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. 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.
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.
Other similar terms used are Environmental Marketing and Ecological Marketing
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.
➢ Finally, it must besupported by relevant green messages, which resonate with
customers and prospects
Basically the main aim of the project is to analyze the developments which are taking
place throughout the world to promote green products and green marketing.
INTRODUCTION

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.
Yet defining green marketing is not a simple task where several meanings intersect and
contradict each other; an example of this will be the existence of varying social,
environmental and retail definitions attached to this term. Other similar terms used are
Environmental Marketing and Ecological Marketing. The legal implications of marketing
claims call for caution. Misleading or overstated claims can lead to regulatory or civil
challenges. In the USA, the Federal Trade Commission provides some guidance on
environmental marketing claims.
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" in1975. The proceedings of this workshop resulted in one of the first books
on green marketing entitled "Ecological Marketing" Thus green marketing incorporates a
broad range of activities, including product modification, changes to the production
process, packaging changes, as well as modifying advertising.
My definition which encompasses all major components of other definitions is: "Green or
Environmental 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."
This definition incorporates much of the traditional components of the marketing
definition that is "All activities designed to generate and facilitate any exchanges
intended to satisfy human needs or wants".
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.
The obvious assumption of green marketing is that potential consumers will view a
product or service's "greenness" as a benefit and base their buying decision accordingly.
The not-so-obvious assumption of green marketing is that consumers will be willing to
pay more for green products than they would for a less-green comparable alternative
product - an assumption that has not been proven conclusively, specially the mild effect
which it had had on consumers has washed away by the present recession (2008-09) only.
Green marketers though argue that it is a way to use the environmental benefits of a
product or service to promote sales. Many consumers will choose products that do not
damage the environment over less environmentally friendly products, even if they cost
more. With green marketing, advertisers focus on environmental benefits to sell products
such as biodegradable diapers, energy-efficient light bulbs, and environmentally safe
detergents.
People buy billions of dollars worth of goods and services every year—many of which
harm the environment in the way they are harvested, made, or used. Environmentalists
support green marketing to encourage people to use environmentally preferable
alternatives, and to offer incentives to manufacturers that develop more environmentally
beneficial products.
Importance of green marketing
Man has limited resources on the earth, with which she/he must attempt to provide for
theworlds' unlimited wants. There is extensive debate as to whether the earth is a resource
at man'sdisposal. In market societies where there is "freedom of choice", it has generally
been acceptedthat individuals and organizations have the right to attempt to have their
wants satisfied. As firmsface limited natural resources, they must develop new or
alternative ways of satisfying theseunlimited wants. Ultimately green marketing looks at
how marketing activities utilize theselimited resources, while satisfying consumers
wants, both of individuals and industry, as well asachieving 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 behavior
• Opportunities
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
vigor and so would the corporate class. Financial gain and economic profit is the main
aim ofany corporate business. But harm to environment cost by sustain business across
the globe isrealized now though off late. This sense is building corporate citizenship in
the business class. Sogreen marketing by the business class is still in the selfish
anthological perspective of long termsustainable business and to please the consumer and
obtain the sanction license by the governingbody. Industries in Asian countries are
catching the need of green marketing from the developedcountries but still there is a wide
gap between their understanding and implementation.
Challenges in Green Marketing
➢ NEED FOR STANDARDIZATION
It is found that only 5% of the marketing messages from “Green” campaigns are
entirelytrue and there is a lack of standardization to authenticate these claims. There is
nostandardization to authenticate these claims. There is no standardization currently in
placeto certify a product as organic. Unless some regulatory bodies are involved in
providingthe certifications there will not be any verifiable means. A standard quality
control boardneeds to be in place for such labeling and licensing.
➢ NEW CONCEPT
Indian literate and urban consumer is getting more aware about the merits of
Greenproducts. But it is still a new concept for the masses. The consumer needs to be
educatedand made aware of the environmental threats. The new green movements need
to reachthe masses and that will take a lot of time and effort.
By India’s ayurvedic heritage, Indian consumers do appreciate the importance of
usingnatural and herbal beauty products. Indian consumer is exposed to healthy
livinglifestyles such as yoga and natural food consumption. In those aspects the consumer
isalready 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 ew
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
reasonwhy consumers buy certain products in the first place. Do this right, and
motivateconsumers to switch brands or even pay a premium for the greener alternative. It
is notgoing to help if a product is developed which is absolutely green in various aspects
butdoes not pass the customer satisfaction criteria. This will lead to green myopia. Also
ifthe green products are priced very high then again it will loose its market acceptability
Benefits of Green Marketing
Today’s consumers are becoming more and more conscious about the environment and
are alsobecoming socially responsible. Therefore, more companies are responsible to
consumersaspirations for environmentally less damaging or neutral products. Many
companies want tohave an early mover advantage as they have to eventually move
towards becoming green.
Some of theadvantages 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
environmentaspects in mind. It helps in accessing the new markets and enjoying the
competitiveadvantage.
•
Most of the employees also feel proud and responsible to be working for an
environmentally responsible company.
Golden Rules of Green Marketing
1.Know Your Customer: 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 dint
know what CFCs were.).
2.Empower Consumers: Make sure that consumer 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 due to this main reason consumers will buy greener products.
3.Be Transparent: Consumers must believe in the legitimacy of the product and the
specific claims made in regard.
4.Reassure the Buyer: Consumers must be made to believe that the product performs the
job it’s supposed to do-they won’t forego product quality in the name of the environment.
5.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
ofhigher-quality ingredients-make sure those consumers can afford the premium and
feelit’s worth it.
6.Thus leading brands should recognize that consumer expectations have changed.It
is not enough for a company to green its products; consumers expect the products
thatthey purchase pocket friendly and also to help reduce the environmental impact in
theirown lives too.
“Green” Logistics
Is in the process of coming onto corporate radar screens, but companies need to see a
cause andeffect on profitability before they commit much more than superficial efforts
toward greenlogistics. 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
transportationoperations, LEED certified buildings, minimizing/eliminating packaging,
and consideringcarbon-footprint in network design (Llama soft, Ilog, Infor, Carbon View,
Maersk Logistics, andIBM 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 inthe US and elsewhere without government
intervention (e.g., regulations, tax/financialincentives, etc).
GREEN WASHING
In spite of its growing popularity, the green marketing movement faced serious setbacks
in thelate 1980s because many industries made false claims about their products and
services. Forinstance, 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 toaggressively lobby to drill for oil in the
Arctic National Wildlife Refuge. Green marketing can bea very powerful marketing
strategy though when it's done right. In a similar kind of case Chad’sgreen marketing
campaign bombed because he made the mistake of packaging hisenvironmentally
friendly product in Styrofoam, emitting CFC’s.
Without environmental labeling standards, consumers could not tell which products and
serviceswere truly beneficial. Consumers ended up paying extra for misrepresented
products. The mediacame up with the term "green washing" to describe cases where
organizations misrepresentedthemselves as environmentally responsible. So, While green
marketing was growing greatly asincreasing numbers of consumers were willing to back
their environmental consciousnesses withtheir dollars, it can be dangerous. The public
tends to be skeptical of green claims to begin withand companies can seriously damage
their brands and their sales if a green claim is discovered to
be false or contradicted by a company's other products or practices. Thus, in other words
presenting a product or service as green when it's not is called green washing.
THE GREEN DILEMMA
The past decade has shown that harnessing consumer power to effect positive
environmentalchange is far easier said than done. The so-called "green consumer"
movements in the U.S. andother countries have struggled to reach critical mass and to
remain in the forefront of shoppers'minds. While public opinion polls taken since the late
1980s have shown consistently that asignificant percentage of consumers in the U.S. and
elsewhere profess a strong willingness tofavor environmentally conscious products and
companies, consumers' efforts to do so in real lifehave remained sketchy at best. One of
green marketing's challenges is the lack of standards orpublic consensus about what
constitutes "green," according to Joel Makower, a writer on greenmarketing. In essence,
there is no definition of "how good is good enough" when it comes to aproduct or
company making green marketing claims. This lack of consensus -- by
consumers,marketers, activists, regulators, and influential people -- has slowed the
growth of greenproducts, says Makeover, because companies are often reluctant to
promote their greenattributes, and consumers are often skeptical about claims.
Despite these challenges, green marketing has continued to gain adherents, particularly in
lightof growing global concern about climate change. This concern has led more
companies toadvertise their commitment to reduce their climate impacts, and the effect
this is having on theirproducts and services
GREEN MARKETING – ADOPTION 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-
environmentallyresponsible alternatives. Some examples of firms who have strived to
become moreenvironmentally responsible, in an attempt to better satisfy their consumer
needs are:
•McDonald's replaced its clam shell packaging with waxed paper because of
increasedconsumer
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.
New Delhi, the India's capital was getting polluted gradually at a very fast pace till
SupremeCourt of India forced a change of fuel on it. In 2002, a directive was issued to
completely adoptCNG in all public transport systems to curb pollution.
One of the more recent publicized environmental regulations undertaken by governments
has
been the establishment of guidelines designed to "control" green marketing claims.
Theseregulations include the Australian Trade Practices Commission's (TPC)
"Environmental Claimsin Marketing - A Guideline , the US Federal Trade Commission's
(FTC) "Guides for the Use ofEnvironmental Marketing Claims" and the regulations
suggested by the National Association ofAttorneys-General .These regulations are all
designed to ensure consumers have the appropriateinformation which would enable them
to evaluate firm's environmental claims.
3) COMPETITIVE PRESSURE - Another major force in the environmental marketing
area
has been firms' desire to maintain their competitive position. In many cases firms
observecompetitors promoting their environmental behaviors and attempt to emulate this
behavior. Insome instances this competitive pressure has caused an entire industry to
modify and thus reduceits detrimental environmental behavior. For example, it could be
argued that Xerox's "Revive100% Recycled paper" was introduced a few years ago in an
attempt to address the introductionof recycled photocopier paper by other manufacturers.
In another example when one tunamanufacture stopped using driftnets the others
followed suit.
4) 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. Thistranslates into firms that believe they must achieve environmental objectives
as well as profitrelated objectives. This results in environmental issues being integrated
into the firm's corporateculture. There are examples of firms adopting both strategies.
Organizations like the Body Shopheavily promote the fact that they are environmentally
responsible. While this behavior is acompetitive advantage, the firm was established
specifically to offer consumers environmentallyresponsible alternatives to conventional
cosmetic products. This philosophy is directly tied to theoverall corporate culture, rather
than simply being a competitive tool.
Fund managers and corporate developers too, are taking into account the environmental
viabilityof the company they invest in Venture Capitalists are investing in green business
because theybelieve it's a growth opportunity. Britain based HSBC became the world's
first bank to go carbonneutral late last year and is now turning its 11000 buildings in 76
countries worldwide into models of energy efficiency." our customers have told us that
they decide where they shop based
on whether the business is a good neighbor ."Says David North, Tesco’s community
director.
An example of a firm that does not promote its environmental initiatives is Coca-Cola.
Theyhave invested large sums of money in various recycling activities, as well as having
modifiedtheir packaging to minimize its environmental impact.
While being concerned about the environment, Coke has not used this concern as a
marketingtool. Thus many consumers may not realize that Coke is a very
environmentally committedorganization. Another firm who is very environmentally
responsible but does not promote thisfact, at least outside the organization, is Walt
Disney World (WDW). WDW has an extensivewaste management program and
infrastructure in place, yet these facilities are not highlighted intheir general tourist
promotional activities.
5) 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
aspolychlorinated biphenyl (PCB) contaminated oil are becoming increasingly costly and
in somecases difficult.
Therefore firms that can reduce harmful wastes may incur substantial cost savings.
Whenattempting to minimize waste, firms are often forced to re-examine their production
processes. Inthese 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 bothwaste and raw material are reduced.
In other cases firms attempt to find end - of - pipe solutions, instead of minimizing waste.
Inthese situations firms try to find markets or uses for their waste materials, where one
firm's wastebecomes another firm's input of production. One Australian example of this is
a firm whoproduces acidic waste water as a by-product of production and sells it to a firm
involved inneutralizing base materials.

PRODUCT
Entrepreneurs wanting to exploit emerging green markets either: Identify
customers’environmental needs and develop products to address these needs or will
developenvironmentally 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.
•
Organic products-many customers are prepared to pay a premium for organic
products,which offer promise of quality. Organic butchers, for example, promote the
addedqualities 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 paya premium if there is a perception of additional product value. This value
may be improvedperformance, function, design, visual appeal or taste. Environmental
benefits will be often be thedeciding factor between products of equal value or quality.
Environmentally responsible products, however are often less expensive when product
life cyclecoast are taken into consideration, for example fuel-efficient vehicles, water
efficient printingand non-hazardous products.
PLACE
The choice of where and when to make products available will have significant impact on
thecustomers you attract. Very few customers go out of their way to buy green products
merely forthe sake of it. Marketers looking to successfully introduce new green products
should positionthem 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
projectyour own image rather than being dominated or compromised by the image of
venue. Thelocation must differentiate you from the competitors. This can be achieved by
in-storepromotions and visually appealing displays or using recycled materials to
emphasize theenvironmental 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 toreinforce environmental credibility by using sustainable
marketing and communication tools andpractices. For example, many companies in the
financial industry are providing electronicstatements by email; e-marketing is rapidly
replacing more traditional marketing methods andprinted materials can be produced using
recycled materials and efficient processes such aswaterless printing.
Retailers, for example are recognizing the value of alliances with other
companies,environmental groups and research organizations. When promoting their
environmentalcommitment to reduce the use of plastic bags and promote their green
commitment, someretailers sell shopping bags and promote their green commitments.
Moving Towards Green Marketing
The era of green marketing has begun. It has already been granted wide acceptance by all
stakeholders. However, there is a need to lay down the standards and practices, in order
to bring in objectivity in the judgment of various national and international agencies. This
will not onlyencourage the activities of green marketing but shall also provide the much
needed level playingfields to all.
DEVELOPMENT OF ISO 14000 SERIES OF STANDARDS.
ISO has been developed to help any company inany country to meet the goal of
sustainabledevelopment and environmental friendliness. The ISO 14000 family of
standards( i.e. ISO14001, 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
toenvironmental management and for standardizing some key environmental tools of
analysis suchas labeling and life cycle assessment.
ECO-LABELING INITIATIVES
Eco label provide information regarding the environmental performance of products.
Theobjective ofeco- labeling is to provide authentication to genuine claims regarding
theenvironmental 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-LABELLING 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,
•
That they are recycled and/or recyclable whereas comparable products are not.
•
That they contribute to a reduction on adverse environmental health consequences.
•
That they comply with laws, standards and regulations pertaining to the environment.
•
That 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 onenvironment 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
earthenpot has renewable resource like earth, does not produce hazardous waste and
consume littleenergy in making.As a symbol it puts across its environmental message.Its
image has theability to reach people and help to promote a greater awareness of the need
to be kind to theenvironment.The logo Eco-Mark scheme signifies that the product which
carries it does leastdamage to the environment.
SHIFTING TO A GREEN ERA
The color GREEN, until recently was associated all over the world with emerald. In the
modernage, however, GREEN is getting associated with sustainable development. Being
green is nolonger a matter of choice; its marketing is a must, or else enterprise may run
the risk of losingcustomers, employees and shareholders. It has become almost a
necessity to maintain a greenlifestyle.
The possibility of oceans rising and claiming coastal lives, climate change, and polluted
air and
water are beginning to gain momentum towards the green movement.
Today there is an increasing concern among the business houses towards the challenges
poisedby the environment. Green consumerism is playing a catalytic role to bring in
environmentalismand make business green oriented. Also it has been noticed that there
has been an increasing trend of consumers demanding for a “Green Image” of an
enterprise. The most feasible optionavailable for the business houses is to put into
practice the process of “Green Manufacturing”. Itinvolves product recovery activities as
well as reverses logistics.
Product recovery concept is applied on the returned product so as to translate it to a
usable one,for example remanufacturing, refurbishing or even recycling. Whereas reverse
logistics focuseson inbound supply and distribution of used goods and inventory.
Companies like ABB, MUL, Ranbaxy and many more have taken up green projects.
Theysponsor huge amount and in return earn a lot of goodwill, low cost publicity, and an
environmentconscious image. Scores of such enterprises have responded to
environmental concerns withseveral strategic versions of green business, which are
enumerated below:
•
Adopting products/packages to make them environmentally sound.
•
Making realistic environmental claims about existing products through the
advertisements.
•
Linking brands with environmental causes to create goodwill.
•
Introducing entirely new range of products explicitly designed to appeal environmentally
conscious consumers.
For business houses seeking environmental sustainability, green supply chain
management
(GSCM) has emerged as a vital tool. Green supply is attracting a particular interest
among
researchers and practitioners in operations and supply chain management. It
integratesenvironmental thinking into traditional supply chain management that includes
product design,material sourcing as well as selection, process of manufacturing, delivery
of final products to thecustomers and most importantly end of life product management
after its proper usage.
The major areas addressed byGSC M are:
•
The upstream activities of an organization that comprises evaluation of supplier’s
environmental performance.
•
Downstream actions that include activities related to the disposal of surfeit stock,
particularly the recovery and recycling opportunities.
•
Within the organization, GSCM might include design for the environment with the
suppliers.
•
While in the logistics, JIT or Quality Management conjoins with environmental criterion.
The business enterprises can have several benefits by greening their supply chain. Some
of them
are:
•
Risk Reduction and Adapting of Regulation: Enterprises with green practices of SCM
can keep themselves free of being prosecuted due to unethical and anti-environmental
practices.
•
Sustainability of Resources: The greening of SCM helps in effective utilization of
enterprise resources. The enterprises shall purchase green input resources for
environment friendly production process to produce eco friendly outputs.
•
Production Process and Competitive Advantage: GSCM helps the business houses in
positioning the products differently in the minds of the target set of buyers. It will notonly
attract profitable customers for the organizations, but also bestow competitive edgeover
its rivals, thereby strengthening brand image.
•
Cost Reduction and Increased Efficiency: Effective utilization of GSCM may fetch
reduction of transaction cost as well as promote recycling of raw materials. Moreover
theproduction of hazardous substances can be engraved, which may avert enterprises
frombeing penalized for violating environmental clauses.
 Green Strategy Formulation
As in formulation of green strategy, a firm may evolve it from a SWOT analysis or
Environmental Audit.
SWOT ANALYSIS
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 labeled “Green” because they see suchlabeling
as a marketing gimmick, and they may lose trust in an organization that suddenlyclaims
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
thecompetitors. Firms, therefore, strive to improve upon their societal awareness.
Thiscomplements the increase in consumers’ socially conscious behavior and will
thereforegive 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.
EXTERNAL 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)
PRESENT TRENDS IN GREEN MARKETING IN INDIA
➢ 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
naturalenvironment as also the human health.Firms marketing such green products
arepreferred 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; or
•
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 Behavior
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.

Conclusion
It introduces the terms and concepts of green marketing,briefly discuss why going green
is important and also examine some of the reason thatorganizations are adopting a green
marketing philosophy. It also focuses some of the problemswith green marketing.
It identifies the key to successful green marketing:
 Credibility
 Publicize stories of the company’s and employees’ green initiatives.
 Enter environmental awards programs to profile environmental credentials to
customers
and stakeholders.
 Never overstate environmental claims or establish unrealistic expectations.
It also tells about Why Are Firms Using Green Marketing
 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 behavior
This report also stresses upon the effect of green marketing on the consumers. Green
marketing isn't just a catchphrase; it's a marketing strategy that can help you get more
customers and make more money. But only if you do it right