green marketing

YADAVRAV TASGAONKAR SCHOOL OF

BUSINESS MANAGEMENT

Final Report

On

To study the effect of various strategies adopted by different companies to implement Green Marketing

By:

SAURABH GUPTA

Submitted on: 24 February, 2010

ICFAI Business School, Noida

Final Report

On

To study the effect of various strategies adopted by different companies to implement Green Marketing

By:

SAURABH GUPTA

Distribution List:

Dr.SATYANARAYAN

(Faculty Guide)

ACKNOWLEDGMENT

This Project report has been possible through the direct and indirect co-operation of various persons bears

the imprint of their efforts for my work.

I take up this opportunity to acknowledge the invaluable assistance of various people who helped me in

successful completion of this Project Report.

Firstly, I would like to thanks Dr. SHEENU JAIN (Project Guide) for her consultation, guidance and

assistance.

Last but not the least I express my thanks to all the customers to show a keen interest in my Project,

relatives, friends and neighbors to provide me the necessary resources to complete the Project & the help

provided to me at every step.

SAURABH GUPTA

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. 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 be  supported 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.

ABSTRACT

In today's business world environmental issues plays an important role in marketing. All most all

the governments around the world have 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. There has been little attempt to academically examine

environmental or green marketing. It introduces the terms and concepts of green marketing,

briefly discuss why going green is important and also examine some of the reason that

organizations are adopting a green marketing philosophy. It also focuses some of the problems

with 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.

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" in

1975. 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 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 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 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.

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 loose its market acceptability

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 consumers

aspirations for environmentally less damaging or neutral products. Many companies want to

have an early mover advantage as they have to eventually move towards becoming green.

Some of the advantages of green marketing are:

It ensures sustained long term growth along with profitability.

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

It helps 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.

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 of

higher-quality ingredients-make sure those consumers can afford the premium and feel

it’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 that

they purchase pocket friendly and also to help reduce the environmental impact in their

own lives too.

“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 Wildlife 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.

Without environmental labeling standards, consumers could not tell which products and services

were truly beneficial. Consumers ended up paying extra for misrepresented products. The media

came up with the term "green washing" to describe cases where organizations misrepresented

themselves as environmentally responsible. So, While green marketing was growing greatly as

increasing numbers of consumers were willing to back their environmental consciousnesses with

their dollars, it can be dangerous. The public tends to be skeptical of green claims to begin with

and companies can seriously damage their brands and their sales if a green claim is discovered to

be false or contradicted by a company's 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 environmental

change is far easier said than done. The so-called "green consumer" movements in the U.S. and

other countries have struggled to reach critical mass and to remain in the forefront of shoppers'

minds. While public opinion polls taken since the late 1980s have shown consistently that a

significant percentage of consumers in the U.S. and elsewhere profess a strong willingness to

favor environmentally conscious products and companies, consumers' efforts to do so in real life

have remained sketchy at best. One of green marketing's challenges is the lack of standards or

public consensus about what constitutes "green," according to Joel Makower, a writer on green

marketing. In essence, there is no definition of "how good is good enough" when it comes to a

product or company making green marketing claims. This lack of 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 – 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-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. 

New Delhi, the India's capital was getting polluted gradually at a very fast pace till Supreme

Court of India forced a change of fuel on it. In 2002, a directive was issued to completely adopt

CNG 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. These

regulations include the Australian Trade Practices Commission's (TPC) "Environmental Claims

in Marketing - A Guideline , the US Federal Trade Commission's (FTC) "Guides for the Use of

Environmental Marketing Claims" and the regulations suggested by the National Association of

Attorneys-General .These regulations are all designed to ensure consumers have the appropriate

information 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 observe

competitors promoting their environmental behaviors and attempt to emulate this behavior. In

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

its detrimental environmental behavior. 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) 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. There are examples of firms adopting both strategies. Organizations like the Body Shop

heavily promote the fact that they are environmentally responsible. While this behavior 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.

Fund managers and corporate developers too, are taking into account the environmental viability

of the company they invest in Venture Capitalists are investing in green business because they

believe it's a growth opportunity. Britain based HSBC became the world's first bank to go carbon

neutral 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. 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.

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 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. 

In other cases firms attempt to find end - of - pipe solutions, instead of minimizing waste. In

these situations firms try to find markets or uses for their waste materials, where one firm's waste

becomes another firm's input of production. One Australian example of this is a firm who

produces acidic waste water as a by-product of production and sells it to a firm involved in

neutralizing base materials.

GREEN CODE

G generalizes with care. Consumer behavior 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.

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

supports your preferred option.

E 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

E 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.

N 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.

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.

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 be 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.

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 only

encourage the activities of green marketing but shall also provide the much needed level playing

fields to all.

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-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 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.

SHIFTING TO A GREEN ERA

The color GREEN, until recently was associated all over the world with emerald. In the modern

age, however, GREEN is getting associated with sustainable development. Being green is no

longer a matter of choice; its marketing is a must, or else enterprise may run the risk of losing

customers, employees and shareholders. It has become almost a necessity to maintain a green

lifestyle.

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 poised

by the environment. Green consumerism is playing a catalytic role to bring in environmentalism

and 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 option

available for the business houses is to put into practice the process of “Green Manufacturing”. It

involves 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 focuses

on inbound supply and distribution of used goods and inventory.

Companies like ABB, MUL, Ranbaxy and many more have taken up green projects. They

sponsor huge amount and in return earn a lot of goodwill, low cost publicity, and an environment

conscious image. Scores of such enterprises have responded to environmental concerns with

several 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 integrates

environmental thinking into traditional supply chain management that includes product design,

material sourcing as well as selection, process of manufacturing, delivery of final products to the

customers and most importantly end of life product management after its proper usage.

The major areas addressed by GSCM 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 not

only attract profitable customers for the organizations, but also bestow competitive edge

over 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 the

production of hazardous substances can be engraved, which may avert enterprises from

being penalized for violating environmental clauses.

Stakeholders in Green Marketing

They are all the people or groups whose lives or environment are affected by the project, but who

receive no direct benefit from it. These can include the team’s families, people made redundant

by the changes introduced, people who buy the product and the local community.

FRAMEWORK FOR PROPER IDENTIFICATION OF STAKEHOLDERS

Identifying appropriate stakeholders

Specifying the nature of their interests

Measuring the stakeholder interest

Predicting what each stakeholder’s future behavior will be to satisfy his/her stake

Evaluating the impact of the expected behavior on the project team’s latitude in

managing the project politics.

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 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; 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.

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

GREEN HOUSE AS REDUCTION MARKET

The emerging greenhouse gas reduction market can potentially catalyze projects with important

local environmental, economic, and quality-of-life benefits. The Kyoto Protocol’s Clean

Development Mechanism (CDM), for example, enables trading between industrial and

developing nations, providing a framework that can result in capital flows to environmentally

beneficial development activities. Although the United States is not participating in the Kyoto

Protocol, several US programs enable similar transactions on a voluntary and regulatory basis.

While international trade in greenhouse gas reductions holds substantial promise as a source of

new funding for sustainable development, this market can be largely inaccessible to many

smaller-scale projects, remote communities, and least developed localities. To facilitate

participation and broaden the benefits, several barriers must be overcome, including: a lack of

market awareness among stakeholders and prospective participants; specialized, somewhat

complicated participation rules; and the need for simplified participation mechanisms for small

projects, without which transaction costs can overwhelm the financial benefits of participation. If

the barriers are adequately addressed, greenhouse gas trading can play an important role

supporting activities that benefit people’s lives and the environment.

One of the most popular trend in the business is emission trade or Emissions trading (or emission

trading) which is an administrative approach used to control pollution by providing economic

incentives for achieving reductions in the emissions of pollutants. It is also called cap-and-trade.

A central authority (usually a governmental body) sets a limit or cap on the amount of a pollutant

that can be emitted. Companies or other groups are issued emission permits and are required to

hold an equivalent number of allowances (or credits) which represent the right to emit a specific

amount. The total amount of allowances and credits cannot exceed the cap, limiting total

emissions to that level.

Companies that need to increase their emission allowance must buy credits from those who

pollute less. The transfer of allowances is referred to as a trade. In effect, the buyer is paying a

charge for polluting, while the seller is being rewarded for having reduced emissions by more

than was needed. Thus, in theory, those who can reduce emissions most cheaply will do so,

achieving the pollution reduction at the lowest cost to society. There are active trading programs

in several air pollutants. For greenhouse gases the largest is the European Union Emission

Trading Scheme. In the United States there is a national market to reduce acid rain and several

regional markets in nitrogen oxides. Markets for other pollutants tend to be smaller and more

localized.

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, behavior 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.

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 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 behavior 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.

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).

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. EA is comprised of a systematic,

documented, periodic and objective environmental performance evaluation and facilities.

In Search of Market Segments for Green Products

The “green” issue, more than any other, will affect most companies’ prospects in 2010 and

beyond. Responding to the growing interest in the environment companies such as Toyota, ITC,

Orchid, Jet Airways have utilized the sentiment of environmental consciousness as a means to

promote their product and market their services. Consequently, claims of environment friendly

products have become important selling points. More and more, consumers are looking for goods

and services that supposedly reduce solid waste and protect the green environment.

Currently, companies involved in “green” marketing have targeted much of their attention

towards the general consuming public. This is primarily because the general consumer, as a

market segment for green goods and services, is a particularly large and profitable market. In

India, for example, 12 to 15 million potential green consumers can be expected. While Indians

have been slow in responding to the green movement, a survey by TERI of 500 packaging

executives found that 48% agreed that consumers are willing to accept price increase for

environment friendly packaging.

Undoubtedly, the consuming public is an important and large target segment for green goods and

services. However, we contented that this segment is not the only avenue for green products.

Businesses are fiercely competing for this one segment to gain an environmental lead.(e.g. P&G

introduced Spic & Span bottles that use recycled plastic). Meanwhile, other companies have

successfully carved a niche in less traditional market segments. (e.g. Waste management

companies started working in India). Therefore, for companies to have a competitive advantage

regarding the environment, they need to know their target markets are and/or who their target

markets ought to be.

There are two overriding reasons why identifying these markets are important. First, the proper

identification of these markets is important if managers are to adapt competitive strategies. These

strategies facilitate the initiation of the new marketing programs that address the environmental

issue. Second, a holistic perspective may be necessary to address the environment issue. That is,

since a symbolic relationship exists between these markets, a collective effort (among the

segments) may be necessary in order to effectively solve the “environmental” dilemma. The four

market segments include the following:

Fig: Total Market for Green Goods and Services

Four Potential market Segments

Choosing a target market is not an easy task. It requires an in-depth understanding of the total

market and its trends; companies’ distinctive competencies; and critical external factors such as

the competitive and regulatory environments, among others. The four segments considered are

“Direct” market segments. These markets are often directly targeted by other companies because

of their sales, market share or profit potential.

Segment 1: General Public or Consumer Market

It’s a familiar story by now. Over a year ago, marketers started capitalization on the green

euphoria by touting their products as “safe for the environment,” “degradable,”

“environmentally-friendly,” and so on.

Green products are gaining visibility in Indian market. This demonstrates that the green issue has

become an important consumer concern. It has also provided marketers with opportunities for

product improvement and differentiation. Because of these, market opportunities, many

companies aim to convince the public that their products are environmentally friendly and not as

harmful as they may seem. At present, the window of opportunity for these companies is

promising. Hence, companies like Xerox consider proper leverage of environmental issues a

“sustainable competitive advantage”.

To cite additional examples, Proctor & Gamble’s idea of using pouches for the Woolen Fabric,

liquid concentrated fabric softener (rather than bulky non-degradable plastic bottles) is well

Segment 1 General Consumer

Segment 2 Government Agencies

Segment 3 Private Industries

Segment 4 Non Profit Companies

accepted in India. Citizens have been promoting eco-drive watches and promoting concept of

responsible consumption of buying environmentally responsible goods.

A recent Gallup survey of trends and opinions concluded that consumers are willing to “pay for

the privilege of buying green.” This conclusion is quite appealing and encouraging for marketers.

While reasons for apparent change in the sentiments of consumers are unclear, some marketing

consultants offer the explanation that apart from lots of media attention such as about the CNG,

CFCs, Euro, punching holes in ozone layer, new attitude may show a more basic disenchantment

with “materialism” Most of the baby boom generations now have families; they are said to have

developed a new sense of social responsibility.

Segment 2: Government and its Agencies Market

Continued exploitation of natural resources for increasing economic growth brought with it

associated environmental and social problems. However, these problems were not addressed by

the government until 1971, when the Planning Commission wrote a report on state of India’s

environment in preparation for a 1972 United Nations Conference on the Human Environment. It

was only after India signed the resulting declaration from this U.N conference the government

took any serious action in addressing environmental issues in developmental planning.

Subsequently, a National Committee on Environmental planning and Coordination (NCEPC)

was formed in 1972 to act as an apex advisory body in all the matters relating to environmental

protection and improvement.

For protection and improvement of environment and security of future generation the

government organizations and financial institutions need to use their resources effectively to

improve their performance and to set up their cooperation, working as one to overcome hunger

and to consolidate the primary role of sustainable agriculture and rural development in food and

environmental security. Indian legislatures should rise to occasion and act in a manner that

fundamentally changes the lives of the poor and instill confidence by implementation of laws and

policies to usher a humane, equitable and environment friendly society.

Segment 3: For Profit or Private Organizations

Business Week (2004) predicts that one of the major business trends of the coming years will be

investments into India’s landscape, i.e. improving and preserving the environment. According to

Scott Jay Wollins, environmental analyst for Tucker, Anthony Inc, “Regulations and fear of

liability, not conventional economic forces, drive spending on the environment.” Robert Keefer,

president of Environ Quest, an environmental information company, company estimates that for

every rupee spent by the government, companies will spend Rs. 5 to Rs. 10 for the

environmental cleanup.

ITC has initiated a recycling program with Bhadrapur paper Mills. The program includes

recycling of phone books which currently occupy approximately 1% of landfills. Company

anticipates that this recycling project may easily become a service they can offer to other

(publishing) companies given the possibility of a legislative mandate. LG Electronics have

introduced environment – friendly initiatives such as rainwater – harvesting, solar water heaters

for canteen applications and converting Effluent, Treatment Plant ( ETP )sludge bricks.

To further demonstrate the possibility of these markets, managers of environment oriented

companies claim that they are recession proof. According to these managers, as long as corporate

India exists, a potential and/or ready market can be found. With all the new governmental

regulations, private industry can be expected to spend considerable resources for environmental

control.

Segment 4: Non-Profit Organizations

Non-Profit organizations such as hospitals, universities and other charitable institutions ( e.g.

Red Cross, Helpage India, Cry ) are also viable alternatives for companies that offer green

products. However, many (non-profit) organizations operate under very limited budgets and are

closely monitored by other regulatory agencies.

For example, several hospitals are currently re-evaluating their waste disposal systems to ensure

that these waste products are not illegally disposed. The cases on illegal waste dumping of

hospital garbage have made the (garbage) business a lucrative service of the independent

contractor.

Meanwhile, in light of the budgetary crunch in many universities, these organizations are

attempting to reduce waste as much as possible. Recycling has become part of many educational

institution’s budget programs. Many universities have also hired independent consultants and/or

contractors to re-evaluate their operations and recommend waste reduction profile.

Problems associated with each market segment

Segment 1: Consumer Segment

Consumers may express more concern about the ecology, but they continues to buy large luxury

cars, relatively few recycle voluntarily, and most importantly, economic issued continue to

dominate political campaigns.

National Consumer Council (2004) points out the chronic 4/40 gap among the Indian consumers

- the fact that the 40 per cent of consumers say they would purchase “green” products if

available, but only 4 per cent actually do. NCC says the solution to the green market dilemma, or

at least part of it, is a combination of things; increasing consumer awareness and choice;

promoting innovative policies, accelerating demand for greener products; demand corporate

accountability; and encouraging sustainable business practices.

Researcher fail to see why people must pay a hefty premium for biodegradable baby wipes that

can be flushed down the toilet or coffee filters that aren’t bleached. It raised a point in the mind

of researcher that demand for green products does exist, and people are willing to pay if they

don’t feel they’re being ripped off. Bank and credit card companies persuade customers to get

paperless statements to save trees, but then charge a fee for accessing statements via software.

While competition is inevitable in any business endeavor, the presence of stricter regulations and

public policies can aggravate the situation. This emanates primarily from misleading statements

and claims of products being environment friendly. In particular, there are a number of criticisms

regarding the “marketing ploy” of degradable trash bags. Manufacturers claim that it is not their

fault if consumers are uniformed. Hence, consumers must interpret the degradability of these

products. Debate of this nature has led to stricter policies and governing bodies.

Segment 2: Government Segment

The bureaucracy has failed to implement laws to reduce industrial pollution in India.

Tackling India’s environment crisis is likely to be a difficult proposition for any government.

Indian government has much to do for addressing their environmental issues as compared to its

European or American counterparts requiring environmental and social assessments for entire

sectors. India does have a system of environmental impact assessments being mandatory for

most ‘development’ projects.

The western Ghats are not only valuable from the point of view of the timber and non-timber

forest produce they contain, but even more so for the enormous water security they provide to

the plains in Karnataka, Kerala, Maharashtra, Goa , and Tamilnadu, not speak of their potential

genetic values. Yet none of these values integrate when decisions are taken about land use in the

Western Ghats. On the contrary, cutting trees for timber appears as a positive contribution (as

revenue) in the budget figures, and there is no corresponding debit entry on the resulting loss of

ecosystem benefits.

In India, the central government does not maintain such a centralized database and even the data

that it has on companies is not easily available to public accessibility. Moreover, within the

environmental community, there is a very little credibility in data being supplied to the

government. The government should not only provide the legislation regarding “environment”

and “Green Marketing practices” but also ensure that these are enforced. The government should

adopt carrot and stick approach for the organizations i.e. rewarding organizations with good

EMP’s and imposing penalty on the erring ones. Formation of an environmental award just like

Rajiv Gandhi Quality Award would be a good step.

Segment 3: Private Industry Segment.

Within private industry, many companies are currently undertaking environmental control and

recycling programs. E.G. ITC, Philips, Electrolux, Toyota, J&J, Orchid Hotel. The

aforementioned programs and policies imply capital expenditures for their installation and

maintenance. For services involved in waste management/recycling designs as well as goods

that offer environmentally sound substitutes, considerable market opportunities are available.

Some of the companies are going to an extent that is suffering from green washing as well.

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, moral responsibility to

be an opportunity that can be used to achieve its objectives, moral responsibility to be socially

responsible, governmental pressure, competitors environmental activities, and costs factors

associated with waste disposal, or reductions in material usage forces firma to modify their

behavior.

While these are compelling reasons to immediately start investing in “green” projects in order to

tap into this profitable segment, several changes need to be initiated. Herein lies the problem –

change can be very expensive. Expenditure will be incurred when some of the existing processes

in manufacturing green goods and services have to be changed.

Segment 4: Non-Profit Organization

While not a particularly lucrative group, this segment may be especially appealing for companies

that provide recycling and waste disposal services. Since part of the green dilemma is rooted in

the reduction of waste, business connected with waste disposal will find this segment a viable

customer. However, because this segment often operates as non-profit institutions, budgetary

constraints will limit the extent to which they will be able to expend rupees for waste reduction

purposes. Nonetheless, if the trend of environment – related regulatory policies continue,

hospitals and universities (among others) will have no choice but to allocate part of their budget

for waste reduction purposes.

The NGOs must work hard in hand with the central as well as state government to stop

environmental degradation such as illegal felling of trees for commercial purpose. It is suggested

that NGOs, rather than partnering with the individual companies and opening themselves to the

criticism of “bedding with the devil” would be better to partner trade and professional

organizations.

Choosing the “Right” Market and Strategy Formulation

Choosing the “right” market is the foundation for sound strategy. Based on a company’s target

market, recommendations can be made on product, price, promotion, and distribution policies.

Effectively tapping into a specific market, offers a marketers a leading edge. Likewise, if the

segment is satisfied with the company’s offerings, it may become a niche for the company’s

products.

Here, we have identified four portable segments for green goods and services. Regardless of

choice, each segment provides challenging pursuits for any company. With high barriers to entry,

large capital expenditures, changing technology, and strong competition, the choice of the

“right” target market is crucial.

While identifying the proper market is one step towards finding a niche, we also need to properly

position and differentiate our products. Should we emphasize the the company’s use of recycled

material? Or, should the label on our packaging highlight that it is made from the recycled

material? Or, should our advertising focus on being environmentally friendly?

Based on the current trends the environmentally friendly features of goods and services are

perceived to offer unique benefits to users or buyers. This is critical in product positioning.

These positive perceptions can serve as competitive advantages in gaining an environmental

lead. Therefore, as a (strong) competitive advantage it becomes an important selling point in

product diffrentiation and positioning.

FEEDBACK

Fig: The Importance of Identifying the Proper Market

Green Products and 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 that are originally grown

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.

TARGET MARKET :

1.Segment 1

2. Segment 2

3. Segment 3

4. Segment 4

STRATEGY FORMULA

TION:1.Positioning 2.Differentiation 3.

4 P's

STRATEGY

IMPLEMENTATION

THE FUTURE OF GREEN MARKETING

There are many lessons to be learned 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.

STRATEGIES FOR GREEN COMMUNICATION

Make environmental messages consistent with the company’s existing voice in the

market place.

Empower consumers to get involved to make a difference.

Enlist cultural icons to tell the story.

Show that environmental initiatives lead to better quality products.

Be ready to experiment publicly, even if it doesn’t always lead to success.

Price environmentally preferable products comparable to conventional ones.

Link environmental innovations to other benefits, like quality and durability.

Thanks customers for making good, green choices, and tell them how they are making a

difference.

Seek recognition from peers and activists groups and challenge competitors to join in.

Green products shouldn’t be any different from regular ones in branding, price, use or

performance.

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 equipments 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 centre.

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”

UNDERSTANDING CONSUMER PERCEPTION AND

PRIORITIES TO MAXIMIZE BUSINESS

Carbon labels show consumers the “Carbon Content” of an individual product. An item’s content

is the total amount of carbon dioxide emitted from very stage of its production and distribution,

from source to store. This is also known as “embedded carbon”, or a carbon footprint. Today’s

consumer is more ethically and environmentally aware than ever before, and increasingly so with

regard to the consumption of food and drink. In the media, on the shelves, the focus on reducing

our carbon footprint is constantly present, and the push to understand where our food is from

increasing.

Carbon labeling is a really recent development. The focus on reducing carbon footprint is

constantly present, and the push to understand what they are purchasing and consuming. But to

make it a success, the understanding regarding:

a) What they are purchasing?

b) How are they prioritizing- between organic, fair trade, carbon friendly and so on?

c) Whether the consumers are getting what they want to purchase?

Study Findings on the Basis of Literature Regarding Consumer Behavior:

I. Consumers show different attitudes to issues like:

a) Food quality is shoppers’ most important concern. Price is also very important for

those on lower incomes.

b) Whether health, environmental and social issues are very important in relation to

the food they buy.

c) Concerns for health, environmental and social issues vary with household income

or not.

d) Concern for health, environmental and social issues increase with age or not.

e) Women do most of the shopping, and they are more concerned about health,

environmental and social issues than men.

f) Attitudes vary regionally, and there is particularly strong concern in the South

West.

II. Familiarity with labels for different consumers is different: How familiar are you with

each of the following types of information on product packets on the basis of:

a) Most people are at least somewhat familiar with most forms of product

information.

b) Familiarity with the product information is much higher among people who think

the issues are very important.

III. Use of labels had different perceptions for different consumers: use of the following

types of information when making decisions about what consumers buy is different for

every consumer on the basis of:

a) Product information is used by many consumers.

b) There is a clear link between concern about health, environmental and social

issues and use of relevant product information.

c) The gap between attitudes and behavior is wider in relation to environmental and

social issues that in it is with the mainstream health.

d) There is little variation with income, except organic labels are used more by

people with higher incomes.

e) Product labeling is generally used more by older people.

f) Women use nutrition information more, but broadly similar numbers of men and

women use organic and Fair trade information.

g) Different patterns of use in different regions.

IV. Use of other sources of information is different on the basis of:

a) Product packaging information is used often by many more people than most

other sources of information.

V. Barriers to greater integration into shopping behavior on the basis of changing patterns of

consumption mean that increasingly consumers are considering the social, environmental

and health issues associated with production and consumption:

a) “Products too expensive” is the number one barrier.

b) “Takes too much time” is the second biggest barrier to choosing healthy food.

c) “I don’t know enough about it” is the second biggest barrier to choosing

environmentally friendly and socially responsible food.

d) Other barriers are significant or not, like:

Unavailability of products (either altogether, or of sufficient quality).

Lack of understanding about the issues in general.

Difficulty in understanding the product information.

Concerns about the reliability of the product information.

Limitations towards Positive Consumer Perception

The three main barriers to consumers taking health, social and environmental issues like carbon

labeling into greater account are price, time and lack of knowledge.

1. The Limits of Consumer Understanding: Despite the very extensive coverage of issues

such as climate change, relatively few consumers are making the link between these big

issues and their day-to-day behavior. For those wishing to change consumer behavior

there is clearly a need to increase public understanding. If public understanding of these

linkages can be increased then the findings of their survey would suggest that the

behavior of large number of consumers could be changed substantially quite quickly.

2. The Limits of Consumer Power: Changing consumer behavior is seen as a key element

in driving systematic change, particularly around sustainability and tackling poverty and

inequality. This research will also reflect some of the barriers through which further

changes in consumer behavior can be overcome. The real test is now for action that will

make a difference for all consumers, particularly those from lower income households

and it is everyone’s responsibility to make this happen.

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 behavior.

Attributes of Environmentally Conscious Consumers

Implication for Green Marketers

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

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.

Green Marketing Strategies versus Conventional Marketing

CONVENTIONAL MARKETING GREEN MARKETING

Consumers Consumers with lifestyles Human beings with lives

Products “Cradle-to-gave” one size fits for all products

“Cradle-to Cradle” flexible services

Marketing and Communication

Selling oriented and benefits Educational Values

Corporate Receptive, Independent, competitive, Departmentalized, Short term oriented profit maximizing.

Proactive, Interdependent, cooperative, Holistic, long term

Environmentally Conscious Consumer Behavior

‘Environmentally Conscious Behavior’ (ECCB) is consumer behavior 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 Behavior

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 behavior. 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 behavior.

What are the buying habits and how they have changed.

The proposed framework presents Environmentally Consciousness Consumer Behavior (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.

CONSUMER ENVIRONMENT

INPUT Social Stimuli, Marketer’s Efforts

INFORMATION PROCESSINGExposure, 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 FACTORSCultural Norms, Group Influence, Family Influence, Unexpected Circumstances

CONSUMER ENVIRONMENT

Green Buyers 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.

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 behavior 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

Demand Supply

Consumer Preference Product Plans

Future Market

Environmental Values Green Design

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.

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

Green Consumers 27%

Inacti ve 23%

Latent Green 40%

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 behavior.

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 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.

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.

GREEN MARKETING: A CORPORATE INITIATIVE

It 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 AND ECOSAFE POLICY

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

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

HCL's ecosafe. Their 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 their 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 are environment friendly in all respects and are free

from hazardous chemicals. HCL ecosafe focuses on product lifecycle management to ensure that

their products right from when they are manufactured, bought by customers, recovered at their

end-of-life and recycled after useful life is done in an environmentally responsible manner.

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. Consumers don’t expect perfection when it comes to sustainability but

they want to see that brands understand the scale of the problem, have a plan and are in

the process of implementing it.

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.

RESEARCH METHDOLOGY

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. In it we study the various

steps that are generally adopted by a researcher in studying his research problem along with the

logic behind them. It is necessary for the researcher to know not only the research

methods/techniques but also the methodology. Researchers not only need to know how to

develop certain indices or tests, how to calculate the mean, the mode, the median or the standard

deviation, how to apply particular research techniques, but they also need to know which of these

methods or techniques, are relevant and which are not, and what would they mean and indicate

and why. Researchers also need to understand the assumptions underlying various techniques

and they need to know the criteria by which they can decide that certain techniques and

procedures will be applicable to certain problems and others will not.

Thus, 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.

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.

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: - 50 CUSTOMERS

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 – CUSTOMERS

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.

ANALYSIS OF EFFECTS OF GREEN MARKETING

Research Methodology

This study is based on stratified sampling and a structured questionnaire has been used to gather

data from about 50 respondents to analyze effects of green marketing. By analyzing 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 50

respondents about half were male and half female. The majority of respondents were between the

age group of 20-25 with the next highest falling under the age group of 30-35 and a very small

portion were 55 years of age or older.

Table 1: Respondents views on Green Marketing

Decision Green marketing is good source of information about goods and services

Green marketing is good at addressing environmental issues

Green marketing results in better products

Can’t say

Respondents(%) 40 30 10 20

Table 2: Acceptance level of green claims in Green Marketing

Decision Always believe Sometimes believe Never believeRespondents(%) 5 20 75

CONCLUSION

Green marketing do not strengthen company’s image in the mind of respondents that is very

much clear from trustworthiness of green claims and certainly it do not have positive image of

the organization in the minds of the respondents. It was observed that the respondents who were

more proactive with the environmental behavior have positive attitude towards green

advertisements. It means green advertisements have positive impact on only those who are

already practicing it. Rest of the respondents who were passive had very less impact on their

buying behavior. This is the crucial aspect that needs to be changed so that they can have

positive impact on all the target market which will have an effect on their buying behavior. The

result of the study indicate that the advertisements not reflected the companies level of greenness

and the proposition that green advertising reflects environmentally sound strategic and structural

level decisions.

Green marketing covers more than a firm's marketing claims. While firms must bear much of the

responsibility for environmental degradation, the responsibility should not be theirs alone.

Ultimately green marketing requires that consumers 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. Having said this, it must not be forgotten that the industrial buyer also has

the ability to pressure suppliers to modify their activities. Thus an environmental committed

organization may not only produce goods that have reduced their detrimental impact on the

environment, they may also be able to pressure their suppliers to behave in a more

environmentally "responsible" fashion. Final consumers and industrial buyers also have the

ability to pressure organizations to integrate the environment into their corporate culture and thus

ensure all organizations minimize the detrimental environmental impact of their activities. Thus

green marketing should look at minimizing environmental harm, not necessarily eliminating it.

Green marketing covers more than a firm's marketing claims. While firms must bear much of the

responsibility for environmental degradation, ultimately it is consumers who demand goods, and

thus create environmental problems. One example of this is where 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 disposes of their waste in

an inappropriate fashion. While firms can have a great impact on the natural environment, the

responsibility should not be theirs alone. It appears that consumers are not overly committed to

improving their environment and may be looking to lay too much responsibility on industry and

government. Ultimately green marketing requires that consumers 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. It must not be forgotten that the industrial buyer also has

the ability to pressure suppliers to modify their activities. Thus an environmental committed

organization may not only produce goods that have reduced their detrimental impact on the

environment, they may also be able to pressure their suppliers to behave in a more

environmentally "responsible" fashion. Final consumers and industrial buyers also have the

ability to pressure organizations to integrate the environment into their corporate culture and thus

ensure all organizations minimize the detrimental environmental impact of their activities.

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 hydral power.

Water harvesting.

Recycle at every level.

Move towards paper less 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.

LIMITATIONS OF THE STUDY

1. DEMOGRAPHIC CONSTRAINTS - will be a main issue of concern. This is due to the

reason that the data collection will be restricted to the Delhi and NCR region.

2. DATA RELIABILITY - As the data will be collected from various sources the accuracy

of the data collected would be an area of concern. It would be an uphill task to validate

the data consistency of the collection of that data.

3. UNAWARENESS – People are unaware of the i.e. Green marketing

4. 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

ANNEXUREQuestionnaire for Green Marketing

Name: _____________________________

Age: _____________________________

Occupation: _____________________________

Phone: _____________________________

1. What comes to your mind when you hear the word “Green”?

2. Have you heard of any campaign related to Green Marketing? Yes No

3. Have you been part of any such campaign? Yes No

4. Do you consider the environmental aspects of the products before buying them? Yes No

5. Do you think that Green Marketing and advertising are good sources of information about green products and services? Yes No

6. Do you think that Green Marketing activities are good at addressing environmental issues? Yes No

7. Do you think Green Marketing activities results in better products? Yes No

8. Do you think that Green Marketing strengthen company’s image in the mind of consumers? Yes No

9. Do you think that companies that focus on environmental concerns persuade consumers to buy products? Yes No

10. Are you aware of the eco-labeling initiatives of the government? Yes No