impact of green marketing on customer satsifaction and environmental safety - a year long project...

University Of Mumbai’s ALKESH DINESH MODY INSTITUTE

FOR FINANCIAL AND MANAGEMENT STUDIES

Joravar Bhavan, Mumbai University,

Kalina, Vidyanagari Campus,

Santacruz (E), Mumbai 400 098.

A YEAR LONG PROJECT REPORT ON

IMPACT OF GREEN MARKETING ON CUSTOMER SATISFACTION

&

ENVIRONMENTAL SAFETY

SUBMITTED BY:

Mr. KARTIK D. MEHTA

ROLL NO: 50

SEM IV (Div. A)

S.Y.M.M.S 2014 – 2015

UNDER THE GUIDANCE OF

Prof. Atmaram Sakhardande

UNIVERSITY OF MUMBAI

IN PARTIAL FULFILLMENT OF THE REQUIREMENT OF THE

M.M.S. PROGRAMME FOR THE YEAR 2014-15

KARTIK MEHTA

YEAR LONG

PROJECT

REPORT

Impact of Green Marketing on Customer Satisfaction & Environmental Safety

GUIDE

Prof. Atmaram

Sakhardande

ALKESH DINESH

MODY INSTITUTE

UNIVERSITY OF

MUMBAI

2014 - 2015

KARTIK MEHTA

ROLL NO: 50

SYMMS

SEM - IV

University Of Mumbai’s ALKESH DINESH MODY INSTITUTE

FOR FINANCIAL AND MANAGEMENT STUDIES

A YEAR LONG PROJECT REPORT ON

IMPACT OF GREEN MARKETING ON CUSTOMER SATISFACTION

&

ENVIRONMENTAL SAFETY

SUBMITTED BY:

Mr. KARTIK MEHTA

ROLL NO: 50

SEM IV (DIV. A) S.Y.M.M.S 2014 – 2015

UNDER THE GUIDANCE OF

Prof. Atmaram Sakhardande

UNIVERSITY OF MUMBAI

IN PARTIAL FULFILMENT OF THE REQUIREMENT OF THE M.M.S. PROGRAMME FOR THE YEAR 2014-15

University of Mumbai’s

ALKESH DINESH MODY INSTITUTE FOR FINANCIAL AND

MANAGEMENT STUDIES

CERTIFICATE

This is to certify that Mr. KARTIK D. MEHTA, M.M.S. (SEM IV) Batch, 2014-15 of Alkesh Dinesh

Mody Institute for Finance and Management Studies has successfully completed his YEAR LONG

PROJECT within the given time frame.

The research project was undertaken by him at aforementioned institute, having titled as ‘IMPACT OF

GREEN MARKETING ON CUSTOMER SATISFACTION and ENVIRONMENTAL SAFETY’,

under the guidance of Prof. Atmaram Sakhardande.

The project fulfils all the stated criteria and the student’s findings are his original work.

I hereby certify that his work is good and authentic to the best of my knowledge.

PLACE: MUMBAI

DATE:

_____________________________ _________________________

Prof. Atmaram Sakhardande Director, ADMI (PROJECT GUIDE)

DECLARATION

I, Mr. Kartik D. Mehta student of Alkesh Dinesh Mody Institute for Financial and Management Studies

of M.M.S (S.Y.M.M.S-SEM IV) hereby declare that I have successfully completed the YEAR LONG

RESEARCH PROJECT in the Academic year 2014-2015.

The Year Long Project Report work entitled as ‘Impact of Green Marketing on Customer Satisfaction

and Environmental Safety’ submitted to the Institute is a record of an original work done by me under

the guidance of Prof. Atmaram Sakhardande (Project Guide).

This Report work has not been performed on the basis for the award of any Degree or Diploma /

Associate-ship / Fellowship and any other similar project if any. This Report has not been previously

submitted for any Examinations / Institutes / Universities.

The information submitted is true and original to the best of my knowledge.

_____________________

KARTIK MEHTA

SYMMS - A | ROLL NO: 50

ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

I take this opportunity to express my profound gratitude and deep regards to my guide

Prof. Atmaram Sakhardande for his exemplary guidance, monitoring and constant encouragement

throughout the course of this thesis. The blessing, help and guidance given by him from time to time

shall carry me a long way in the journey of life on which I am about to embark.

I also take this opportunity to express a deep sense of gratitude towards him, for his cordial

support, valuable information and guidance, which helped me in having a synopsis of all the sections of

the organization. I would also like to thank my peers and colleagues who provided me their support in

the initial stages of this project.

I am obliged to the staff members of my Institute, for the valuable information provided by them

in their respective fields. I am grateful for their cooperation during the period of my assignment.

I would also take this opportunity to thank our MMS Co-ordinator, Dr. Aruna Deshpande for

their invaluable guidance and support.

Lastly, I would like to thank all those who directly and indirectly helped me. I am really obliged

for their constant encouragement in completion of this project without which this assignment would not

have been possible.

__________________________

KARTIK D. MEHTA

SYMMS - MARKETING

ROLL NO: 50

TABLE OF CONTENTS

Sr. No. Contents Page No.

1 ABSTRACT 1

2 PREFACE 2

3 EXECUTIVE SUMMARY 3

4 LITERATURE OVERVIEW 4

5 OBJECTIVE OF RESEARCH 5

6 RESEARCH METHODOLOGY 6

7 BIRTH OF GREEN MARKETING 8

8 NEED OF GREEN MARKETING 11

9 WHY ARE FIRMS USING GREEN MARKETING? 15

10 CORPORATE SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITY 16

11 GREEN MARKETING: SWOT ANALYSIS 19

12 ROLE OF I.T. IN GREEN MARKETING 21

13 ENVIRONMENTAL STRATEGIES & PRACTICES 22

14 NATIONAL & INTERNATIONAL SCENARIO 23

15 GREEN WARMING – PROPSED SOLUTIONS 25

16 PRESENT TRENDS IN GREEN MARKETING 30

17 WHAT DRIVES ENVIRONMENTALLY CONSIOUS CONSUMERS’ BEHAVIOUR?

32

18 GREEN MARKETING Vs. CONVENTIONAL MARKETING

GREEN MARKETING MIX

42

19 GREEN EXAMPLES: CORPORATE INITIATIVES 45

20 GREEN MARKETING CASES 50

21 INITIATIVES TAKEN BY GOVERNMENT 51

22 GREEN CONSUMER BEHAVIOUR 54

23 FUTURE GRWOTH OF GREEN MARKETING 56

24 STRATEGIES TO BE IMPLEMENTED 58

25 DATA ANALYSIS & INTERPRETATIONS (RESULTS) 60

26 RECOMMENDATIONS 67

27 CONCLUSION 67

28 BIBLIOGRAPHY 68

29 ANNEXURE 69

KARTIK D. MEHTA [50] GREEN MARKETING SYMMS-(A)

GUIDE: PROF. SAKHARDANDE 1 ALKESH DINESH MODY INSTITUTE

ABSTRACT Green revolution, going green, environmental protection, sustainable life style, sustainable

development, protecting our earth and many more have become a natural phenomenon in our

everyday life.

Green marketing is a tool used by many companies in various industries to follow this trend.

There have been a lot of literature review on green marketing over the years, this paper analysis

the impact of green marketing strategies on customer satisfaction and environmental safety

using comprehensive literature review. As a result, this paper can be used by researchers who

need to find out the impact of green marketing on customer satisfaction and environmental

safety.

Keywords: Green Marketing, Consumer Satisfaction, Environmental Safety.



PREFACE

Although environmental issues influence all human activities, few academic disciplines have

integrated green issues into their literature. This is especially true of marketing. As society

becomes more concerned with the natural environment, businesses have begun to modify their

behaviour in an attempt to address society's "new" concerns. Some businesses have been quick

to accept concepts like environmental management systems and waste minimization, and have

integrated environmental issues into all organizational activities. Some evidence of this is the

development of journals such as "Business Strategy and the Environment" and "Greener

Management International," which are specifically designed to disseminate research relating

to business' environmental behaviour.

One business area where environmental issues have received a great deal of discussion

in the popular and professional press is marketing. Terms like "Green Marketing" and

"Environmental Marketing" appear frequently in the popular press. Many governments around

the world have become so concerned about green marketing activities that they have attempted

to regulate them. For example, in the United States (US) the Federal Trade Commission and

the National Association of Attorneys-General have developed extensive documents

examining green marketing issues. One of the biggest problems with the green marketing area

is that there has been little attempt to academically examine environmental or green marketing.

While some literature does exist, it comes from divergent perspectives.

This report will attempt to:

Introduce the terms and concepts of green marketing;

Briefly discuss why going green is important;

Examine some of the reason that organizations are adopting a green marketing

philosophy; and

Mention some of the problems with green marketing.

Find out ways to improve consumer appeal for environmentally preferable products

through different marketing strategies.



EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

Terms like "Green Marketing" and "Environmental Marketing" appear frequently in the

popular press. Many governments around the world have become so concerned about green

marketing activities that they have attempted to regulate them. Other similar terms used are

Environmental Marketing and Ecological Marketing.

American Marketing Association Define: - Green marketing is the marketing of products that

are presumed to be environmentally safe.

Thus green marketing incorporates a broad range of activities including:

Product modification,

Changes to the production process,

Packaging changes,

As well as modifying advertising

To succeed, any green strategy must fulfill three criteria:

Firstly, it must be a sustainable and credible programmed, which brings real benefits to

the environment.

Secondly, it must deliver sound economic ROI and competitive advantage to the

business.

Thirdly, it must be supported by relevant green messages, which resonate with

customers and prospects.

Basically the main aim of the project is to analyse the developments which are taking place

throughout the world to promote green products and green marketing.

Title of the project:

The title of the project is:

“Impact of Green Marketing on Customer Satisfaction and Environmental Safety”



LITERATURE REVIEW

The concept of green marketing has evolved over the years. There are basically three stages in

which it has evolved.

1. The decade of the late 1980s marked the first stage of green marketing, when the concept of

“green marketing” was newly introduced and discussed in industry (Peattie and Crane, 2005).

Owing to the upsurge of this new concept many marketer tried to involve in green marketing

in order to generate positive consumer response which would be converted into goodwill,

market share and sales. However in spite of reports stating that the environmental problems

constituted one of the uppermost public concerns, market growth of these products fell short

of expectations.

2. The second stage started off as a consumer backlash. Many organizations “green washed”

the consumers. In order to improve their sales, thus creating cynical attitude of the consumers

towards the green concept.

Some of the marketing practices which lead to the failure of green marketing during this period

are (Peattie and Crane 2005):

a. Green spinning -> Taking a reactive stance of “green”, if accused of malpractice

b. Green Selling -> taking an opportunistic approach by adding some green claims to existing

products with an intention to boosts profits.

c. Green harvesting -> Becoming enthusiastic about the environment only when greening

would result in cost savings.

d. Entrepreneur marketing -> Developing innovative green products without actually

considering consumer needs.

e. Compliance marketing -> Just following the environmental standards as an opportunity to

promote the company’s green credentials rather than actually being involved

3. The evolution of the third stage is just a response to the anomalies occurring in the second

stage.

With the implementation of advanced technology, stricter state enforcement on deceptive

claims, govt. regulations and incentives and closer scrutiny from various environmental

organizations and media many green products have regained confidence in the 2000’s (Gurau

and Ranchhod, 2005; Ottoman, 2007). With green and sustainable development as the theme

of 21st century development, two trends have been predicted as inevitable in the near future of

green marketing. They are:

a) First the concept of an eco-friendly approach of doing business will be pushed into

mainstream (Hanas 2007)

b) Second, corporations from developed countries will initiate international green marketing in

order to expand their market, increase their sales and take advantage of the positive image of



their green brands established in their domestic markets (Gura˘u and Ranchhod, 2005; Johri

and Sahasakmontri, 1998; Pugh and Fletcher, 2002).

Objectives of Research

To understand the level of awareness regarding green marketing among consumers.

To understand the buying behaviour of consumers related to green marketing.

To understand how green marketing helps Company to build its image.

To understand initiative taken by government towards green marketing.

To understand the success of green marketing as a corporate social responsibility.

To Eliminate the concept of waste

To Reinvent the concept of product

To Make prices reflect actual and environmental costs

To Make environmentalism profitable

For Packaging changes

To Explore the various factors which influence the green purchasing behaviour of the

Indian consumer.

To give a segmented opinion of the green purchasing behaviour attitude based on their

gender, family type, education level etc.

Limitations of the study

Demographic Constraints - will be a main issue of concern. This is due to the reason

that the data collection will be restricted from Borivali to Santa Cruz region.

Unawareness - people are unaware of the i.e. Green marketing.

Time Constraint - the time duration for doing the complete research on green

marketing is very limited. Green Marketing a broad topic which requires an in-depth

research and analysis. Due to the time period given for research is very limited.



RESEARCH METHODOLOGY

Research Methodology is a way to systematically solve the research problem. It may be

understood as a science of studying how research is done scientifically. When we talk of

research methodology we not only talk of the research methods but also consider the logic

behind the methods we use in the context of our research study and explain why we are using

a particular method or technique and why we are not using others.

The major steps involved in research process are:

Formulating the Research Problem

Choice of Research Design

Sources of Data

Processing and analyzing the data

Formulating the Research Problem:

The problem well defined is half solved. The formulation of a general topic into a specific

research problem constitutes the first step of specific enquiry.

Unit of analysis: Consumers between age group of 25 to 30 yrs.

Characteristics of Interest: Awareness of Green Marketing.

Choice of Research Design:

Every project requires an action plan and method for conducting a study. This project is

more prone to single cross-sectional descriptive research design.

Sources of Data:

The data presented are both primary data and secondary data.

Primary Data:

The primary data are those which are collected afresh and for the first time, and thus

happen to be original in character. We collect primary data during the course of

doing experiments in an experimental research but in case we do research of the

descriptive type and performs surveys. Here the Primary data will be collected by

means of preparing a questionnaire and getting it filled by a large sample space.

These questionnaires will help in drawing conclusions about the case.

Secondary Data:

Secondary data means data that are already available i.e. they refer to the data which

have already been collected and analyzed by someone else. When the researcher

utilizes secondary data then he has to look into various sources from where he can

obtain them. In this case he is certainly not confronted with the problems that are

usually associated with the collection of original data. Secondary data may either

be published data or unpublished data.



Processing and analyzing the data:

The data analysis has been done in correct form. Usage of current information & graph is

made in the project so as to make it easier & appropriate to understand.

Introduction

In the last decade, consumers have become more enlightened on environmental issues. Green

marketing refers to selling product or rendering services based on environmental benefit. It

came into existence in late 1980s and early 1990s. Green marketing is growing rapidly and

consumers are willing to pay a lot for green product.

There have been little analysis of the impact of this new market on the consumers and the

environment so far.

Green marketing affects all areas of our economy, it does not just lead to environmental

protection but it also create new market and job opportunities. Companies that are

environmental stewards stand a chance of gaining many satisfied and loyal customers.

Environmental issues have gained importance in business as well as in public life throughout

the world. It is not like that a few leaders of different countries or few big renowned business

houses are concerned about the day to day deterioration of oxygen level in our atmosphere but

every common citizen of our country and the world is concerned about this common threat of

global warming.

So in this scenario of global concern, corporate houses has taken green-marketing as a part of

their strategy to promote products by employing environmental claims either about their

attributes or about the systems, policies and processes of the firms that manufacture or sell

them.

Clearly green marketing is part and parcel of overall corporate strategy; along with

manipulating the traditional marketing mix (product, price, promotion and place), it require an

understanding of public policy process. So we can say green marketing covers a broad range

of activities.



BIRTH OF GREEN MARKETING

The concept of green marketing has been around at least since the first Earth Day in 1970. But

the idea did not catch on until the 1980s, when rising public interest in the environment led to

a demand for more green products and services. Manufacturers responded to public interest by

labelling hundreds of new products "environmentally friendly"—making claims that products

were biodegradable, compostable, energy efficient, or the like. The term Green Marketing

came into prominence in the late 1980s and early 1990s.

The American Marketing Association (AMA) held the first workshop on "Ecological

Marketing" in 1975. The proceedings of this workshop resulted in one of the first books on

green marketing entitled "Ecological Marketing". The first wave of Green Marketing occurred

in the 1980s. Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) Reports started with the ice cream seller

Ben & Jerry's where the financial report was supplemented by a greater view on the company's

environmental impact. In 1987 a document prepared by the World Commission on

Environment and Development defined sustainable development as meeting “the needs of the

present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own need”, this

became known as the Brundtland Report and was another step towards widespread thinking on

sustainability in everyday activity.

The green marketing has evolved over a period of time. According to Peattie (2001), the

evolution of green marketing has three phases. First 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

Definition & Meaning: Green Marketing

According to the American Marketing Association, green marketing is the marketing of

products that are presumed to be environmentally safe. Thus green marketing incorporates a

broad range of activities, including

Product modification,

Changes to the production process,

Packaging changes, as well as

Modifying advertising.



So, in simple terms 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 itself or produced and/or packaged in an environmentally friendly way.

Green marketing consists of all activities designed to generate and facilitate any exchanges

intended to satisfy human needs or wants, such that the satisfaction of these needs and wants

occurs, with minimal detrimental impact on the natural environment.

Evolution of Green Marketing

The green marketing has evolved over a period of time. According to Peattie (2001), the

evolution of green marketing has three phases:

First 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.

GREEN

Ecological

Political

Corporate Social

Responsibility

Fair Trade

Conservation

Non-Profit

New Consumeris

m

Sustainability

Equality

Humanitarian

The many meanings of green



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.

Importance of Green Marketing

Human Beings have limited resources on the earth, with which she/he must attempt to provide

for the worlds' unlimited wants. There is extensive debate as to whether the earth is a resource

at man's disposal. In market societies where there is "freedom of choice", it has generally been

accepted that individuals and organizations have the right to attempt to have their wants

satisfied. As firms face limited natural resources, they must develop new or alternative ways

of satisfying these unlimited wants. Ultimately green marketing looks at how marketing

activities utilize these limited resources, while satisfying consumers wants, both of individuals

and industry, as well as achieving the selling organization's objectives.

When looking through the literature there are several suggested reasons for firms increased use

of Green Marketing. Five possible reasons cited are:

Organizations perceive environmental marketing to be an opportunity that can be used

to achieve its objectives.

Organizations believe they have a moral obligation to be more socially responsible.

Governmental bodies are forcing firms to become more responsible.

Competitors' environmental activities pressure firms to change their environmental

marketing activities.

Cost factors associated with waste disposal, or reductions in material usage forces firms

to modify their behaviour.



GOALS OF GREEN MARKETING

Eliminate the concept of waste.

Reinvent the concept of product.

Make prices reflect actual and environmental costs.

Make environmentalism profitable.

Bringing out product modifications.

Changing in production processes.

Packaging changes.

Modifying advertising.

Need of Green Marketing: An Anthropological View

Issues like Global warming and depletion of ozone umbrella are the main for the healthy

survival. Every person rich or poor would be interested in quality life with full of health and

vigour and so would the corporate class. Financial gain and economic profit is the main aim of

any corporate business. But harm to environment cost by sustain business across the globe is

realized now though off late. This sense is building corporate citizenship in the business class.

So green marketing by the business class is still in the selfish anthological perspective of long

term sustainable business and to please the consumer and obtain the sanction license by the

governing body. Industries in Asian countries are catching the need of green marketing from

the developed countries but still there is a wide gap between their understanding and

implementation.



WHAT ARE “GREEN PRODUCTS”

OR

“ENVIRONMENTAL PRODUCTS”

Although no consumer product has a zero impact on the environment, in business, the

terms “green product” and “environmental product” are used commonly to describe those that

strive to protect or enhance the natural environment by conserving energy and/or resources and

reducing or eliminating use of toxic agents, pollution, and waste.

Greener, more sustainable products need to dramatically increase the productivity of

natural resources, follow biological/ cyclical production models, encourage dematerialization,

and reinvest in and contribute to the planet’s “natural” capital. Escalating energy prices,

concerns over foreign oil dependency, and calls for energy conservation are creating business

opportunities for energy-efficient products, clean energy, and other environmentally sensitive

innovations and products.



ONE OF THE MOST COMMONLY USED GREEN PRODUCTS – THE PHILIPS CFL

WHY IS GREEN MARKETING IMPORTANT?

The question of why green marketing has increased in importance is quite simple and

relies on the basic definition of Economics:

“Economics is the study of how people use their limited resources to try to satisfy

unlimited wants.”

Thus mankind has limited resources on the earth, with which she/he must attempt to

provide for the worlds' unlimited wants. In market societies where there is "freedom of

choice", it has generally been accepted that individuals and organizations have the right to

attempt to have their wants satisfied. As firms face limited natural resources, they must develop

new or alternative ways of satisfying these unlimited wants. Ultimately green marketing looks

at how marketing activities utilize these limited resources, while satisfying consumers wants,

both of individuals and industry, as well as achieving the selling organization's objectives.



THE SYMBOL USED TO DENOTE RECYCLABLE ITEMS

BENEFITS OF GREEN MARKETING



WHY ARE FIRMS USING GREEN MARKETING?

When looking through the literature there are several suggested reasons for firms

increased use of Green Marketing. Five possible reasons cited are:

1. Organizations perceive environmental marketing to be an opportunity that can be used

to achieve its objectives;

2. Organizations believe they have a moral obligation to be more socially responsible;

3. Governmental bodies are forcing firms to become more responsible;

4. Competitors' environmental activities pressure firms to change their environmental

marketing activities; and

5. Cost factors associated with waste disposal, or reductions in material usage forces firms

to modify their behaviour.

DELHI’S FAMOUS CNG AUTORICKSHAW



SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITY

Many firms are beginning to realize that they are members of the wider community and

therefore must behave in an environmentally responsible fashion. This translates into firms that

believe they must achieve environmental objectives as well as profit related objectives. This

results in environmental issues being integrated into the firm's corporate culture. Firms in this

situation can take two perspectives;

1) They can use the fact that they are environmentally responsible as a marketing tool;

2) They can become responsible without promoting this fact.

There are examples of firms adopting both strategies. Organizations like the Body Shop

heavily promote the fact that they are environmentally responsible. While this behaviour is a

competitive advantage, the firm was established specifically to offer consumers

environmentally responsible alternatives to conventional cosmetic products. This philosophy

is directly tied to the overall corporate culture, rather than simply being a competitive tool.

An example of a firm that does not promote its environmental initiatives is Coca-Cola.

They have invested large sums of money in various recycling activities, as well as having

modified their packaging to minimize its environmental impact. While being concerned about

the environment, Coke has not used this concern as a marketing tool. Thus many consumers

may not realize that Coke is a very environmentally committed organization.

Another firm who is very environmentally responsible but does not promote this fact,

at least outside the organization, is Walt Disney World (WDW). WDW has an extensive waste

management program and infrastructure in place, yet these facilities are not highlighted in their

general tourist promotional activities.

SOME COMPANIES THAT USE GREEN MARKETING AS SOCIAL

RESPONSIBILITY.



Challenges in Green Marketing

Need For Standardization:

It is found that only 5% of the marketing messages from “Green” campaigns are entirely true

and there is a lack of standardization to authenticate these claims. There is no standardization

to authenticate these claims. There is no standardization currently in place to certify a product

as organic. Unless some regulatory bodies are involved in providing the certifications there

will not be any verifiable means. A standard quality control board needs to be in place for such

labeling and licensing.

New Concept:

Indian literate and urban consumer is getting more aware about the merits of Green products.

But it is still a new concept for the masses. The consumer needs to be educated and made aware

of the environmental threats. The new green movements need to reach the masses and that will

take a lot of time and effort. By India’s ayurvedic heritage, Indian consumers do appreciate the

importance of using natural and herbal beauty products. Indian consumer is exposed to healthy

living lifestyles such as yoga and natural food consumption. In those aspects the consumer is

already aware and will be inclined to accept the green products.

Patience and Perseverance:

The investors and corporate need to view the environment as a major long-term investment

opportunity, the marketers need to look at the long-term benefits from this new green

movement. It will require a lot of patience and no immediate results. Since it is a new concept

and idea, it will have its own acceptance period.

Avoiding Green Myopia:

The first rule of green marketing is focusing on customer benefits i.e. the primary reason why

consumers buy certain products in the first place. Do this right, and motivate consumers to

switch brands or even pay a premium for the greener alternative. It is not going to help if a

product is developed which is absolutely green in various aspects but does not pass the

customer satisfaction criteria. This will lead to green myopia. Also if the green products are

priced very high then again it will lose its market acceptability.



Some Other Challenges Ahead In Green Marketing Are:

* 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.

“Green” Logistics

Is in the process of coming onto corporate radar screens, but companies need to see a cause

and effect on profitability before they commit much more than superficial efforts toward green

logistics. Everyone knows how important this is, but market analysts and investors likely won’t

add much about green logistics into the “plus” column until it starts to impact overall

profitability.

It continues activity and hype around “green” supply chains. From a supply chain perspective,

most companies are focusing on the low-hanging fruit: optimizing their transportation

operations, LEED certified buildings, minimizing/eliminating packaging, and considering

carbon-footprint in network design (Llama soft, Ilog, Infor, Carbon View, Maersk Logistics,

and IBM all have solutions in this area). However, a lot more work is required on the standards

front, which is starting to occur. Also, in my opinion, large-scale progress in this area won’t

occur in the US and elsewhere without government intervention (e.g., regulations, tax/financial

incentives, etc).

Green Washing

In spite of its growing popularity, the green marketing movement faced serious setbacks in the

late 1980s because many industries made false claims about their products and services. For

instance, the environmental organization Corp Watch , which issues annually a list of the top

ten "green washing" companies, included BP Amoco for advertising its "Plug in the Sun"

program, in which the company installed solar panels in two hundred gas stations, while

continuing to aggressively lobby to drill for oil in the Arctic National Welfare Refuge. Green

marketing can be a very powerful marketing strategy though when it's done right. In a similar



kind of case Chad’s green marketing campaign bombed because he made the mistake of

packaging his environmentally friendly product in Styrofoam, emitting CFC’s.

The Green Dilemma

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 country

have struggled to reach critical mass and to remain in the forefront of shoppers' minds. One of

green marketing's challenges is the lack of standards or public consensus about what constitutes

"green". This lack of consensus -- by consumers, marketers, activists, regulators, and influential

people -- has slowed the growth of green products, says Makeover, because companies are

often reluctant to promote their green attributes, and consumers are often skeptical about

claims.

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 advertise their commitment to reduce their climate impacts, and the effect this is having on

their products and services.

GREEN MARKETING: SWOT ANALYSIS

As in formulation of green strategy, a firm may evolve it from a SWOT analysis Environmental

Audit.

STRENGTHS: 1. Marketers get access to new markets and gain an advantage over competitors that

are not focusing on “greenness.”

2. Marketers can charge a premium on products that are seen as more eco-

responsible.

3. Organizations that adopt green marketing are perceived to be more socially

responsible.

4. Green marketing builds brand equity and wins brand loyalty among customers.

E.g. research and development capabilities for clean processes and green products

and human resources committed to environmental protection.

WEAKNESS:

1. Most customers choose to satisfy their personal needs before caring for environment.

2. Overemphasizing greenness rather than customer needs can prove devastating for

a product.



3. Many customers keep away from products labelled “Green” because they see such labeling

as a marketing gimmick, and they may lose trust in an organization that suddenly claims to be

green.

E.g. products cannot be recycled, and hazardous wastes) of a company.

OPPORTUNITIES:

1. Marketing to segment which are becoming more environmentally aware and concerned.

These consumers are demanding products that conform to these new attitudes.

2. Organizations perceive green marketing to be a competitive advantage, relative to the

competitors. Firms, therefore, strive to improve upon their societal awareness. This

complements the increase in consumers’ socially conscious behaviour and will therefore give

them an advantage over competitors who do not address these issues.

E.g. offering an environmental friendly product and saving resources, and relating them to

internal strengths.

THREATS: 1. Uncertainty as to the environmental impact of present activities, including that is perceived

to be less environmentally harmful.

2. Uncertainty as to which green marketing activities are acceptable from a government

perspective.

3. The possibility of a backlash from consumers or government based on existing green

marketing claims, threat one and two above may cause backlash to arise.

E.g. competitors gain market shares with green products and increased environmental

regulations).

ENVIRONMENTAL AUDIT

It is a management tool which can be used to assess the environmental performance of the

company and its units and to identify the weak points. Environmental Audit is comprised of a

systematic, documented, periodic and objective environmental performance evaluation and

facilities.

GREEN PRODUCTS: ITS CHARACTERISTICS

These products that are manufactured through green technology and that caused no

environmental hazards are called green products. Promotion of green technology and green

products is necessary for conservation of natural resources and sustainable development. We

can define green products by following measures:



Products those are recyclable, reusable and biodegradable

Products with natural ingredients

Products containing recycled contents, non-toxic chemical

Products contents under approved chemical

Products that do not harm or pollute the environment

Products that will not be tested on animals

Products that have eco-friendly packaging i.e. reusable, refillable containers etc.

Benefits of Green Marketing

Today’s consumers are becoming more and more conscious about the environment and are also

becoming socially responsible. Therefore, more companies are responsible to consumer’s

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 the companies market their products and services keeping the environment

aspects in mind.

It helps in accessing the new markets and enjoying the competitive advantage.

Most of the employees also feel proud and responsible to be working for an

environmentally responsible company.

Role of Information Technology in Green Marketing

IT departments are under increasing scrutiny and pressure to deliver environmentally sound

solutions. Large data centers are one of the most significant energy consumers in an

organizations IT infrastructure, so any measures that the organization can take to reduce this

consumption (and therefore also carbon dioxide emissions) will have a positive impact on the

organization’s environmental footprint.



Gartner reveals that during the last five years, the power demands of equipm

ents have grown by five or more times. Additionally, a report issued by the environmental

Protection Agency in US indicates that environmental issues have placed IT departments under

pressure to develop ‘green’ data centers.

A green data centre is defined as one in which the mechanical, lighting, electrical and computer

systems are designed for maximum energy efficiency and minimum environmental impact.

The construction and operation of a green data centre involved in advanced technologies and

strategies.

Some examples include:

Reducing the power consumption of the data center.

Minimizing the footprints of the buildings.

Maximizing cooling efficiency.

Using Low-emission building materials, carpets and paints.

Installing catalytic converters on backup generators.

Using alternative energy technologies such as photovoltaic electrical heat pumps and

evaporating cooling.

The consumption of energy is considered the dominant- and often the only-factor in

defining whether or not a facility is green. IT executives therefore need to start

investigating alternative ways of building energy-efficient data centers. This paper

focuses on “How a Green Data Centre can be a Great Marketing Tool”

Corporate Environmental Management, Strategy and Practices

Environmental Management

There are three categories of Environmental Management

Crisis-oriented

Cost-oriented, and

Enlightened

The firms with crisis-oriented management handle environmental conflicts on a “fire-

fighting’” basis. These firms have no environmental policy strategy for compliance with laws

and regulations and have no separate environmental unit in the firm.



The firms with cost-oriented management accept environmental regulations as a cost of doing

business, and make efforts to comply with them as efficiently as possible. These firms establish

company policy, separate units, and procedures for environmental compliance.

The most important factors that led towards the development of “enlightened” environmental

management are: strong commitment of the top corporate responsibility for the environment

can affect short-term as well as long-term profits; and the realization of the fact that costs for

environmental responsibility can be minimized and even some profits can be made.

Five development stages of environmental management as given below:

The “beginner” who provides no protection from environmental risk

The “fire-fighter” who provides minimal protection

The “concerned citizen” who provides moderate protection

The “pragmatist” who provides comprehensive protection

The “pro-activist” who provides maximum protection

NATIONAL AND INTERNATIONAL SCENARIO

In 1989, 67 percent of Americans stated that they were willing to pay 5-10 percent more for

ecologically compatible products. By 1991, environmentally conscious individuals were

willing to pay between 15-20 percent more for green products. Today, more than one-third of

Americans say they would pay a little extra for green products.

An important challenge facing marketers is to identify which consumers are willing to pay

more for environmentally friendly products. It is apparent that an enhanced knowledge of the

profile of this segment of consumers would be extremely useful.

Everett Rogers, communication scholar and author of “Diffusion of Innovations”, claims that

the following five factors can help determine whether a new idea will be adopted or not,

including the idealism of the shift towards “green”:

1. Relative advantage: is the degree to which the new behaviour is believed to accrue more

beneficial outcomes than current practice.



2. Observability: is how easy it is to witness the outcomes of the new behaviour.

3. Trial ability: is the ease with which the new behaviour can be tested by an individual

without making a full commitment.

4. Compatibility: is the degree to which the new behaviour is consistent with current

practice.

5. Complexity: is how difficult the new behaviour is to implement.

GPNI is an evolving network of professionals interested and active in the general area

of sustainable consumption and production- more specifically: Green Purchasing and

Public Procurement. It is currently a loose informal network of professionals primarily

operating as an internet based electronic forum.

The objectives of the GPNI are:

1. To create awareness amongst Indian industry and other stakeholders about Green

Purchasing and Procurement (GPP).

2. To encourage and facilitate implementation of GPP and Greening Supply Chains

(GSC) projects to enhance the competitiveness of the Indian industries.

The New “Green” Revolution

Global Warming is the phenomenon of increase in Earth’s temperature caused by burning of

fossil fuels and other pollutants in the air. As per the predictions by IPCC (Intergovernmental

Panel on Climate Change) it is predicted that the global temperature is likely to increase by 1.1

to 6.4 degrees Celsius “between” 1990 to 2100.

The key causes of global warming are summarized below:

Carbon dioxide emitted from the Power Plants, Cars, airplanes and other industries.

Methane emitted from landfill, petrochemical factories and steel and fertilizer plants.

Nitrogen dioxide emitted from waste combustion, agriculture water pollution and

sewage.

Other harmful gases emitted by industries, and manufacturing units, which are causing

depletion of Earth’s ozone, layer.



Deforestation is another major contributor towards global warming. The destruction

of tropical forests is throwing millions of tons of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere.

These forests are the main source of absorption of carbon dioxide, which we are losing

at a great speed each year with increased deforestation.

For a long time now the effect of man’s industrialization and technological progress ha s quietly

yet continuously eked away at the delicate balance of the planet’s atmosphere and ecosystem,

but within the last 30 or so years the place of this damage has markedly accelerated.

It is presently estimated that 700 tons of carbon dioxide are pumped into the earth’s atmosphere

every second of the day. Carbon dioxide is the chief contributor to the greenhouse gases. It is

these greenhouse gases, which cause global warming.

Green Warming – Proposed Solution

The solution to this problem lies in “Going Green” in our thoughts, behaviour and actions.

The consumers and corporations need to focus on clean and environment friendly products and

services. To elaborate on the “Green” terminology:

1. “Green Product” is non-toxic and is made from recycled material. There is no absolute

green product. However the products, which consume less energy, cause less pollution

and are biodegradable, belong to this category. Thus “Green” is a relative term.

2. “Green Service” fulfills the philosophy of sustainable development, improving and

maintain the quality of life for people without compromising the environment.

3. “Green washing” is the process of making products and services “Green” in all

respects.



To make products and services green the businesses need to focus on bringing the green in

various aspects such as:

Supply Chain

Packaging

Raw Material

Product Innovations

It is not enough just to develop a brand or a logo, or invest in an advertising campaign, and

then position a product as Green before consumers.

Like any other new concept, marketers must first educate the public about going green, ensure

product credibility, and establish trust. Moreover, since “Green” aspect of the product is not a

tangible attribute that the consumers receive the consumer has to be convinced about the

benefits of the green benefits of the product.

It is also important to understand how companies across the globe are innovating and creating

“Green” products.

“GREEN RAW MATERIAL”

This refers to using recycled material or using material, which does not have a negative impact

on natural resources like resulting in problems such as deforestation and pollution.

Example: Gridcore Systems International – demonstrated the use of Recycled Building

Material. The company was looking for an alternative building material in-order to reduce the

impact on environment. While researching they discovered space board, a new type of building

panel developed by the Forest Products laboratory. Space board can be manufactured from

various recycled or agricultural fibers, and due to a honeycomb the interior design is just as

strong as and several times lighter than conventional fiberboard.



“GREEN” IN MANUFACTURING

This focuses on using renewable energy for production and minimizing air and water pollution

during the manufacturing process.

Example: Energy Star is helping businesses and consumers save money and check pollution.

Energy star has its own pre-defined parameters and gadgets which conform to the energy

efficiency standards. The businesses that join hands with energy star sign an MOU and upgrade

their facility as per the requirement outlined by Energy Star. There are about 2,400

corporations, hospitals, schools and other organizations, which are energy star compliant in the

US today.

The real estate developers, architects and environmentalists across the globe are working

together to create the next wave of modern eco-friendly projects: green buildings and

manufacturing facilities. They are using energy conservation appliances and recycling building

products and water harvesting techniques in their projects.

“GREEN” IN PRODUCT DEVELOPMENT

This refers to either environment friendly or environment efficient products as demonstrated

by the following examples.

Example: Kodak’s Recyclable Camera When Kodak created its first disposable camera it

also solved the waste disposal problem by initiating a ‘camera take back’ scheme during picture

processing. This not only reduced the waste disposable problem, it also saved Kodak the

manufacturing costs for new cameras. This made it completely recycled camera.

Example: Philips Earthlight Compact Fluorescent Light Bulbs With relentless efforts on

research and development the company was successful in producing compact fluorescent light

bulbs, which are the most energy efficient bulbs.



“GREEN” BY USING ALTERNATIVE INGREDIENTS TO REDUCE HEALTH RISKS

Example: AFM Safecoat and Safechoice Paints to meet the markets demand for non-toxic

paints, the California based company invested in Research and Development and developed a

full line of non-toxic coatings, paints, stains and adhesives.

“GREEN” IN SUPPLY CHAIN

Example: McDonald’s is often blamed for polluting the environment because much of their

packaging finishes up as roadside waste. It must be remembered that it is the uncaring consumer

who chooses to dispose of their waste in an inappropriate fashion.

With the intent to cut costs and work on eco-friendly image and practices McDonald’s tried to

reduce the amount of material disposed by its stores. McDonalds asked the supplier to do away

with the cartons for napkins. The supplier suggested a better way and came up with dimpling

pattern on napkins, which enabled the supplier to pack 25% more napkins in one box and

reduction in shipping cost accordingly. McDonalds also allied with Environment Defense Fund

(EDF) and created a waste reduction plan. It also made a Paper Task Force to focus on paper

waste reduction and better solid waste management.

Some food chain retailers are working on Green Procurement program to help purchasing

officers to buy products and services that have a lower environmental impact than comparable

products and services.

“GREEN” IN PACKAGING

Packaging is a key element of marketing mix for promoting “Green washing”. It can also be

an effective tool to display the “Green” component of the product.

Natural Package for a Natural Product

When creating product materials, markets need to remember that a “Green” product is

appealing to consumers for its benefits to the environment and for its roots in natural resources.



There should be a consistent look for the product package, or materials that appear natural, not

glossy or extravagant.

“Green” consumers tend to appreciate consistence in package and product. They will appreciate

the usage of recycled paper and other environment friendly materials. That will help

manufacturers/suppliers gain customer loyalty and product credibility.

Third Party Certification Seal on Package

In order to win consumer trust and for product credibility many companies go in for a third

party certification. This helps build trust and acceptability by the consumer.

A third party seal guarantees the consumer that the product fulfills its promise and is true to his

claim. One such third party in the USA is the Green-e Program of the Center for Resource

Solutions. Certification provides an independent third-party review of the program similar to

the ISO 9000 or CMMI Six Sigma level of certifications, which mat help build consumer

confidence. Once a green product earns certification, they can publicize this achievement and

promote their certification through the use of the Green-e logo on their marketing materials

and website.

“GREEN” IN SERVICES

With increased demand for value-based marketing, there is also growing demand of “Green”

services. Global customers are not only interested in cost cutting through outsourcing but are

also looking for energy efficient IT operations.

Example: ITC Infotech is a good example to understand how to package the services “Green”

ITC Infotech is a Bangalore based independent Subsidiary of ITC Ltd. At corporate level ITC

is working to establish itself as a carbon free company. The company is working on “Triple

Bottom Line” i.e. social, economic and environmental capital. The company is involved in

many community driven initiatives. It is one of the 10 companies globally and first one from

India to start publishing sustainability report in compliance with G3 guidelines of Global

Reporting Initiative. The company is investing in large-scale plantations to wash away its



carbon positive image. It is also focusing on water harvesting and working towards zero solid

waste by recycling.

36 Cigarette warehouses were converted to make ITC Infotech’s global development campus

in the heart of Bangalore. The company has used recycled material and virtualization tools for

optimizing energy usage in its data centers. It is also working on digital infrastructure to

connect the rural farmers to the Internet using solar panels for power, so that the Indian farmers

can get information on crop research and monitor weather trends. The company is using these

as a service differentiator and positioning itself as Green service Provide. The corporate image

of ITC Ltd. is further enhancing the True Green Image.

PRESENT TREND IN GREEN MARKETING

GREEN Code

Generalizes with care. Consumer behaviour will not necessarily be consistent across different

product types, and particular market segments may respond to certain issues on the green

agenda but not others.

Remembers, the validity of a piece of market research is not related to the degree to which it

supports your preferred option.

Explores the context from which market research data comes. Be clear on the nature of the

sample used, the questions asked, the way in which responses were recorded and the time and

place from which the responses come.

Ensures that where market research is crossing international borderlines, that the terminology

and interpretation remains consistent. Terms like ‘environment’, ‘green’ and ‘conservation’ do

not always translate precisely between languages.

Neutrality is important. Ensure that when you pose questions to consumers, that they can make

any response without being made to feel guilty or uncomfortable, and ensure that your own

preconceptions about the green agenda (such as an assumption that green products will cost

extra) are not encoded within the questions.

Organizations Perceive Environmental Marketing To Be An Opportunity That Can Be Used

To Achieve Its Objectives:



Firms have realized that consumers prefer products that do not harm the natural environment

as also the human health. Firms marketing such green products are preferred over the others

not doing so and thus develop a competitive advantage, simultaneously meeting their business

objectives.

• Organizations Believe They Have A Moral Obligation To Be More Socially Responsible:

This is in keeping with the philosophy of CSR which has been successfully adopted by many

business houses to improve their corporate image. Firms in this situation can take two

approaches:

Use the fact that they are environmentally responsible as a marketing tool.

Become responsible without prompting this fact.

Governmental Bodies Are Forcing Firms To Become More Responsible:

In most cases the government forces the firm to adopt policy which protects the interests

of the consumers. It does so in following ways:

Reduce production of harmful goods or by –products

Modify consumer and industry’s use and /or consumption of harmful goods;

Ensure that all types of consumers have the ability to evaluate the environmental

composition of goods.

• Competitors’ Environmental Activities Pressure Firms To Change Their

Environmental Marketing Activities:

In order to get even with competitors claim to being environmentally friendly, firms change

over to green marketing. Result is green marketing percolates entire industry.

• Cost Factors Associated With Waste Disposal Or Reductions In Material Usage

Forces Firms to Modify Their Behaviour:

With cost cutting becoming part of the strategy of the firms it adopts green marketing in

relation to these activities. It may pursue these as follows:

A Firm develops a technology for reducing waste and sells it to other firms.

A waste recycling or removal industry develops.

Environmentally Conscious Consumer Behaviour

‘Environmentally Conscious Behaviour’ (ECCB) is consumer behaviour based on some

awareness of the environmental impacts associated with a product or service, and a desire to

reduce those impacts. Many researchers in the field of consumer’s psychology and market

research have demonstrated a substantial growth in ECCB across a range of markets. It has

been demonstrated through case studies that how product developers and marketers have

capitalized on this positive attitude and effectively differentiated their product in terms of their

‘environmentally friendly’ character.



The term environmental consciousness does not have a standardized definition in the body of

academic literature; the reason can be due to arousal of the term out of political and everyday

language. Environmental consciousness is the desire to protect flora and fauna, a willingness

to scrutinize the consequences of economic activity and a willingness to combine long-term

with short-term planning.

What drives Environmentally Conscious Consumer Behaviour?

It has been proved through research across a wide range of academic disciplines including

economics, psychology and sociology, that there are many different motivations and influences

that drive consumer behaviour. For every individual, the ultimate purchasing decisions and

rationale to reinforce what is environmentally “correct” will vary. While individuals have

deferring levels of need, values and knowledge related to various resources and their uses, no

single answer on ‘what is better” will satisfy the value and beliefs of all people. Purchasing

habits fluctuate over time with every generation, but because of increased access to new

technology and uncertainty due to world events and insecure futures, the consumer trends of

generations have changed. In order for businesses to appeal to these Environmentally

Conscious Consumers, it is important to understand

Who are environmentally conscious consumers?

What are the factors influencing their purchasing decisions and behaviour.

What are the buying habits and how they have changed?

The proposed framework presents Environmentally Consciousness Consumer Behaviour

(ECCB) as a process involving consumer environment, constructs, mediators and outcomes.

The underlying influencers of ECCB are complex and different approaches to consumer

motivation account for them in various ways.



Green Buyer and Green Consumers

Research about the identity and nature of green consumer has been the central character in the

development of green marketing, as business attempt to understand and respond to external

pressures to improve their environmental performance. Marketing practitioners and academics

are attempting to identify and understand green consumers and their needs, and to develop

market offerings that meet these needs.

SEGMENTATION OF GREEN CONSUMERS

True-Blue Greens- The most environmentally active segment of the society.

Greenback Greens- Those most willing to pay the highest premium for green products.

Spouts- Fence-sitters who have embraced environmentalism more slowly.

Grousers- Uninvolved or disinterested in environmental issues, who feel the issues are

too big for them to solve.

Apathetic- The least engaged group who believe that the environmental indifference is

main stream.

CONSUMER ENVIRONMENT

INPUT Social Stimuli, Marketer’s Efforts

INFORMATION PROCESSING

Exposure, Attention, Comprehension, New Knowledge and Belief, Integration

CONSTRUCTS

Values and Beliefs,

Motivation,

Attitude,

Knowledge

MEDIATORS

Product Knowledge,

Involvement, Habit,

Cost, Opportunity,

Availability,

Convenience

OUTCOME

Attention, Product

Comprehension,

Purchase

Avoidance

EXTERNAL FACTORS Cultural Norms, Group Influence, Family Influence, Unexpected Circumstances







Apart from this Natural Marketing Institute (NMI) divides the market into following

categories:

Lohas- Very progressive on environment and society, looking for ways to do more; not

too concerned about price.

Naturalites- Primarily concerned about personal health and wellness, and use many

natural products; would like to do more to protect the environment.

Conventional- Practical, like to see the results of what they do; interested in green

products that make sense in the long run.

Drifters- Not too concerned about the environment, figuring we’ve got time to fix the

environmental problems; don’t necessarily buy a lot of green products.

Unconcerned- Have other priorities, not really sure what green products are available

and probably wouldn’t be interested anyway; they buy products strictly on price, value,

quality and convenience.

Consumer Information and Education

If managers believe that consumers view greenness as a motivating variable, they should invest

in conveying information through advertising, direct mailing, brand labels, in-store displays

and pamphlets. The important points to be noted here are:

a) Firms willing to provide clear, comprehensive and credible information must ensure

that consumers have low cost to access it.

b) Governmental policies and stakeholder initiatives can be important in reducing

consumers’ search, information or transaction costs.

c) Regulators can publish and disseminate it to the media by press releases and post it on

the internet.

d) Stakeholders can use the media as well as use their organization-specific vehicles such

as newsletters.

Green marketing can be successfully implemented by use of ICT in cost effective way:

By developing compelling, concise messages, plan innovative ways to

repeatedly deliver, identify appropriate links within network of political,

legislative, non-profit organization and media, develop concept based programs

and events.



Utilize extensive relationship with local and national media to get a client’s

message to the right media targets.

Identify venues, plan tours, identify audiences, and organize meals, speakers

and press.

Strategies and plan joint PR initiatives as well as joint advertising campaigns

and events to cross-promote companies and organization campaigns.

Help develop identify and branding for print, broadcast and digital mediums.

Consulting and creation of a corporate design, brochures, leaflets, info

materials.

Develop web sites, e-mail campaigns, and banner advertising.

Develop creative print, broadcast and digital advertising, identify advertising

targets and purchase appropriate media slots.

Towards a Green Marketing Partnership – ICT and cost Management is the Key

Worldwide evidence indicates people are concerned about the environment and are changing

their behaviour accordingly. As a result there is a growing market for sustainable and socially

responsible products and services. The types of businesses that exist, the products that they

produce and their approaches to marketing are changing. Successful green marketers will reap

the rewards of healthy profits and improved shareholder value and help in making the world a

better place for future generations.

Identify and Close the Green Gap

Right now, gaps exist on both sides of the market, between where customers are today and the

preferences that will help sustain a future market. There is also a gap, between today’s products

and green designs of tomorrow. Greening the market means closing the gaps.

A process must be established that progressively closes these gaps, so that the market can

evolve into one that meets all customer needs while delivering vastly superior environmental

performance. Here Environmental Values would mean care about health, air quality, toxics and

concerns for future generations.



The focus on the market – oriented mechanisms is also required along with R&D to close the

gaps. These gaps cab be closed by innovatively addressing the following area:

a) Green product: This includes identifying customer’s environmental needs,

developing environmentally responsible green products like-products made from

recycled goods, products which save water, energy, gasoline, money, etc.

b) Green Value and lesser Price: It has been analyzed that most customers will only be

prepared to pay a premium if there is a perception of additional product value.

Environmentally responsible products are often less expensive when product life cycle

costs are taken into consideration even though their purchase cost is high. For example

fuel efficient vehicles, water efficient printing and non-hazardous products decrease

overall costs.

Over a period of time due to research and advancement in technologies the companies

will manage to produce environment friendly product at low costs and will even sell at

low price.

c) Customer Information: “Idea of Green” needs to be communicated to the customers

through campaigns and advertisements.

d) Special and Green Place: the location must differentiate green marketers from

competitors. This can be achieved by in-store promotions and visually appealing

displays or using recycled materials to emphasize the environmental and other benefits.

e) Green promotion Aided by ICT: smart green marketers will be able to reinforce

environmental credibility by using sustainable marketing and communication tools and

practices. E-marketing is rapidly replacing more traditional marketing methods. For

example, many companies are providing electronic statements by e-mail.



Greening the Market Means Closing the Gaps

f) Partnership: The companies should recognize the value of alliances with other

companies, environmental groups and research organizations when promoting their

environment commitment.

g) Trust: Corporate should never overstate environmental claims or establish unrealistic

expectations, and communicate simply and through sources that people trust.

h) Publicize Stories of the Company’s and Employees’ Green Initiatives: This can be

done through networks to promote green credentials and achievements.

i) Compete for Environmental Awards: The companies should try to enter into

environmental award programs to enhance their environmental profile/credentials

before customers and stakeholders.

Demand Supply

Consumer Preference Product Plans

Future Market

Environmental Values Green Design



Identify and Target the Green Consumer

According to David Wheeler, the green consumers are distributed somehow like this: Green

Consumer, who no matter what will only buy the green product. Green Activists that may

not be able or willing to pay more, or to travel the distance to the specialist store where the

offered product is, but try to promote the product and try to buy it any time they can, when the

budget and the opportunity allow them. Latent Greens, who are willing to pay more for the

product if the properties of the product, are same as of the others. Inactive, who only would

buy a green or social product if the price and properties are the same that the non-

denominational ones.

Fig: Types of Green Consumers

Thus to take the advantage of the emerging green market,

a) It is important to understand who green consumers are and the factors influencing their

purchasing decisions and behaviour.

b) Target products to women who generally buy on behalf of men and families.

c) Use the influence of children (green consumers of the future) to encourage parents to

try green products.

d) Offer samples and incentives to try products, effectively communicate assurance of

quality-for example quality of performance, look, feel, fit, comfort, durability, etc.

e) Linking environmental attributes (energy efficiency or toxic substance reduction) with

other benefits such as lower price, convenience or quality of life improvements,

emphasis on personal benefits by using terms such as ‘safe’, ‘non-toxic’, ‘cost

Green Activists 10% Green Consumers 27%

Inactive 23% Latent Green 40%



effective’, rather than ‘biodegradable’ or ‘ozone friendly’, making use of the product

simple- for example, minimize or eliminate refilling bottles, select mainstream

distributors where possible, offer one-stop shopping and eye-appealing displays,

reinforce product benefits with evidence of corporate environmental performance and

improvements.

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.

Let's put the three essential elements of a successful green marketing campaign together by

looking at an example.

Suppose that you have decided that your business will no longer use plastic bags to wrap

customer purchases. You know that the traditional plastic bag takes about one thousand years

to decompose (cbc.ca) and want to do your part to stop the proliferation of plastic bags in

landfills. You feel that this is the kind of environmental action that will be popular with

potential customers and a good opportunity to do some green marketing.

http://www.cbc.ca/consumer/story/2007/03/28/sanfrancisco-plastic.html



To be genuine, you have to ensure that none of your business practices contradict your decision

not to use plastic bags. What if customers who happen to walk behind your store see an

overflowing trash bin filled with paper, cardboard and plastic bottles? Obviously, he or she will

decide that you don't care as much about recycling as you say you do in your green marketing.

Not using plastic bags appears to be environmental no-brainer, but you will still need to educate

your target market. Did you know that a single use plastic bag takes about one thousand years

to decompose? I didn’t until I researched this article and probably a fair number of otherwise

environmentally conscious people don't either. This one little factoid about plastic bags could

be used as part of your green marketing campaign - all by itself it lets the public know why

single use plastic bags are environmentally disastrous and that you and your business care about

the environment.

And the third element? By shopping at your store, the customer is taking action to protect the

environment by preventing at least one single use plastic bag from going into a landfill. It

doesn't sound like much, but he or she gets the satisfaction of physically doing something that

fulfills their beliefs. You can also reinforce your customers’ green decisions and increase their

participation by offering them additional related actions, such as buying cloth bags to use for

future purchases.

Sometimes the best thing to do with a bandwagon is jump on it. You have to walk the talk and

actually implement green policies and act in environmentally friendly ways for green

marketing to work, but if you do, you've got a powerful selling point with those who are

environmentally conscious and want to act to make the world a greener place - a market that's

growing exponentially right now.

Golden Rules of Green Marketing

1. Know your customer: If you want to sell a greener product to consumers, you first need to

make sure that the consumer is aware of and concerned about the issues that your product

attempts to address. (Whirlpool learned the hard way that consumers wouldn’t pay a premium

for a CFC-free refrigerator because consumers didn’t know what CFCs were!).



2. Empower consumers: Make sure that consumers feel, by themselves or in concert with all

the other users of your product, that they can make a difference. This is called “empowerment”

and it’s the main reason why consumers buy greener products.

3. Be transparent: Consumers must believe in the legitimacy of your product and the specific

claims you are making. Caution: There’s a lot of skepticism out there that is fueled by the raft

of spurious claims made in the “go-go” era of green marketing that occurred during the late

80s–early90s — one brand of household cleaner claimed to have been “environmentally

friendly since 1884”!

4. Reassure the buyer: Consumers need to believe that your product performs the job it’s

supposed to do — they won't forego product quality in the name of the environment. (Besides,

products that don’t work will likely wind up in the trash bin, and that’s not very kind to the

environment.)

4. Consider your pricing: If you're charging a premium for your product — and many

environmentally preferable products cost more due to economies of scale and use of

higher-quality ingredients — make sure that consumers can afford the premium and

feel it’s worth it. Many consumers, of course, cannot afford premiums for any type of

product these days, much less greener ones, so keep this in mind as you develop your

target audience and product specifications.



Green Marketing Strategies V/S Conventional Marketing

GREEN MARKETING MIX

PRODUCT

Entrepreneurs wanting to exploit emerging green markets either: Identify customers’

environmental needs and develop products to address these needs or will develop

environmentally responsible products to have less impact than competitors.

The increasingly wide variety of products on the market that support sustainable developments

are:

Products made from recycled goods, such as Quick’ N Tuff housing materials made

from recycled broccoli boxes.

Products that can be recycled or reused.

Efficient products, which save water, energy or gasoline, save money and reduce

environmental impact.

Products with environmentally responsible packaging, McDonalds, for example,

changed their packaging from polystyrene clamshells to paper.

Products with green labels, as long as they offer substantiation.

Certified products, which meet or exceed environmentally responsible criteria.

Green Marketing Conventional Marketing

Consumers Human beings with

lives

Consumers with lifestyles

Products “Cradle-to cradle”

flexible services

“cradle-to-gave” one size

fits for all products

Marketing And

Communication

Educational values Selling oriented and benefits

Corporate Proactive,

interdependent,

cooperative, holistic,

long term

Receptive, independent,

competitive,

departmentalized, short term

oriented profit maximizing.



Organic products-many customers are prepared to pay a premium for organic products,

which offer promise of quality. Organic butchers, for example, promote the added

qualities such as taste and tenderness.

A service that rents or loans products-toy libraries.

Whatever the product or service, it is vital to ensure that products meet or exceed the quality

expectation of customers and is thoroughly tested.

PRICE

Pricing is the critical element of the marketing mix. Most customers will only be prepared to

pay a premium if there is a perception of additional product value. This value may be improved

performance, function, design, visual appeal or taste. Environmental benefits will be often

being the deciding factor between products of equal value or quality.

Environmentally responsible products, however are often less expensive when product life

cycle coast are taken into consideration, for example fuel-efficient vehicles, water efficient

printing and non-hazardous products.

PLACE

The choice of where and when to make products available will have significant impact on the

customers you attract. Very few customers go out of their way to buy green products merely

for the sake of it. Marketers looking to successfully introduce new green products should

position them broadly in the market place so they are not just appealing to a small green niche

market.

The location must also be consistent with the image you want to project and allow you to

project your own image rather than being dominated or compromised by the image of venue.

The location must differentiate you from the competitors. This can be achieved by in-store

promotions and visually appealing displays or using recycled materials to emphasize the

environmental and other benefits.

PROMOTION

Promoting products and services to target markets include paid advertising, public relations,

sales promotions, direct marketing and on-site promotions. Smart green marketers will be able

to reinforce environmental credibility by using sustainable marketing and communication tools

and practices. For example, many companies in the financial industry are providing electronic

statements by email; e-marketing is rapidly replacing more traditional marketing methods and

printed materials can be produced using recycled materials and efficient processes such as

waterless printing.

Retailers, for example are recognizing the value of alliances with other companies,

environmental groups and research organizations. When promoting their environmental

commitment to reduce the use of plastic bags and promote their green commitment, some

retailers sell shopping bags and promote their green commitments.



Green Marketing Process

Green marketing process comprises with external and internal P’s. After integrating external

and internal P’s, green success will automatically come through four S’s. Here external 7 P’s

consists of Paying customers, Providers, Politicians, Pressure groups, Problems, Predictions

and Partners; internal 7P’s consists of Products, Promotion, Price, Place, Providing

information, Processes and Policies. After integrating external and internal 7P’s, we can find

out the green successes through 4 S’s such as Satisfaction – of stakeholder needs, Safety – of

products and processes, Social acceptability – of the company and Sustainability – of its

activities.

External Green P’s

Paying customers

Providers

Politician’s

Pressure groups

Problems

Predictions

Partners

Green Marketing

Internal Green P’s

Products

Promotion

Price

Place

Providing information

Processes

Policies

The S’s of Green Success

· Satisfaction – of stakeholder needs

· Safety – of products and processes

· Social acceptability – of the company

· Sustainability – of its activities



Green Marketing: A Corporate Initiative

Green Marketing is important in today’s world because mankind has limited resources on the

earth and if we want long term sustainability of human life on this earth’s surface, then

companies has to learn to conserve these scarce natural resources and create products that have

less environmental damage. Otherwise the very existence of humankind will be under question

mark.

Corporate are going green from the grassroots level to sustain and win the customers’

expectations. The environment is becoming increasingly important part of the corporate

reputations and they are actively participating in greening the corporate strategy. Companies

have converted almost all the products to make them eco-friendly products. Following are the

recent environment friendly initiatives taken by the companies.

Sony: Green “ODO” Line Products

Sony has recently launched developed and launched a range of innovative products named as

“ODO” line products also called as Eco-chic. These products do not require AC adapter as they

were powered by kinetic or solar energy. Sony has used simplified packaging and recycled

plastic in the manufacturing of ODO products as a “Sustainable Product” initiative. The ODO

line products comprise of five products:

1. Spin N Snap: The spin and snap is a digital camera. It has two holes which are used as

viewfinder and chargers. On spinning the camera on ones fingers generates kinetic

energy and charges the device.



2. Push Power Play: Push power play is a display device with a roller on the base. The

rollers are used to charge the device by the friction of the device with hard surface.

3. Crank N’ Capture: Crank and Capture is a digital video camera with a crank used to

operate and generate power.

4. Pull and Play: The pull and play is a stereo headphone with a cord to simply pull and

use.

5. Juice Box: The juice box is a credit card sized object used to recharge the other ODO

products.

Sony has also added a new Twirl N Take hand powered digital camera to the odo line series.

Twirl N take digital camera has a sleek stem circle design. It is recharged by rolling the round

wheel on the hard surface.

Sony’s ODO line product series are the most innovative eco-friendly products which are very

safe and handy. Even children can also use these products.

IFC: Green Mutual Fun for Asia The European countries are innovative new supports for actively involving the Asian countries

in green movement. Green Movement in Asian countries is growing at slow pace as compare

to other European and American countries. To support the environment in Asian countries, IFC

(International Finance Corporation), a member of the World Bank, has recently announced a

first investment plan of €15 million for third party environment – focused private equity fund.



Along with the IFC, Swedish government risk capital company Swedfund and French

development company Prooarco will also invest euro 8 million and euro 5 million respectively

in the same fund. The fund will be managed by Aloe Private Equity. The funds will support

the companies in India and China which will focus on clean and renewable energy, waste

recycling, emissions controls, and eco-processes.

Cipla: CFC-free Inhaler

Fig: Two of Cipla’s major products, the Rotahaler and the Asthalin inhaler

Cipla-India’s second largest drug company by market share has planned and started replacing

all its CFC contained drugs to meet the international standard and Montreal Protocol ban

deadline. The CFC depletes the ozone layer and also is a

major cause of global warming. Cipla has updated the

necessary technology to avoid the CFC and has also done its

clinical trial in India and overseas. The Rotahaler and the

Asthalin inhaler are environment – friendly inhalers, used by

asthma and bronchitis patients. These inhalers are using HFA

(Hydro Fluro Alkaline) technology. The Rotahaler is a

powder based inhaler, different from regular inhaler which

contains propellants.



Maruti Suzuki

The company has remained ahead of regulatory requirements in pursuit of environment

protection and energy conservation at its manufacturing facilities, and in development of

products that use fewer natural resources and are environment friendly. The company credited

the 'Just-in-Time' philosophy adopted and internalized by the employees as the prime reason

that helped to excel in this direction.

The company has been promoting 3R

since its inception. As a result the

company has not only been able to recycle

100% of treated waste water but also

reduced fresh water consumption. The

company has implemented rain water

harvesting to recharge the aquifers. Also,

recyclable packing for bought out

components is being actively promoted.

The company has been facilitating implementation of Environment Management System

(EMS) at its suppliers' end. Regular training programs are conducted for all the suppliers on

EMS. Surveys are conducted to assess the vendors who need more guidance. The systems and

the environmental performance of suppliers are audited. The green co-efficient of this system

is much better than the conventional system.

The Country’s largest car manufacturer had managed to slash energy consumption per car at

its Gurgaon factory by 26 per cent over the past six years, while its carbon dioxide (CO2)

emissions during car manufacturing processes has come down 39 per cent in the past five years.

The model with gas as fuel was adopted by Maruti Suzuki India Limited as their Green

Marketing practices.

Bharat Petroleum

Bharat Petroleum launched a campaign to

position itself as a responsible corporate

‘green’ entity. Foraying into renewable

energy-solar and wind power-it installed

solar panels on its service stations. It also

ran a program to cut production of

greenhouse gases by 10% across its units

worldwide and achieved it much ahead of

schedule. Cleaner fuels such as Greener

Diesel (ultra low sulphur content) and BP

Auotgas were developed. Almost all of its plants are ISO 14001 certified. Currently it is

running a program to contain its net emissions at current levels for ten years.



Hindustan Petroleum

Hindustan petroleum owns a massive e-waste recycling plants, where enormous shredders and

granulators reduce four million pounds of computer detritus each month to bite-sized chunks-

the first step in reclaiming not just steel and plastic but also toxic chemicals like mercury and

even some precious metals. HP will take back any brand of equipment; its own machines are

100 percent recyclable. It has promised to cut energy consumption by 20 percent by 2010.

Proctor & Gamble

Laundry detergents are also touting energy

savings. Proctor & Gamble’s (P&G) newest

market entry, Tide Coldwater, is designed to

clean clothes effectively in cold water. About

80 to 85 percent of the energy used to wash

clothes from heating water. Working with

utility companies, P and G found that

consumers could save energy and resources by

using cold rather than warm water. As energy

and resource prices continue to soar,

opportunities for products offering efficiency

and savings are destined for market growth.

ITC

ITC has been 'Carbon Positive’ for three years in a row sequestering/storing twice the amount

of CO2 than the Company emits. It has been 'Water Positive' six years in a row creating three

times more Rainwater Harvesting potential than ITC's net consumption. It has obtained close

to 100% solid waste recycling. All Environment, Health and Safety Management Systems in

ITC conform to the best international standards. ITC's businesses generate livelihoods for over

5 million people.



ITC's globally recognized E-Choupal initiative is the world's largest rural digital infrastructure

benefiting over 4 million farming families. ITC's Social and Farm Forestry initiative has

greened over 80,000 hectares creating an estimated 35 million person days of employment

among the disadvantaged. ITC's Watershed Development Initiative brings precious water to

nearly 35,000 hectares of dry lands and moisture-stressed areas. ITC's Sustainable Community

Development initiatives include women empowerment, supplementary education, integrated

animal husbandry programs.

HCL’S: ENVIRONMENT MANAGEMENT & ECOSAFE POLICY

In building a system to identify, develop and sustain the maintenance of an environment

management system at corporate level we have formulated a program that we proudly refer as

HCL's ecosafe.

• The aim is to encapsulate knowledge, awareness, and key developments on all environmental

issues faced by today's world and to incorporate these in HCL's operations assuring our

commitment in delivering quality products, solutions and services.

• The key objective under HCL ecoSafe is targeted at integrating environmental management

procedures into its business processes thereby protecting the environment, health, and safety

of all its stakeholders. HCL commits to manufacture products that areenvironment friendly in

all respects and are free from hazardous chemicals.

• HCL ecoSafe focuses on product lifecycle management to ensure that our products right from

when they are manufactured, bought by customers, recovered at their end- of-life and recycled

after useful life are done in an environmentally responsible manner.

GREEN MARKETING CASES

PHILIPS LIGHT'S CFL:

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 17 "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" 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 ZipCar (East Coast), Flex Car (Washington State), and Hour Car (Twin

Cities).

ELECTRONIC 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.

-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.

Initiatives Taken By Government

Development of ISO 14000 Series of Standards.

ISO has been developed to help any company in any country to meet the goal of sustainable

development and environmental friendliness. The ISO 14000 family of standards (i.e. ISO

14001, 14004, 14010, 14011 and 1412) were published as an official document in 1996. The

ISO series aims to provide guidance for developing a comprehensive approach to

environmental management and for standardizing some key environmental tools of analysis

such as labeling and life cycle assessment.



Eco-Labeling Initiatives

Eco label provide information regarding the environmental performance of products. The

objective of eco-labeling is to provide authentication to genuine claims regarding the

environmental impact of products and processes by manufacturers. In India the government

has introduced the eco-mark scheme since 1981. The objectives of the scheme are:

• To provide incentives to manufacturers and importers to reduce the adverse environmental

impact of products.

• To reward genuine initiatives by companies to reduce adverse impact of environmental impact

of products.

• To assist consumers to become environmentally responsible in their daily lives by providing

them information to take account of environmental factors in their daily lives.

• To encourage citizens to purchase products which have less environmental impact.

Eco-Labeling Schemes in India

The Ministry of environment and forest of government of India has prescribed the following

criteria for products that:

• They cause substantially less pollution than comparable products in production, usage and

disposal.

• They are recycled and/or recyclable whereas comparable products are not.

• They contribute to a reduction on adverse environmental health consequences.

• They comply with laws, standards and regulations pertaining to the environment.

• Their price is not exorbitantly higher than comparable products.

Eco-Mark in India

Under the concept, products which are less harmful to the environment or have benign impact

on environment through the various stages of development-manufacture, packaging,

distribution, use and disposal or recycling may be awarded the Eco-Mark. An earthen pot has

been chosen as the logo for Eco-Mark scheme in India. The familiar earthen pot has renewable

resource like earth, does not produce hazardous waste and consume little energy in making. As

a symbol it puts across its environmental message. Its image has the ability to reach people and

help to promote a greater awareness of the need to be kind to the environment. The logo Eco-

Mark scheme signifies that the product which carries it does least damage to the environment.



Reasons for adoption of Green Marketing by the Firms

Green marketing has been widely adopted by the firms worldwide and the following are the

possible reasons cited for this wide adoption:

1) Opportunities - As demands change, many firms see these changes as an opportunity to be

exploited and have a competitive advantage over firms marketing non-environmentally

responsible alternatives. Some examples of firms who have strived to become more

environmentally responsible, in an attempt to better satisfy their consumer needs are:

McDonald's replaced its clam shell packaging with waxed paper because of increased

consumer concern relating to polystyrene production and Ozone depletion.

Tuna manufacturers modified their fishing techniques because of the increased concern

over driftnet fishing, and the resulting death of dolphins.

Xerox introduced a "high quality" recycled photocopier paper in an attempt to satisfy

the demands of firms for less environmentally harmful products.

2) Governmental Pressure - As with all marketing related activities, governments want to

"protect" consumers and society; this protection has significant green marketing implications.

Governmental regulations relating to environmental marketing are designed to protect

consumers in several ways:

1. Reduce production of harmful goods or by-products.

2. Modify consumer and industry's use and/or consumption of harmful goods.

3. Ensure that all types of consumers have the ability to evaluate the environmental

composition of goods.

Governments establish regulations designed to control the amount of hazardous wastes

produced by firms.

3) Competitive Pressure - Another major force in the environmental marketing area has been

firms' desire to maintain their competitive position. In many cases firms observe competitors

promoting their environmental behaviours and attempt to emulate this behaviour. In some

instances this competitive pressure has caused an entire industry to modify and thus reduce its

detrimental environmental behaviour. For example, it could be argued that Xerox's "Revive

100% Recycled paper" was introduced a few years ago in an attempt to address the introduction

of recycled photocopier paper by other manufacturers. In another example when one tuna

manufacture stopped using driftnets the others followed suit.



4) Cost or Profit Issues - Firms may also use green marketing in an attempt to address cost or

profit related issues. Disposing of environmentally harmful by-products, such as

polychlorinated biphenyl (PCB) contaminated oil are becoming increasingly costly and in

some cases difficult.

Therefore firms that can reduce harmful wastes may incur substantial cost savings. When

attempting to minimize waste, firms are often forced to re-examine their production processes.

In these cases they often develop more effective production processes that not only reduce

waste, but reduce the need for some raw materials. This serves as a double cost savings, since

both waste and raw material are reduced.

GREEN CONSUMER BEHAVIOUR

Environmentally Conscious Consumer Behaviour

‘Environmentally Conscious Behaviour’ (ECCB) is consumer behaviour based on some

awareness of the environmental impacts associated with a product or service, and a desire to

reduce those impacts. Many researchers in the field of consumer’s psychology and market

research have demonstrated a substantial growth in ECCB across a range of markets. It has

been demonstrated through case studies that how product developers and marketers have

capitalized on this positive attitude and effectively differentiated their product in terms of their

‘environmentally friendly’ character.

The term environmental consciousness does not have a standardized definition in the body of

academic literature; the reason can be due to arousal of the term out of political and everyday

language. Environmental consciousness is the desire to protect flora and fauna, a willingness

to scrutinize the consequences of economic activity and a willingness to combine long-term

with short-term planning.



Attributes of the Green Consumers

To take the advantage of the emerging green market, it is important to understand who green

customers are and the factors influencing their purchasing decisions and behaviour.

Attributes of Environmentally

Conscious Consumers

Implication for Green Marketers

Will most likely be well educated,

young adult women who have more

money to spend?

Use the influence of children to encourage parents

to try green products. The green consumers of the

future are generally knowledgeable about

environmental issues. They should be offered

samples and increments to try products.

Will expect green products to function

as non-green products and won’t pay

much extra or sacrifice quality for

greener products.

Effectively communicate assurance of quality for

example quality of performances, look, feel, fit,

comfort, durability.

Will not buy green products on the

basis of environmental benefits alone.

Products choice is still based on

whether it meets their basic want or

need. Environmental features are added

selling points.

Like environmental attributes such as energy

efficiency or toxic substance reduction with other

benefits such as lower price, convenience, or

quality of life improvements.

Will be more likely to respond to

product attribute that will personally

benefit them.

Emphasize personal benefits by using terms such as

‘safe’, ‘non-toxic’, ‘cost effective’ rather than more

generalized green messages such as

‘biodegradable’ or ‘ozone friendly’.

Will tolerate only minimal

inconvenience in using green products

and don’t want to go out of their way to

buy them.

Making the use of product simple- e.g. minimize or

eliminate refilling bottles. Select mainstream

distributors wherever possible. Offer one-stop

shopping and eye appealing displays.

Will be analytical, eager to learn, and

can be cynical about corporate claims

for green product unless they have

independent verification.

Reinforce product benefits with evidence of

corporate performance and improvements. Educate

consumers about environmental issues and your

efforts through a variety of means. Provide credible

environmental endorsements. Use labels in

compliance with government labeling guidelines,

to convey precise, detailed information about your

product and its packaging.

Will not expect companies to have

perfect green credentials, but will look

for a commitment to improve and

evidence backed by facts.

Communicate your steps towards sustainability and

commitments to improvement. Seek feedback and

promote your efforts to respond to customer

concerns.



FUTURE GROWTH OF GREEN MARKETING

There are many lessons to be learned to avoid green marketing myopia, the short version of all

this is that effective green marketing requires applying good marketing principles to make

green products desirable for consumers. The question that remains, however, is, what is green

marketing’s future? Business scholars have viewed it as a “fringe” topic, given that

environmentalism’s acceptance of limits and conservation does not mesh well with marketing’s

traditional axioms of “give customer what they want” and “sell as much as you can”.

Evidence indicates that successful green products have avoided green marketing myopia by

following three important principles:

Consumer Value Positioning:

Design environmental products to perform as well as (or better than) alternatives.

Promote and deliver the consumer desired value of environmental products and target

relevant consumer market segments.

Broaden mainstream appeal by bundling consumer desired value into environmental

products.

Calibration of Consumer Knowledge:

Educate consumers with marketing messages that connect environmental attributes

with desired consumer value.

Frame environmental product attributes as “solutions” for consumer needs.

Create engaging and educational internet sites about environmental products desired

consumer value.

Credibility of Product Claims:

Employ environmental product and consumer benefit claims that are specific and

meaningful.

Procure product endorsements or eco-certifications from trustworthy third parties and

educate consumers about the meaning behind those endorsements and eco-

certifications.

Encourage consumer evangelism via consumers social and internet communication

network with compelling, interesting and entertaining information about environmental

products.



THE SEVEN STRATEGIES OF GREEN MARKETING SUCCESS

The currency of the green business world is innovation, flexibility, change and heart.

New rules have emerged from the cloud of green marketing dust kicked up in the late 1980s

and early 1990s. We know better what works - and what does not. Seven strategies that work

are listed as follows:

OTTMAN CONSULTING’S SEVEN STRATEGIES



STRATEGIES TO BE IMPLEMENTED IN GREEN MARKETING

I. PRODUCT DIFFERENTIATION

Organizations are putting continuous efforts to differentiate their products and services using

green marketing practice. In a wide range of markets including retailing etc companies have

used eco performance to differentiate and to compete. Products with poor eco performance can

become targets for new substitution, as a result of this many organizations are coming up with

greener ideas to differentiate their products from competitors.

CONSUMER VALUE POSITIONING- organizations can design environmental products to

perform as well as provide alternatives. In addition to this promoting and delivering the

consumer desired value of environmental products and target relevant consumer market

segments can help the organization to differentiate.

CALIBERATION OF CONSUMER KNOWLEDGE-Educates customers with marketing

messages that connect environmental product attributes with desired consumer value.

II. DESIGNING BIO-DEGRADABLE PACKAGING

It is seen that promotion of green products strongly influences the consumers buying decisions.

It is one of the most important factors of product attractiveness. Thus it has been indicated that

bio-degradable packaging will affect in a strong and moderate way respectively on their buying

decisions.

As a marketing strategy the companies should modify the product packaging by using only the

recycle as well as handmade paper in packaging. Instead of being more mechanized the

companies must find creative ways reusing the waste products which are harmful to the

environment. Manufacturing companies which are using plastic for packaging should meet

certain standardization. For example Bisleri plastic bottles or the water bottles can last only for

15 days and after that it generates certain chemicals which are harmful and there is no

reusability of this kind of plastic. Companies should modify these kinds of packaging styles

and find out some innovative ways to recycle it.

III. PRODUCT STRATEGY

In this strategy marketers can identify customer’s environmental needs and develop products

to address this issue, produce more environmentally responsible packages and insure that

products meet or exceed the quality expectation of customers. In addition to that marketer can

charge higher price with highlighting eco-friendliness of the products.



IV. DISTRIBUTION STRATEGY

In case of this strategy obtaining dealer support to green marketing practice is essential. The

location must differentiate from competitors and it can be achieved by in-store promotions and

displays by using recycle materials to emphasize the environmental and other benefits.

Even though distribution has no big involvement in green marketing, few consumers

are willing to get the services from places and distribution channels which are not cause to

environmental pollution.

V. LIFE-CYCLE ANALYSIS

Brands which aspire to be sustainable must “get their house in order” before they start planning

any green marketing initiatives. The best brands are performing life cycle analysis- complex

assessments which provide critical data on social, environmental and economic impact of

products through the supply chain production process and after the purchase. Life cycle

analysis tells a brand just how far it needs to go before it claims to be sustainable.

VI. INCENTIVES AND STRUCTURAL FACTORS Commercialization programs and incentives help get new technologies introduced examples

include fleet programs to cultivate strategic niche markets and by providing financial incentives

such as the advanced vehicle tax credit proposal in case of green vehicle purchase. Consumers

can be motivated by incentives and awards to:

Curtail – Reduce the impact on the environment by modifying extant living patterns.

Maintain – Keep equipment in good working order.

Be efficient – Undertake structural changes such as buying environmental friendly

equipment.

ANALYSIS OF EFFECTS OF GREEN MARKETING

Size of sample:

This refers to the numbers of items to be selected from universe to constitute a sample. An

optimum sample is one, which fulfills the requirements of efficiency, representativeness,

reliability and flexibility.

Sample size - 64 consumers

Sample design:

A sample design is definite plan for obtaining a sample from a given population. It refers to the

technique or the procedure the researcher would adopt in selecting items for the samples.

Sample design – consumers



Sample type:

Convenience sampling: - when population elements are selected for inclusion in the sample

based on the case of access; it can be called convenience sampling.

This study is based on stratified sampling and a structured questionnaire has been used to gather

data from about 50 respondents to analyse effects of green marketing. By analysing

respondents’ answers towards the questions helps to understand the various aspects related to

green marketing. The study attempts to expand research on exploring how many people have

positive attitude towards green marketing and what are their thoughts on it.

RESULTS

According to the analysis of questionnaire most of the respondents were not aware about green

marketing but after reading the questionnaire they realized what it is all about. Of the 64

respondents 37 were male and 27 female. The respondents were between the age group of 25-

27 and 28-30 yrs.

Are you aware of the term “green marketing”?

The above bar graph indicates that 56% of respondents are familiar with the term Green

Marketing.

0

2

4

6

8

10

12

25-27 yrs.

Male

28-30 yrs.

Male

25-27

yrs.Female

28-30 yrs.

Female

YES

NO



Have you heard of any campaign related to Green Marketing?

The above bar graph indicates that 44% of respondents are aware of the campaign related to

Green Marketing. Rest 56% does not know about any campaign related to Green marketing.

Have you been part of any such campaign?

The above

graph indicates

that only 17%

of the total has

been a part of

Green

Marketing

campaigns.

0

2

4

6

8

10

12

25-27 yrs

of male

28-30 yrs

of male

25-27 yrs

of female

28-30 yrs

of female

Yes

No

0

2

4

6

8

10

12

14

16

18

25-27

Males

28-30

Males

25-27

Females

28-30

Females

Yes

No



Do you consider the environmental aspects of the products before buying them?

The above graph indicates that only 58% i.e. the majority of respondents consider the

environmental aspect sometimes. And, only 23% consider the environmental aspect of the

product while buying it.

0

2

4

6

8

10

12

14

25-27Males

28-30Males

25-27Females

28-30Females

YES

NO

SOMETIMES



Do you think that green marketing and advertising are good sources of information

about green products and services?

The above graph indicates that only 69% i.e. the majority of respondents consider green

marketing and advertising as good sources of information for green products and services. And,

only 10% do not consider it.

0

2

4

6

8

10

12

14

25-27Males

28-30Males

25-27Females

28-30Females

Yes

No

Sometimes



Do you think that Green Marketing activities are good at addressing environmental

issues?

The above graph indicates that 87% of the respondents feel that Green Marketing activities are

good at addressing environmental issues while 13% respondents do not.

0

2

4

6

8

10

12

14

16

18

25-27 yrs ofmale

28-30 yrs ofmale

25-27 yrs offemale

28-30 yrs offemale

Yes

No



Do you think Green Marketing activities results in better product quality?

The above graph indicates that 70% of the respondents think that Green Marketing activities

results in better product quality.

Do you think that Green Marketing strengthen company’s image in the mind of

consumer?

The above graph indicates that majority of the respondents i.e. 86% think that Green Marketing

strengthen company’s image in the mind of consumer.

0

2

4

6

8

10

12

14

16

25-27 yrsof male

28-30 yrsof male

25-27 yrsof female

28-30 yrsof female

Yes

No

0

2

4

6

8

10

12

14

16

18

25-27 yrsof male

28-30 yrsof male

25-27 yrsof female

28-30 yrsof female

Yes

No



Do you think that companies that focus on environmental concerns persuade consumers

to buy products?

The above graph indicates that the respondents the companies initiative towards environment

do influence the consumers to buy product. 63% of respondents agree to it.

Are you aware of the eco-labeling initiatives of the government?

The above graph indicates that majority of the respondents i.e. 69% of the respondents are not

aware of the eco-labeling initiatives of the government.

0

2

4

6

8

10

12

25-27 yrsof male

28-30 yrsof male

25-27 yrsof female

28-30 yrsof female

Yes

No

0

2

4

6

8

10

12

14

25-27 yrsof male

28-30 yrsof male

25-27 yrsof

female

28-30 yrsof

female

Yes

No



RECOMMENDATIONS

Finite resources such as oil, metal, and even fresh water will become scarcer and more

expensive. If businesses do not become more efficient in using these resources it will have a

huge impact on the bottom line. Investing in Green Products thus changes from ‘beyond doing

good’ to ultimately ‘good business sense’. Thus they should:

Invest in research and create clean and environment friendly products.

Clean energy sources such as solar, wind, bio-fuels and hydra power.

Water harvesting.

Recycle at every level.

Move towards paperless office.

Educate masses of the environment issues because they are going to be the bulk

consumers.

Socially responsible investing in environment driven projects.

Plant more trees.

The corporations must rethink:

Their raw material and procurement strategies.

They should develop new products

They should redesign existing products and service.

They should realize that pollution prevention can be a cost saving activity.

They should steer their product and packaging designs to use less material.

Conclusion

As the demand for green products undoubtedly exists, Green Marketing provides an

opportunity to the companies to increase their market-share by introducing eco-friendly

products. Stricter environmental regulations across the world, growing consumer preference

for eco-friendly companies, and the inherent cost advantages in lowering toxic waste, are

encouraging industries big and small to clean up.

Result of a survey conducted showed that, consumers are not overly committed to improving

their environment and may be looking to lay too much responsibility on industry and

government. Though it’s the responsibility of the firm to produce products, which are having

minimum impact on the environment, but ultimately it’s the consumer who is having

responsibility to use eco-friendly products. Consumers are not too much concerned about the

environment but as they have become more sophisticated, they require clear information about

how choosing one product over another will benefit the environment. Consumer education

results in their empowerment. Empowered consumers choose environmentally preferable

products when all else is equal.



Ultimately green marketing requires that consumers ‘Think Green, Think clean, Think Eco-

friendly’ i.e. they want a cleaner environment and are willing to "pay" for it, possibly through

higher priced goods, modified individual lifestyles, or even governmental intervention. Until

this occurs it will be difficult for firms alone to lead the green marketing revolution.

BIBLIOGRAPHY

BOOKS & JOURNALS

I. Kothari C.R. (2004), “Research Methodology Methods and Techniques”, N.

Delhi, New Age International Publication

ii. Green, Paul, Tull (2002) “Research for Marketing Decisions”, N. Delhi,

Prentice-Hall of India

iii. Sharma D.D. (2008), “Marketing Research: Principle Application & Cases” N. Delhi,

Sultan Chand & Sons

iv. Kotler P. (1999), “Marketing Management”, N. Delhi, Prentice-Hall of India.

v. Rajagpalan R. (2003), “Environment Studies”, N. Delhi, Himalayan Publishing

House.

vi. Certo, S.C. (1997), Modern Management, Englewood Cliffs, Prentice-Hall

Kotler Philips & G. Armstrong. Principles of marketing. New Delhi, Prentice Hall.

Richa Agrawal, Green Marketing: An Emerging Trend (PJMR, Vol. 5,April 2000)

Excerpts from the survey report conducted by BT-TERI.

WEBSITES

www.ecomall.com

www.greenmarketingcorner.com

www.greenpeace.org

http://www.businessworld.in

http://www.greenmarketing.com/green_marketing_book

http://egj.lib.uidaho.edu/egj02/polon01.html

http://www.awea.org/policy/greenprins.html

http://www.sustainablemarketing.com/

http://www.onpoint-marketing.com/green-marketing.htm

http://www.ecomall.com/greenshopping/greencorner.htm

http://www.tompaine.com/articles/2006/11/03/bright_green_marketing_challenge.php

http://www.plentymag.com/features/2006/11/green_marketing_machine.php



ANNEXURE

Questionnaire

Consumer Awareness towards Green Marketing

Name:

Age:

Gender:

Are you aware of the term “green marketing”?

Yes

No

What do you understand by the term “Green Marketing”?

Have you heard of any campaign related to Green Marketing?

Yes

No

Have you been part of any such campaign?

Yes

No

Do you consider the environmental aspects of the products before buying them?

Yes

No

Sometimes

Do you think that green marketing and advertising are good sources of information about

green products and services?

Yes

No

Sometimes



Do you think that Green Marketing activities are good at addressing environmental

issues?

Yes

No

Do you think Green Marketing activities results in better product quality?

Yes

No

Do you think that Green Marketing strengthen company’s image in the mind of

consumer?

Yes

No

Do you think that companies that focus on environment al concerns persuade consumers

to buy products?

Yes

No

Are you aware of the eco-labeling initiatives of the government?

Yes

No

impact of green marketing on customer satsifaction and environmental safety - a year long project...

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mumbai university

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