Green Marketing – An Inevitable Need of the Day

(K.Anandakumar, Asst Professor, Velammal Institute of Technology)

Introduction

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

products that are presumed to be environmentally safe. "Green Marketing" refers to holistic
marketing concept wherein the production, marketing consumption an disposal of products
and services happen in a manner that is less detrimental to the environment with growing
awareness about the implications of global warming, non-biodegradable solid waste, harmful
impact of pollutants etc., both marketers and consumers are becoming increasingly sensitive
to the need for switch in to green products and services. While the shift to "green" may
appear to be expensive in the short term, it will definitely prove to be indispensable and
advantageous, cost-wise too, in the long run.

Evolution of Green Marketing:

The term Green Marketing came into dominance in the late 1980s and early 1990s, began in

Europe in the early 1980s when certain products were found to be harmful to the environment

and society as a whole. Consequently new types of products were created, called "green"

products that would cause less damage to the environment.

According to Peattie (2001), the evolution of green marketing can be divided into three

phases; first phase was termed as "Ecological" green marketing, to help solve environment

problems through remedies. Second phase was "Environmental" green marketing with focus

on clean technology that involved designing of innovative new products, which take care of

pollution and waste issues. Third phase was "Sustainable" green marketing came into

prominence in the late 1990s and early 2000 where it becomes necessary for companies to

produce environment friendly products as the awareness for such products is on the rise as

customers are demanding eco-friendly products and technologies.

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Initiatives Taken up By Business Organisations towards Green Marketing:

India is growing at 9% annually and expected to double its energy consumption between

2005 and 2030, is under pressure to take action for providing clean environment for all future

generations to come.

Many Indian companies have come forward for the cause of environmental concerns and

issues requiring immediate attention like: global warming, Water and Air pollution, E-waste.

NTPC Limited has decided to allocate 0.5% of distributable profit annually for its "Research

and Development Fund for Sustainable Energy," for undertaking research activities in

development of green and pollution free technologies.

In India, around 25% of the consumers prefer environmental-friendly products, and around

28% may be considered healthy conscious. Therefore, there is a lot of diverse and fairly

sizeable untapped segment in India which green marketers can serve through offering eco-

friendly products for profitability and survival in the era of globalization.

For example, Mahindra Group has formally announced the launch of project Mahindra

Hariyali in which 1 million trees will be planted nation-wide by Mahindra employees and

other stakeholders including customers, vendors, dealers, etc. by October 2008. Of these,

1,50,000 trees have already been planted by Mahindra employees since September 2007.

Nokia's environmental work is based on life cycle thinking. This means that we aim to

minimize the environmental impact of our products throughout our operations, beginning

with the extraction of raw materials and ending with recycling, treatment of waste, and

recovery of used materials.

India is a world leader in green IT potential, according to a recently released global

enterprise survey. Indian respondents scored over respondents from 10 other countries in

expecting to pay 5% or more for green technology if its benefits for the environment and

return on investment (ROI) are proven in a survey conducted by GreenFactor, which

researches and highlights green marketing opportunities. Among the companies that have

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succeeded thus far in their green marketing strategies are Apple, HP, Microsoft, IBM, Intel,

Sony and Dell.

HCL has a comprehensive policy designed to drive its environment management program

ensuring sustainable development. HCL is duty bound to manufacture environmentally

responsible products and comply with environment management processes right from the

time products are sourced, manufactured, bought by customers, recovered at their end-of-life

and recycled.

Potato starch trays made by Dutch PaperFoam protect the new iPhone just launched by

Apple Computer which equals 90 percent reduction in the carbon footprint compared to the

plastic tray used in the past. Indian Oil also aims at developing techno-economically viable

and environment-friendly products & services for the benefit of millions of its consumers,

while at the same time ensuring the highest standards of safety and environment protection in

its operations

Global Scenario of Green Marketing

According to Paul Stoneman, financial incentives are necessary if the market for green

products is to improve and grow.

Consumers in the United States are expected to double their spending on green products and

services in the next year to an estimated $500 billion, according to an annual consumer

survey by Landor Associates.

According to market researcher Mintel, about 12% of the U.S. population can be identified as

True Greens, consumers who seek out and regularly buy so-called green products. The

European Commission's new "Green Package" of legislation on climate change and

renewable energy represents a significant potential opportunity for European utilities,

according to a report released by The Brattle Group and Trilemma UK. The Green Package

sets targets that represent a step change in the energy market: save 20% of energy, increase

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the share of renewable energy to 20%, and cut greenhouse gas emissions by at least 20%, all

by 2020.

According to Mintel's report, 66% of consumers in United States do not buy green products

because of high cost, while 34% say there is lack of availability of green products in the

market. This shows the huge potential for untapped market and customer demand and

requirement for eco-friendly products which the companies can exploit for capturing the

market share and thereby enhancing the profitability and sustainability of the organisation in

the global competitive scenario. Global Companies like Federal Express has taken up several

initiatives that help to protect the environment including greenhouse gas reduction, renewable

energy and noise reduction, recycling and using alternative fuels in its own transportation

fleet for increasing their accountability towards the environment and the society as a whole.

Businesses have an impact on the environment as a whole. Plantation and cultivation

activities taken up by Intel India is an example of socially responsible firms contributing to

preservation of environment. Recycling used products also acts as a step towards minimizing

wastes. Many other firms are contributing to conservation of environment through

Biodiversity, producing environmentally friendly products, conservation of energy, water and

natural resources, climate protection, maintenance of schools, roads, parks, providing

assistance for upliftment of the rural sector and the underprivileged, and so on. The Kyoto

Protocol is an example of societies coming together to discuss climatic changes issues so that

some solutions get incorporated into the negotiating process to create a new agreement that

would come into effect 2012.

Green marketing cases

Phillips's "Marathon" CFL lightbulb

Philips Lighting's first shot at marketing a standalone compact fluorescent light (CFL) bulb

was Earth Light, at $15 each versus 75 cents for incandescent bulbs. The product had

difficulty climbing out of its deep green niche. The company re-launched the product as

"Marathon," underscoring its new "super long life" positioning and promise of saving $26 in

energy costs over its five-year lifetime. Finally, with the U.S. EPA's Energy Star label to add

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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), I-GO Car (Chicago), Flex Car

(Washington State), and Hour Car (Twin Cities).

Electronics sector

The consumer electronics sector provides room for using green marketing to attract new

customers. One example of this is HP's promise to cut its global energy use 20 percent by the

year 2010. To accomplish this reduction below 2005 levels, The Hewlett-Packard Company

announced plans to deliver energy-efficient products and services and institute energy-

efficient operating practices in its facilities worldwide.

Products & Services

Now companies are offering more eco-friendly alternatives for their customers. Recycled

products for example, are one of the most popular alternatives that can benefit the

environment. These benefits include sustainable forestry, clean air, energy efficiency, water

conservation, and a healthy office. One example is the E-commerce business and office

supply company Shoplet which offers a web tool that allows you to replace similar items in

your shopping cart with greener products.

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.

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Conclusion

A clever marketer is one who not only convinces the consumer, but also involves the
consumer in marketing his product. Green marketing should not be considered as just one
more approach to marketing, but has to be pursued with much greater vigor, as it has an
environmental and social dimension to it. With the threat of global warming looming large, it
is extremely important that green marketing becomes the norm rather than an exception or
just a fad. Recycling of paper, metals, plastics, etc., in a safe and environmentally harmless
manner should become much more systematized and universal. It has to become the general
norm to use energy-efficient lamps and other electrical goods. Marketers also have the
responsibility to make the consumers understand the need for and benefits of green products
as compared to non-green ones. In green marketing, consumers are willing to pay more to
maintain a cleaner and greener environment. Finally, consumers, industrial buyers and
suppliers need to pressurize effects on minimize the negative effects on the environment-
friendly. Green marketing assumes even more importance and relevance in developing
countries like India.

References:

1. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/marketing.

2. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/business.

3. http://technorati.com/search/?return=posts&q=marketing.

4. http://www.dmoz.org/business.

5. http://www.google.com/search?num=100&hl=en&q=marketing.

6. http://blogs.siliconindia.com/nayan/Green_Marketing__New_Oppertunities_and_Cha
llenges-bid-uQo5nC9M35974297.html