New Profitability Mantra, www. itmagz.com, September,

pp- 74-79.
Websites:

• http://www.123eng.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=53105

• http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Green_marketing

• http://hyderabadass.blogspot.com/2007/11/green-marketing-in-india.html

• http://www.coolavenues.com/know/mktg/sanjit-green-marketing.

• www.greenmarketing.net/stratergic.html.

• www.epa.qld.gov.au/sustainable_ industries.

• www.wmin.ac.uk/marketing research/marketing/greenmix.html.

• http://www.coolavenues.com.

• http://gbr.sagepub.com/cgi/content.

• http://www.sustainablemarketing.com/content/view.

• http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Green_marketing.

• http://www.sustainabilitydictionary.com/e/ecological_marketing.php.

• http://www.free-press-release.com.

• http://findarticles.com/p/articles.