Description
this is the important project report on GREEN MARKETING
A Project Report Seminar on contemporary issue ?Green Marketing? Submitted in partial fulfillment for the Award of degree of Master of Business Administration (MBA)
Submitted By Ishwar Singh Ranawat MBA IInd Sem RTU Roll No. ---------
Submitted To Dr. Manish Jain (Head of the Department) Department of Management
ARYA INSTITUTE OF ENGINEERING &TECHNOLOGY KUKAS, JAIPUR (RAJ.) 2013-15
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Acknowledgement
I express my warmest thanks & deep sense of gratitude to the individuals for their generous help in discussing the project and giving their valuable time in successful completion of this project. Time to time I got constructive suggestions, guidance and encouragement. I would like to express my deep thanks to Dr. Arvind Agarwal, President, Arya Group of Colleges and Prof. M. L. Gupta, Principal, Arya Institute of Engineering & Technology, Jaipur for extending me the opportunity of presenting the research project and providing all the necessary resources for this purpose. With much pride and delight I would like to express my sincere thanks to Dr. Manish Jain (Head of the department) for his excellent guidance and valuable suggestions throughout the project work. I express heartfelt thanks to Ms. Padma Sharma (Project Guide) for his wonderful support and for giving me an opportunity to present project report on “GREEN MARKETING”. I also want to give my humble regards to Ms. Gundeep (Head- Training & Placement Cell), Ms. Anchal Sharma, Mr. Pramod Sharma, Ms. Nisha Goyal, Ms. Anchal, Mr. Hitesh Tikyani and Ms. Neelu Sharma for their valuable support and believe in my work. Without their sustained interest and encouragement, this work could not have been possible to reach the state of completion with satisfaction. In fact it is their real devotion to the development work, which instilled in me, the need of a passionate commitment to pursue this project. I am also grateful to My friend Mr. Radha Krishna Paliwal for providing critical feedback and support whenever required. There are times in such projects when the clock beats you time and again and you run out of energy, you just want to finish it once and forever. Parents made me endure such times with their unfailing humour and warm wishes. I regret for any inadvertent omissions. Ishwar Singh Ranawat
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Introduction
Development and conservation professionals are increasingly incorporating
conservation products into their portfolio of activities to contribute to biodiversity conservation and poverty alleviation for the communities that live in high biodiversity areas. Tremendous progress has been made in involving communities in good conservation practices, developing enterprises that are sustainable and generating income that also promotes biodiversity conservation. Yet, these groundbreaking enterprises and products still struggle to understand the markets for their products and how to access these markets. This guidance tool is intended to provide an overview of green market trends using
the language, research findings, and market segmentation of U.S. based markets. For many development and conservation professionals, the language of these green markets may be new, but endeavor to learn the marketing language as it will assist you in finding opportunities to best position your conservation products. One term that has been used extensively by the markets and development and conservation professionals is sustainability. From the markets point of view, 2007 is considered the tipping point for the sustainability movement marking when it moved from niche to mainstream markets. Climate Change, reducing energy dependence and costs, excess consumption, burning forests, threatened species and the media attention around them have been an important driver for both consumers and companies. Going green, is now the common phrase used to characterize the environmental side of the sustainability movement. Corporate response has been enthusiastic with some companies
broadcasting their green accomplishments widely in an effort to drive profits through product sales on the consumer end, while others understand that being greener will save them money as they cut costs and green their company operations throughout their value chains. Even before mainstream consumers started driving green purchases, some companies were already driven by stockholders and an institutional culture of Corporate Responsibility.
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Whatever the drivers, the power of the educated and wired global consumer, and the non-governmental organizations which organize and mobilize these consumers, continues to expand and evolve so that products take into account both environmental and social issues. Even with a weak global economy, the evidence shows that green and socially responsible products have an upward trend in sales. Strong green sales have continued in the US, Europe and elsewhere with more consumers purchasing green products in 2008 over 2007. These same consumers are often willing to pay a premium for green products deemed to be of higher value than conventional products.
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A recent survey of the U.S sales of organic products both food and non-food (which includes organic fibers, personal care products and pet foods), showed that that market reached $24.6 billion by the close of 2008, which was an increase of 17.1% over 2007, despite the recession and weakening economy.
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2 Summary of Organic Trade Association‘s 2009 Organic Industry Survey available from: The upward trend can be measured by indicators which include: • consumer purchasing trends and surveys; • media coverage (television, print, and internet); • ?green‘ advertising; • green product marketing trends; and • Corporate Sustainability Reports.
Marketing forecasts remain optimistic about expansion and business opportunities around sustainability into 2009 and 2010. The Natural Marketing Institute estimates the green marketplace will reach $420 billion by 2010 and has identified several consumer segments (food, personal care, pet products) that have a unique opportunity for green innovation and in attracting consumers with new green options. The webpage to the right illustrates how Aveda is integrating wildlife friendly products from Nepal into their personal care product line.
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EVOLUTION OF GREEN MARKETING
As resources are scarce and human wants are unlimited, it is important for the marketers to utilize the resources efficiently without waste as well as to achieve the organization's objective. So green marketing is the need of the hour. There is growing interest among the consumers over the globe regarding protection of environment. Worldwide evidence indicates people are concerned about the environment and are changing their behavior. As a result of this, green marketing has emerged which speaks for growing market for sustainable and socially responsible products and services.
The green marketing has evolved over a period of time. According to Peattie (2001), the evolution of green marketing has three phases: The first phase was known as "Ecological" green marketing, and during this period all marketing activities were concerned to help environment problems and provide remedies for environmental problems.
The second phase was "Environmental" green marketing and the focus shifted on clean technology that involved designing of innovative new products, which take care of pollution and waste issues.
The third phase was "Sustainable" green marketing. It came into prominence in the late 1990s and early 2000. This was the result of the term sustainable development which is defined as "meeting the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs."
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History of Green Marketing
The term Green Marketing came into prominence in the late 1980s and early 1990s. The American Marketing Association (AMA) held the first workshop on "Ecological Marketing" in 1975. The proceedings of this workshop resulted in one of the first books on green marketing entitled "Ecological Marketing".
The Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) Reports started with the ice cream seller Ben & Jerry's where the financial report was supplemented by a greater view on the company's environmental impact. In 1987 a document prepared by the World Commission on Environment and Development defined sustainable development as meeting ?the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own need?, this became known as the Brundtland Report and was another step towards widespread thinking on sustainability in everyday activity. Two tangible milestones for wave 1 of green marketing came in the form of published books, both of which were called Green Marketing. They were by Ken Peattie (1992) in the United Kingdom and by Jacquelyn Ottman (1993) in the United States of America.
According to Jacquelyn Ottman, (author of "The New Rules of Green Marketing: Strategies, Tools, and Inspiration for Sustainable Branding" (Greenleaf
Publishing and Berrett-Koehler Publishers, February 2011)) from an organizational standpoint, environmental considerations should be integrated into all aspects of marketing — new product development and communications and all points in between. The holistic nature of green also suggests that besides suppliers and retailers new stakeholders be enlisted, including educators, members of the community, regulators, and NGOs. Environmental issues should be balanced with primary customer needs.
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.
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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 Makower, 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.
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Defining Green Marketing and Taking Its Pulse
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.
Green, environmental and eco-marketing are part of the new marketing approaches which do not just refocus, adjust or enhance existing marketing thinking and practice, but seek to challenge those approaches and provide a substantially different perspective. In more detail green, environmental and eco-marketing belong to the group of approaches which seek to address the lack of fit between marketing as it is currently practiced and the ecological and social realities of the wider marketing environment. The legal implications of marketing claims call for caution. Misleading or overstated claims can lead to regulatory or civil challenges. In the United States, the Federal Trade Commission provides some guidance on environmental marketing claims. This
Commission is expected to do an overall review of this guidance, and the legal standards it contains, in 2011.
The American Marketing Association defines green marketing as, ?the marketing of products that are presumed to be environmentally safe.? (American Marketing Association, 2011) Dr. Aseem Prakash, the Walker Family Professor for the College of Arts and Sciences at the University of Washington at Seattle, defines green marketing as, ?the strategies to promote products by employing environmental claims either about their attributes or about the systems, policies, and processes of the firms that manufacture or sell them.? (Prakash, 2002, p. 285) For the purposes of this paper, the exact definition is not critical, as it is clear that green marketing involves some sort of environmental claim being made in connection with a product or service. Usually, it is easy to recognize the influence of green marketing.
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The purpose of green marketing has evolved over time. Originally, it was largely associated with a consumer-oriented focus on the environmental aspects of a product. (Ellis, 2011) However, now green marketing is increasingly being used by businesses to influence other businesses. In situations in which influencing consumers directly is still the goal, the primary emphasis is on the tangible, personal benefits for consumers with a secondary emphasis on the environmental benefits. (Ellis, 2011) This evolution recognizes that the ?dark green? consumer segment, which bases purchasing decisions primarily on green buying factors, is much smaller than the ?light green? consumer segment. For light green consumers, the environmental features of a product are a less significant buying factor and simply serve as ?nice to have? or may not be directly related to the purchasing decision at all. (Makower, 2011) This explains why, in the words of Brian Walker, the CEO of Herman Miller, ?we are not all wearing environmentally-friendly hemp shirts.? (Walker, 2008) It also explains why some major manufacturers are pulling back on producing or advertising green-for-the-sake-of-green products.
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ACTUAL GREEN MARKETING
Green marketing must satisfy two objectives; (1) improved environmental quality and (2) customer satisfaction. The concept of green marketing is the business practice which considers consumers concerns with regards to preservation and conservation of the natural environment (Coddington 1993). Green marketing has been previously and primarily focused on the ecological context has been shifted to more sustainability issues in the marketing efforts and main focus now is in socio-economic and environmental context (Zaman et al. 2010). Hence green market is identified as a part of market segments based on the greenness of the consumers (Simintiras et al. 1994).
Green advertising, like all other forms of advertising, should be truthful and not deceptive or misleading to reasonable consumers. The Federal Trade Commission has determined that consumers think the phrase please recycles on a product means that a product is recyclable. Hence if product or packaging bearing this phrase is not completely recyclable, the advertising message is deceptive. Vague claims that are open to varying interpretations are more likely to be deemed misleading. For example, a claim like zero carbon on a product could lead consumers to believe that no carbon dioxide is omitted during the production of the product, when in fact a company merely purchases credits to offset its carbon production. Other environmental claims like sustainable or green powered are also problematic because they are not clearly defined (Anderson 2009).
Vague generalized claims are also difficult to substantiate. For example, to substantiate a claim that a dress is sustainably produced could involve an in-depth analysis of every environmental impact associated with the materials of the dress, manufacture, and distribution.
Some cases company expresses the green advertising as like the following two statements (Anderson 2009): • My company‘s cloth bag is reusable and made from 100% recycled fibers. • This book is printed in the USA on recycled paper that contains 40% postconsumer waste.
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From the definition of green marketing we can express the following conditions of actual green marketing (Welling and Chavan 2010): • Manufacturer supply the products to the consumers which are of good quality and at the same time not harmful to them even in long run. • Use the resources for development in such a manner which will enable the future generations to avail the resources to meet their needs leading to Sustainable Development. • Framing and implementing policies which will not have any detrimental effect on the environment i.e., at present as well in future. Environmental marketing policy appears as green wash rather than green hope in the last decade (Lightfoot and Burchell, 2004).
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GOLDEN RULES OF GREEN MARKETING
1. Know you're 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 Journal of Engineering, Science and Management Education refrigerator because consumers dint know what CFCs were.).
2. 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.
3. 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..
4. 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.
5. 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.
6. Being Genuine & Transparent: means that
a) you are actually doing what you claim to be doing in your green marketing campaign and b) 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.
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The New Rules Checklist
Use the following checklist to test your understanding of the mainstreaming of green and the need for your business to respond now. ? ? Is there an awareness within our company of the true extent of environmentalism within society today? What are the top environmental issues of concern to our consumers? Shareholders? Employees? Suppliers? Retailers? Community? What is our top environmental risk? Is there a PVC, BPA, or other chemical scare lurking in our brand‘s future? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? What are the natural resources that our brands depend on – and what are the long-term projections for their availability? To which generations do our consumers belong and what are the unique ways in which they express their environmental and social concerns? To what extent do environmental issues affect the way consumers engage with our in our category in general? brand and the products To what extent are our consumers politically and socially active about environmental issues? How has environmentalism affected the shopping habits of our consumers? What types of greener products and services are our consumers buying these days? What are our competitors‘ key sustainability-oriented initiatives? To what extent are they introducing or possibly acquiring new sustainable brands? What are the key sources of sustainability-related information on which our consumers rely? Which environment-oriented legislators and legislative initiatives affect our business? What opportunities do we have to grow our sales and enhance our image through greener products and green marketing campaigns? What personal rewards in going green might be meaningful in enlisting the support of colleagues and stakeholders in our company‘s sustainability efforts?
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IMPORTANCE OF GREEN MARKETING
Economy of the world faces serious difficulties due to global warming, greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions (Mohajan 2011). Green marketing is in the focus of present marketing strategy due to the pressure that comes from inclined environmental awareness in the global climate change. Therefore, the marketers need to include a green approach in framing the marketing programmes. There are several suggested reasons for firms increased use of green marketing and some of them are as follows (Singh 2008): • organizations perceive environmental marketing to be an opportunity which can be used to achieve its objectives, • organizations believe that they have a moral obligation to be more socially responsible, • cost factors associated with waste disposal, or reductions in material usage forces firms to modify their behavior, • competitors environmental activities pressure firms to change their environmental marketing activities, and • governmental bodies are forcing firms to become more responsible.
In the 21st century consumers become more conscious about their safer and healthier lives and healthy environment. Obviously the customers always want to buy eco-friendly and environment harmless commodities for their daily lives.
In 2007 green marketing came in main stream of global business and it has captured the public consciousness. The best example of green marketing issues that helping to make environment safe and eco-friendly is from printing machines industries which are trying to be more greener by reducing emissions of Volatile Organic Compounds (VOCs), handling of contaminated water and toxic waste as well as tracking of inks, solvents and other chemicals (Chaudhary et al. 2011).
There are many opportunities of green marketing. Recently firms marketing goods with environmentally safe have realized a competitive advantage over firms marketing non-environmentally responsible alternatives.
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Some companies have found benefits for using green marketing technologies, for example the Xerox company introduced a high quality recycled photocopier paper in an attempt to satisfy the demands of firms for less environmentally harmful products, the Tuna company manufacturers modified their fishing techniques because of the increased concern over driftnet fishing, and the resulting death of dolphins and the McDonald’s company replaced its clam shell packaging with waxed paper because of increased consumer concern relating to polystyrene production and ozone depletion (Singh 2008).
The government of a country can stress to product green marketing commodities to reduce production of harmful goods or by-products, to modify consumer consumption of harmful goods. These governmental regulations are designed to control the amount of hazardous wastes produced by firms. Government can impose a tax on production or use of non-green marketing products.
For example, in Australia there is a higher gas tax associated with leaded petrol. A company can produce green marketing product to teach other companies the importance and demand of it. For example, it could be argued that Xerox‘s Revive 100% Recycled paper was introduced in the market a few years ago in an attempt to address the introduction of recycled photocopier paper by other manufacturers. The powerful
interpretation of the term green marketing comes from the National Institute of Building Sciences Whole Building Design Guide, which states that the majority of green products on the market today must (Defining Green Products 2010): • promote good indoor environmental quality (IEQ), t ypically through reduced or eliminated volatile organic compounds (VOC) emissions, • not contain chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs), halogenated chlorofluorocarbons (HCFCs), or other ozone depleting substances, • have low embodied energy (the total energy required to produce a finished product, including the energy used to grow, extract, manufacture, and transport to the point of use), • be durable and have low maintenance requirements, • incorporate recycled content, • be made using natural and renewable resources, • be easily reused, either whole or through disassembly,
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• not contain highly toxic compounds and not contribute to highly toxic by-products during the manufacturing process, • employ sustainable harvesting practices if wood or bio-based, • have been salvaged from existing or demolished buildings for reuse, • be able to be readily recycled, preferably in a closed-loop recycling system, which allows a manufactured product to be recycled into the same product without significant deterioration of quality, • be obtained from local resources and manufacturers, and • be biodegradable (Amatruda 2010).
Poorly conceived approaches to marketing are another reason why terms like green, sustainable, and environmentally friendly are misused, leading to greenwashing and confused, skeptical consumers. Peattie and Crane (2005) describe four critical issues that have ?dogged the development of green marketing? as follows: • Green marketing firms have ?frequently only used the environment as an additional promotional dimension without any attempt to analyze or modify the underlying product itself and its environmental impacts.? • ?Many firms have sought to address consumers‘ n eeds, but their interest in the environment has been limited to the marketing department, or the production department, or some other individual function. This has prevented firms from developing a broad, holistic approach to green marketing.? • ?Many companies have been enthusiastic about green marketing when it has involved short term cost savings… but lukewarm when it has come to investing money in order to develop more sustainable products and processes.? • ?Much green marketing activity also has focused on avoiding any significant change, and focusing instead on marginal, incremental improvements to existing products and processes? As our resources are limited but human needs and wants are unlimited, resources have to be utilized economically and in an environment friendly way. In this situation the green marketing will play an important role in sustainable development.
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MARKETING MIX OF GREEN MARKETING
As soon as a company come up with new innovations like eco friendly products, it can access new markets, enhance their market shares, and increase profits. Just as we have 4Ps product prices, place and promotion in marketing, we have 4ps in green marketing too, but they are a bit different. They are buttressed by three additional Ps, namely people, planet and profits.
PRODUCT
The products have to be developed depending on the needs of the customers who prefer environment friendly products. Products can be made from recycled materials or from used goods. Efficient products not only save water, energy and money, but also reduce harmful effects on the environment. Green chemistry forms the growing focus of product development. The marketer's role in product management includes providing product designers with market-driven trends and customer requests for green product attributes such as energy saving, organic, green chemicals, local sourcing, etc., For example, Nike is the first among the shoe companies to market itself as green.
PRICE
Green pricing takes into consideration the people, planet and profit in a way that takes care of the health of employees and communities and ensures efficient productivity. Value can be added to it by changing its appearance, functionality and through customization, etc. Wal-Mart unveiled its first recyclable cloth shopping bag. IKEA started charging consumers when they opted for plastic bags and encouraged people to shop using its "Big Blue Bag".
PLACE
Green place is about managing logistics to cut down on transportation emissions, thereby in effect aiming at reducing the carbon footprint. For example, instead of marketing an imported mango juice in India it can be licensed for local production. This avoids shipping of the product from far away, thus reducing shipping cost and more importantly, the consequent carbon emission by the ships and other modes of transport.
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PROMOTION
Green promotion involves configuring the tools of promotion, such as advertising, marketing materials, signage, white papers, web sites, videos and presentations by keeping people, planet and profits in mind. British petroleum (BP) displays gas station which its sunflower motif and boasts of putting money into solar power. Indian Tobacco Company has introduced environmental-friendly papers and boards, which are free of elemental chlorine.
Toyota is trying to push gas/electric hybrid technology into much of its product line. It is also making the single largest R&D investment in the every-elusive hydrogen car and promoting itself as the first eco-friendly car company. International business machines Corporation (IBM) has revealed a portfolio of green retail store technologies and services to help retailers improve energy efficiency in their IT operations.
Green marketer can attract customers on the basis of performance, money savings, health and convenience, or just plain environmental friendliness, so as to target a wide range of green consumers. Consumer awareness can be created by spreading the message among consumers about the benefits of environmental-friendly products. Positing of profiles related to green marketing on social networks creates awareness within and across online peer groups. Marketing can also directly target the consumers through advertisements for product such as energy saving compact fluorescent lamps, the battery –powered Reva car, etc.
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Issues in Green Marketing
Direct Green Marketing Issues
No one expects companies to be perfect, but
concealing an unsavory past is a sure recipe for green marketing failure. Similarly, companies should acknowledge their challenges and flaws; in fact, they can even be a focus of the companies‘ sustainability process and green marketing efforts (e.g., sustainability program next steps and difficult decisions). Companies should be wary, however, of setting unrealistic expectations or making green promises they cannot keep.
Indirect Green Marketing Issues
Engaging with third party sustainability reporting websites and services is, by its very nature, a disclosure-intensive endeavor. The information that companies provide is often included in sustainability rankings or otherwise disclosed in whole, or in part, to the public. If a company is publicly traded, it should consult with legal counsel prior to entering any significant data or other information on disclosure websites.
Voluntary disclosure websites are designed to elicit detailed responses on corporate sustainability efforts; companies should be aware of the possibility of employees accidentally disclosing confidential or proprietary information. Of course, disclosing incorrect or misleading information could result in greenwashing claims or liability. Also, companies should bear in mind that disclosure of their sustainability data and programs will allow them to be publicly ranked relative to competitors. Often this is a good thing, but if a company is lagging competitors or public perception in important areas, then its green marketing plan should be tailored accordingly – a good plan to improve sustainability performance goes a long way toward repairing an otherwise poor report.
For many companies, these concerns are not applicable. Even if they are, addressing them is usually as simple as vetting disclosures. To do this, companies should consult with their marketing or legal personnel to the extent the risks warrant. Independent sustainability consulting firms can also be of great help in many situations.
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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 nostandardization to authenticate these claims. There is nostandardization currently in place to certify a product asorganic. Unless some regulatory bodies are involved in providing the certifications there will not be any verifiablemeans. A standard quality control board needs to be in placefor such labeling and licensing.
New Concept
Indian literate and urban consumer is getting more awareabout the merits of Green products. But it is still a newconcept for the masses. The consumer needs to be educatedand made aware of the environmental threats. The new greenmovements need to reach the masses and that will take a lot of time and effort. By India's ayurvedic heritage, Indianconsumers do appreciate the importance of using natural andherbal beauty products. Indian consumer is exposed tohealthy living lifestyles such as yoga and natural foodconsumption. In those aspects the consumer is already awareand will be inclined to accept the green products.
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The Seven Sins of Greenwashing
1. Sin of the Hidden Trade-off: committed by suggesting a product is ?green?
based on an unreasonably narrow set of attributes without attention to other important environmental issues. Paper, for example, is not necessarily environmentally-preferable just because it comes from a sustainably-harvested forest. Other important environmental issues in the paper-making process, including energy, greenhouse gas emissions, and water and air pollution, may be equally or more significant.
2. Sin of No Proof: committed by an environmental claim that cannot be substantiated
by easily accessible supporting information or by a reliable third-party certification. Common examples are tissue products that claim various percentages of post-consumer recycled content without providing any evidence.
3. Sin of Vagueness: committed by every claim that is so poorly defined or broad that
its real meaning is likely to be misunderstood by the consumer. ?All -natural? is an example. Arsenic, uranium, mercury, and formaldehyde are all naturally occurring, and poisonous. ?All natural? isn‘t necessarily ?green.?
4. Sin of Irrelevance: committed by making an environmental claim that may be
truthful but is unimportant or unhelpful for consumers seeking environmentally preferable products. ?CFC-free? is a common example, since it is a frequent claim despite the fact that CFCs are banned by law.
5. Sin of Lesser of Two Evils: committed by claims that may be true within the
product category, but risk distracting the consumer from the greater environmental impacts of the category as a whole. Organic cigarettes might be an example of this category, as might be fuel-efficient sport-utility vehicles.
6. Sin of Fibbing: this least frequent sin is committed by making environmental claims
that are simply false. The most common examples are products that falsely claim to be Energy Star certified or registered.
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7. Sin of Worshiping False Labels: committed by a product that, through either
words or images, gives the impression of third-party endorsement where no such endorsement actually exists; fake labels, in other words.
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How you will communicate to your customers that you are “green”?
The main message is to explain to them and to show them in practice that you care about the environment. Many people think that most of SMEs based around Industrial Areas or Eco – Industrial Parks produce a lot of waste, deplete water resources and do not care about environmental deterioration, etc. Now you - as a member of the administrative personnel of such an enterprise or Industrial Area - would have to prove your responsibility to the environment with actions.
The main problem faced by most entrepreneurs is that you develop many green initiatives but either you do not communicate them or you do not recognize them as "green" in order to communicate them. Could it be that you are "green" and you do not know it; Here are some examples of simple "green" practices.
Examples of simple “green” practices
? ? ? ? ? ? Saving water Saving energy through several ways Use energy that comes from renewable resources Avoid waste & environmental pollution Reduced use of chemicals and raw materials that aren‘t environmentally friendly Have a proper policy and commitment to the environment
If any of the above examples is one of your business practice you should inform your clients. The next big question is how? But of course by creating your own Marketing Plan. Read the following chapter and you will know the basic steps.
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Create your own Marketing Plan
Before starting the implementation of your marketing plan, organize it step by step. Start by defining your mission statement.
Step 1: Define your mission statement
Before you start anything take the plunge for exactly what you want to do. The mission/scope of your company is the beginning of your marketing strategy. You must be clear on what you want to do. The entrepreneurial initiative belongs to you and, based on that, you will be able to follow the next steps of building your marketing plan . But what is the purpose of your mission statement? Not only to communicate your business competitive advantage but also your green business competitive advantage such as: • To express the responsibility of your business • Present your environmental commitment • Express a high priority on the needs and satisfaction of your customers • Provide information to regulate activities for your business • Provide motivation and convince your employees If you define this then you can learn about your customer profile .
Step 2: Learn about your customers
Marketing involves finding out what the customer wants and matching your products to meet those requirements, and in the process making a profit out of it. The basic step is to analyze the current situation. This analysis is a thorough assessment of "where you are now", relying more on facts and not on regulatory proposals (what you should do to turn green or how to shape in the near future). It consists of separate analysis of internal (resources and capabilities) and external (competitors, consumers) factors of your enterprise or the cluster of enterprises that you are responsible for. The analysis of external factors (i.e. customer analysis) should be directed towards understanding the current situation along with the trends that allow the prediction of future policies of your products.
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The analysis of internal factors (i.e. product, geographical sales analysis) is easier, since the necessary data are usually available directly from your SME‘s files themselves. Every SME or EIP should collect the following information in order to be aware of the marketing environment and to easily comprehend how they should focus to their ?markets - targets?. The internal and external factors of analysis are explained in the following paragraphs.
In the General Analysis of the sales, the figures can answer to questions like: What share of the green market products your enterprise has? What are the conclusions drawn from the comparison of the ?green? sales of your enterprise with the ?green? sales throughout the enterprise? Does the market share of your SME‘s green products increases or decreases? The most important factors of market that must be analyzed are: Total market size, market share of green industry in the total market, growth rate of green industry sales, Cyclicality and seasonality of green products, profitability of green industry. Additionally, the following factors of the industry should also be examined: capacity of green industry, entry ?barriers? for new competitors to come, bargaining power of green supplies and buyers, etc.
Finally, the monitoring of the environment of your enterprise improves their capacity to deal with frequent and drastic environmental changes. Of course, every enterprise in order to be realistic should analyze their competitors in the following issues: Which is their financial status, their current market share, their goals, their strategy and their major strengths and weaknesses and how they are likely to change and what is their ability to: a. conceive and design new green products b. produce or manufacture green products c. promote and advertise green products on the market In the Customer Analysis of sales, you must identify and reach for ?green? customers, as well as ?green? consumers in general where sales did not reach the level of provisions. The information you should get is acquired from external factors. In this level it is important to understand who are your current customers and the potential customers for your green products, how they can be classified and what classification of those consumers is the most important for you and your competitors today and in the future.
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The Product Analysis of sales has as a specific objective to find out the problematic, in terms of sales, product types and decide (problematic product types, in terms of sales and to decide) what products need to be withdrawn from market, so as their productivity line will become profitable and this is an internal factor of analysis.
The Geographical Analysis of sales, which is the most common type of sales analysis, has a goal to record the sales by geographic areas (internal factor also):-
Analysis of Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, Threats (SWOT Analysis) After analyzing the basic factors that are crucial for your SME (or EIP), in order to identify possible problems and opportunities for its components‘ green development, you should proceed in explaining how these factors could be categorized. This categorization is required of SMEs to identify their priorities. The SWOT analysis affected the idea that good strategy means ensuring a good ?match? between the external situations of your enterprise (that is opportunities and threats) and its internal capacities and characteristics (that is its strengths and weaknesses). The Swot analysis method is the main tool used from the marketers, in order to choose among different paths, the most appropriate strategic options that can be implemented.
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Example of SWOT Analysis Matrix of an enterprise having adopted a green marketing strategy:
STRENGTHS ? Energy Saving ? Quality image ? Better working conditions WEAKNESSES ? ?Green? strategies are high cost investments and may be no liquidity for adopting them ? Certain green strategies have a long-term projection to the enterprises profit
THREATS OPPORTUNITIES ? The international financial ? Better enterprise Image instability generates a need to ? Increase of green sales reduce the cost of products – ? Gain new consumers and possibility of green products increase market share reduce of sales ? Gain profitability (Increased ? Local markets must follow the profitability) green international trends ? Possibility of third person otherwise will be isolated and funding lose share of the consumers ? The implementation of green marketing strategies must be accurate otherwise through media a possible mistake can be widely spread
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The strengths and weaknesses concern the enterprise and its internal environment or its key relations with suppliers, intermediates and clients (micro-environment). The emphasis is on what you can do better than their competitors, in order to better satisfy a customer need or desire. Instead, weaknesses turn out to be ?restrictions? for the operation. However, you can and should seek to convert these weaknesses into strengths and even abilities by strategically investing in key areas and by effectively connecting several key areas.
SWOT Analysis Matrix of an SME in comparison with Bigger Enterprises
STRENGTHS WEAKNESSES ? Can be more flexible on ? The competitors with better decision making turnover, profitability, market share and know-how, have ? Flexible working practices greater ability of adopting ? Produces its products ?green? strategies domestically and can control its ? The competitors have better quality most essentially distribution networks ? Can be more flexible on pricing ? Bigger enterprise can spend policy more on communication, advertising and promotion strategies
OPPORTUNITIES THREATS ? With respective investment on ? Foreign competitors can Green strategies an SME could construct a new gain a competitive advantage ? facility of the latest technology ? The company merged with with another increases the number ? radical elements of innovation of potential customers in the ? An SME could exploit easier ? country – the EIP‘s and better the dynamic of headquarters innovative ideas ? Declining trend on market size ? An SME can focus on niche markets
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Based on the Swot analysis results we can conclude in which points your SME or EIP is strong and where is not. And based on that, the next step would be the ability to meet more effectively the client‘s needs than these of its competitors. Being aware of the profile of the consumers you want to target and the restrictions imposed by the answers to the above criteria, will make you have a detailed picture of which may lead your SME or EIP to the next step of ?being Green?.
Step 3: Develop your own Marketing Strategy
When all the quantitative and qualitative data concerning your customers has been collected you are ready to answer the main question ?where do we wish to go?? and "how to get where we want". Depending on that answer, you must decide and design both your marketing strategy as well as your action plans. These actions can be targeted to sales targets, profit, market share, target markets, etc. They should be achievable, measurable, quantified and reported in a given timeframe. Thus, the EIPs develop strategies which are implemented either separately from each other, or all together, so they can create a ?Green? Portfolio. We can divide this Portfolio into 2 main critical axes: The first analyzes the possible actions concerning the green functional structure and fixed equipment, while the second one analyzes the actions concerning the “greenisation” of the products of your Products.
Actions for the Development of your Green Structures & Improvement of the Production Process
These actions have been aiming at the creation of green protocols within the Industrial Area, for efficient and less costly use of energy resources, for the respect of environment and for the saving of energy of the enterprises. If there is no commitment from all the enterprises established in the Industrial Area, there is an increased risk of inappropriate functioning of the entire Industrial Area and a high failure rate for this operation. The ?green? commitment must be in both economically and in human f actors and can be achieved through the following initiatives:
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?
Creation of green guidelines manufacturing protocol:
The green manufacturing protocol includes indicative list of green material that can be used in order to more eco-friendly buildings (energy saving). The use of environmentally efficient hardware and software that minimizes energy consumption and waste pollution is the implementation of green manufacturing. ? Guidelines creation for management green equipment, in order to increase the energy efficiency of the management equipment, both at the workplace and at the storage facilities. ? Creation of motives for the use of Renewable Energy Sources (RES): The use of RES systems is highly recommended but in order to be adopted it has to be followed by economical alleviation. You should really consider the possibility of combining heat and power energy. This strategy relies on the simultaneous production of exploitable electricity and heat energy from the same source. ? Creation of effective waste management standards based on the integration of techniques and processes designed to produce less waste using appropriate infrastructure and on the materials reuse, as a strategy that eliminates waste, reduces the cost of their deposition and saves energy and materials that can be reused as raw materials. ? Implementation of green policies regarding the logistics: Base them on environmental standards and certifications. This can be achieved in two ways; the first concerns the improvement of conventional and widely used technologies. The second major category concerns new, "exotic" technologic developments. Another green policy regarding the logistics can be planned and implemented through the creation of green transport and logistics and can be achieved through the design of a green network, which will take account of the effects of locating production plants and distribution centers, compared to the operator system emissions. ? Development of green corporate culture protocols for the employees: That can be succeeded through lifelong education of employees in every green initiative, new energy strategy and product innovation made by the board of the Industrial Area or the EIP.
Although the above initiatives are sufficient and cost saving, require high commitment of resources. That‘s why most enterprises resort to the following actions, which can be implemented in less time and with less economical support from investors.
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Actions for the Development of your Image & for the Integration of Ecological Standards.
Firstly, is the science that unifies different branches of similar academic interest to develop efficient and environmentally friendly processes and products. Secondly, the intensity of knowledge, in order to create more green value when eco-content is added to products and services. Thirdly, productivity gains certifications through specific Environmental Management standards. The first two factors denatured through the development of CSR programs and the third factor that concerns strategies for improving productivity through processes leading to certified environmental standards will be analyzed in the following. ? Corporate Social Responsibility
Among the most frequently used information tools on CSR include product labels, packaging, press relations / media, the news bulletins, thematic events, exhibitions, posters, flyers, brochures , the brochures, websites, advertisements, information packs, or simply advertising by word of mouth. In short, effective communication requires to become all they can to ensure that the public - goal really got the message. ? Environmental Management Standards
Another way to achieve an eco-friendly identity is to follow a total of Environmental Management Standards. The most widely used global standard for environmental management is ISO 14001 which can be applied to all enterprises regardless of size and type or EMAS (Eco Management and Audit Scheme) which is a European Union mechanism certifing organizations that improve their environmental performance on an ongoing basis.
Development of Actions concerning your Products
Although, the marketing mix of a product can be composed by various elements, the ?4Ps? has been established as the most important. The 4Ps elements are the product, the price, the promotion and the placement. You should focus in these 4 elements when creating your green marketing strategy.
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A. Green Product Green Products and Services are those that can create criteria to reduce negative impacts on the environment, health climate and natural resources. There are no standard specifications on what exactly makes a product green. Some general guidelines/examples conclude that a green product: • Does not present a dangerous impact to people or animals • Is efficient in its use of resources during manufacture, use, and disposal • Does not contribute to excessive waste in its use or packaging. Other favorable attributes from the ?green? point of view are the incorporation of recycled materials into the product and the products own recyclability.
B. Green Pricing A very important factor is the pricing of green products, because the majority of them are more expensive than the conventional ones. A number of enterprises, even Small – Medium Enterprises (SMEs) have undertaken audits of their production processes to identify hidden environmental costs and to provide better information for pricing decisions.
C. Green Promotion The green marketing promotion needs the most attention. Because it is the factor that helps you reduce consumer confusion and educate them to understand terms such as recyclable, environmentally friendly, etc. You should focus in four general green promotional guidelines concerning the product in general: a. Qualifications and disclosures should be sufficiently clear. b. Environmental claims should make clear whether they apply to the product, the package, or a component of either. c. You should avoid implying a significant environmental benefit where the benefit is, in fact, negligible. d. A claim comparing the environmental attributes of one product with those of another product should make the basis for the comparison sufficiently clear and should be substantiated.
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D. Green Placement / Distribution The biggest problem of our time on the product distribution is the increased costs due to increased fuel and increasing transport costs. This in itself creates further issues to be resolved regarding the creation of green policy distribution. Package redesign for lighter weight and / or greater recyclability reduces waste while simultaneously reducing costs. The above guidelines have been evolved by the years following the technological progress of the products. In that way, we have added new terms of characterizing the green products such as Eco-labeling and Eco-sponsoring.
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Resent trends in Green Marketing in INDIA
Organizations are Perceive Environmental marketing asan Opportunity to achieve its objectives. Firms haverealized that consumers prefer products that do not harmthe natural environment as also the human health. Firmsmarketing such green products are preferred over theothers not doing so and thus develop a competitiveadvantage, simultaneously meeting their business objectives. Organizations believe they have a moral obligation to bemore socially responsible.
This
is
in
keeping
with
the philosophy
of CSR which has been successfully adopted by many business houses to improve their c orporateimage. 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 forcesthe 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.
Inorder 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
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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.
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REASONS OF ADOPTING GREEN MARKETING BY THE FIRMS
Green marketing has been widely adopted by the firms worldwide and the following are the possible reasons cited for this wide adoption:
1. Opportunities - As demand changes, many firms see these changes as an
opportunity to exploit and have a competitive advantage over firms marketing nonenvironmentally 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.
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. ?
Xerox introduced a "high quality" recycled photocopier paper in an attempt to satisfy the demands of firms for less environmentally harmful products.
2. Government Pressure - As with all marketing related activities, governments want
to "protect" consumer and society; this protection has significant green marketing implications. Government regulations relating to environmental marketing are designed to protect consumers in several ways,
1. Reduce production of harmful goods or by-products Modify consumer and industry's use and/or consumption of harmful goods
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2. Ensure that all types of consumers have the ability to evaluate the environmental composition of goods. Government establish regulations designed to control the amount of hazardous wastes produced by firms.
3. Competitive Pressure - Another major force in the environmental marketing area
has been firms' desire to maintain their competitive position. In many cases firms observe competitors promoting their environmental 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 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.
An example of a firm that does not promote its environmental initiative 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.
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5. Cost of Profit Issues - Firms may also use green marketing in an attempt to
address cost or profit related issues. Disposing of environmentally harmful byproducts, 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 reexamine 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.
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Green Marketing cases
Interestingly, green marketing continues to be an issue of 5 global interest. In fact, Google Trends reports that, on a relative basis, more searches for ?green marketing? originated from India than from any other country.
Rank Country 1. India 2. UK 3. US 4. Thailand 5. Australia 6. Canada 7. China Many companies are adopting green for capturing market opportunity of green marketing some cases
EXAMPLE 1 : Best Green IT Project: State Bank of India: Green IT@SBI
By using eco and power friendly equipment in its 10,000 new ATMs, the banking giant has not only saved power costs and earned carbon credits, but also set the right example for others to follow. SBI is also entered into green service known as ?Green Channel Counter?. SBI is providing many services like; paper less banking, no deposit slip, no withdrawal form, no checks, no money transactions form all these transaction are done through SBI shopping & ATM cards. State Bank of India turns to wind energy to reduce emissions: The State Bank of India became the first Indian bank to harness wind energy through a 15-megawatt wind farm developed by Suzlon Energy. The wind farm located in Coimbatore uses 10 Suzlon wind turbines, each with a capacity of 1.5 MW. The wind farm is spread across three states – Tamil Nadu, with 4.5 MW of wind capacity; Maharashtra, with 9 MW; and Gujarat, with 1.5 MW. The wind project is the first step in the State Bank of India's green banking program dedicated to the reduction of its carbon footprint and promotion of energy efficient processes, especially among the bank's clients.
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EXAMPLE 2 : Lead Free Paints from Kansai Nerolac
Kansai Nerolac Paints Ltd. has always been committed to the welfare of society and environment and as a responsible corporate has always taken initiatives in the areas of health, education, community development and environment preservation. Kansai Nerolac has worked on removing hazardous heavy metals from their paints. The hazardous heavy metals like lead, mercury, chromium, arsenic and antimony can have adverse effects on humans. Lead in paints especially poses danger to human health where it can cause damage to Central Nervous System, kidney and reproductive system. Children are more prone to lead poisoning leading to lower intelligence levels and memory loss.
EXAMPLE 3 : Indian Oil's Green Agenda Green Initiatives
? Indian Oil is fully geared to meet the target of reaching EURO-III compliant fuels to all parts of the country by the year 2010; major cities will upgrade to Euro-IV compliant fuels by that time. ? ? ? ? ? Indian Oil has invested about Rs. 7,000 crore so far in green fuel projects at its refineries; ongoing projects account for a further Rs. 5,000 crore. Motor Spirit Quality Improvement Unit commissioned at Mathura Refinery; similar units are coming up at three more refineries. Diesel quality improvement facilities in place at all seven Indian Oil refineries, several more green fuel projects are under implementation or on the anvil. The R&D Centre of Indian Oil is engaged in the formulations of eco-friendly biodegradable lube formulations. The Centre has been certified under ISO-14000:1996 for environment
management systems.
GREEN FUEL ALTERNATIVES In the country's pursuit of alternative sources of energy, Indian Oil is focusing on CNG (compressed natural gas), Auto gas (LPG), ethanol blended petrol, bio-diesel, and Hydrogen energy.
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EXAMPLE 4 : India's 1st Green Stadium
The Thyagaraja Stadium stands tall in the quiet residential colony behind the Capital's famous INA Market. It was jointly dedicated by Union Sports Minister MS Gill and Chief Minister Sheila Dikshit on Friday. Journal of Engineering, Science and Management Education Dikshit said that the stadium is going to be the first green stadium in India, which has taken a series of steps to ensure energy conservation and this stadium has been constructed as per the green building concept with eco-friendly materials.
EXAMPLE 5: Eco-friendly Rickshaws before CWG
Chief minister Shiela Dikshit launched on Tuesday a battery operated rickshaw, ?E-rick?, sponsored by a cellular services provider, to promote eco-friendly transportation in the city ahead of the Commonwealth Games.
EXAMPLE 6 : Wipro Green It.
Wipro can do for you in your quest for a sustainable tomorrow - reduce costs, reduce your carbon footprints and become more efficient - all while saving the environment.
Wipro's Green Machines (In India Only) Wipro Infotech was India's first company to launch environment friendly computer peripherals. For the Indian market, Wipro has launched a new range of desktops and laptops called Wipro Greenware. These products are RoHS (Restriction of Hazardous Substances) compliant thus reducing e-waste in the environment.
EXAMPLE 7 : Agartala to be India's first Green City
Tripura Sunday announced plans to make all public and private vehicles in Agartala run on compressed natural gas (CNG) by 2013, thus making the capital ?India's first green city?. Tripura Natural Gas Co Ltd (TNGCL), a joint venture of the Gas Authority of India Ltd (GAIL) and the Tripura and Assam governments, has undertaken a project to supply CNG to all private and government vehicles.CNG will also be available to those now using electricity, petrol and diesel to run various machineries. TNGCL chairman Pabitra Kar told reporters. He said: ?The company will soon provide PNG connections to 10,000 new domestic consumers in the city and outskirts. Agartala will be the first city in India within the next three years to become a green city.
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EXAMPLE 8 : Going Green: Tata's new mantra
The ideal global benchmark though is 1.5. Tata Motors is setting up an eco-friendly showroom using natural building material for its flooring and energy efficient lights. Tata Motors said the project is at a preliminary stage. The Indian Hotels Company, which runs the Taj chain, is in the process of creating eco rooms which will have energyefficient mini bars, organic bed linen and napkins made from recycled paper. But there won't be any carpets since chemicals are used to clean those. And when it comes to illumination, the rooms will have CFLs or LEDs. About 5% of the total rooms at a Taj hotel would sport a chic eco-room design. One of the most interesting innovations has come in the form of a biogas-based power plant at Taj Green Cove in Kovalam, which uses the waste generated at the hotel to meet its cooking requirements. Another eco-friendly consumer product that is in the works is Indica EV, an electric car that will run on polymer lithium ion batteries. Tata Motors plans to introduce the Indica EV in select European markets this year.
Phillips's "Marathon" CFL lightbulb
Philips Lighting's first shot at marketing a standalone compact fluorescent light (CFL) bulb was Earth Light, at $15 each versus 75 cents for incandescent bulbs. The product had difficulty climbing out of its deep green niche. The company re-launched the product as "Marathon," underscoring its new "super long life" positioning and promise of saving $26 in energy costs over its five-year lifetime. Finally, with the U.S. EPA's Energy Star label to add credibility as well as new sensitivity to rising utility costs and electricity shortages, sales climbed 12 percent in an otherwise flat market.
Jamie Oliver
Jamie Oliver is a chef who educates the American about what they eat; he conducted a campaign through TV show that aired on ABC that show has all the real-life appeal that drives viewers to watch reality programs – along with the story of a man on a mission usually reserved for documentary films. Along the way, the show is Rapidly Becoming a brilliant case study in social marketing and how to change beliefs. The last episode aired this past week Jamie Showed making a bet with DJ a local radio in Huntington that could get 1000 people in the city to cook healthy in 5 days. Over the first few episodes, you also saw Jamie helping school ?lunch ladies? to the make healthier food
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for schoolchildren and working with a small group of high school students on reinventing their lunch menus. Jamie Oliver can give you an example; the kinds of green marketing that not only do the modification in terms of introducing hybrid products that are eco friendly but also educational tool that educates viewers or consumers with a better lifestyle.
Toyota
Prices and specifications as the Toyota Prius hybrid cars are relatively higher than conventional cars fuel oil (BBM), because this eco friendly technology is still relatively new in the world even though. The concept car was developed in Japan when 1997 as a response to concerns about the high society world that global warming is caused by high carbon dioxide released by motor vehicles. Toyota Prius concept car is using petrol and electric power sources. With the technology of course this car more fuel efficient and most importantly, lower exhaust emissions and eco friendly. Be some related awards that have been achieved by Toyota Prius was certified as super ultra-low emission vehicle (SULEV) from the California Air Resources Board and the Advanced Technology Partial Zero Emission Vehicle or vehicles with nearzero emissions levels, from the same agency. This car was also named the Best Car America in 2004 and Europe in 2005 Best Cars.
Timberland LLC
Timberland LLC is a US-based global manufacturer and retailer of outdoors wear with a focus on footwear. Timberland footwear is popular for hiking, mountaineering, and casual wear. The Company also sells apparel such as clothes, watches, glasses and leather goods. In 2007, Timberland was named the 78th best employer in the US on the CNN Money ?One hundred best companies to work for? list. Timberland is a strong proponent of corporate social responsibility. (Source: Wikipedia) As you already know from the information provided by the Wikipedia, Timberland is a company that does have a purpose for corporate social responsibility, so it is not surprising that timberland campaign which I will discuss this time doing green marketing campaign, but this time timberland make the uniquely campaign named with eartkeeper
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who have to goal of recruiting one million people up to become part of an online network designed to inspire environmental change. A new Earth keeper product collection has also been unveiled.
Method
Method Products (branded as method) is a San Francisco-based corporation which produces nontoxic, biodegradable natural cleaning supplies with a focus on minimalist product design. Among the company‘s first products was an hourglass -shaped bottle of dish soap, designed by Karim Rashid. The company was founded in 2001 by Eric Ryan, a designer and marketer, and Adam Lowry, a chemical engineer. In 2006, Inc. magazine named Method the 7th fastest-growing private company in the United States. Method has gained recognition for its commitment to sustainability, including taking innovative steps to measure and reduce its carbon footprint. In September 2012, Ecover, the Belgian manufacturer of green cleaning products bought Method. Both brands are all gross sales of approximately $ 200 million. (Source: Wikipedia) Modifications made to the method similar to the two products above, he developed a product that can ensure the cleanliness but still love nature, without leaving a trace that can damage the environment. This method of green marketing focus to offering quality products that is not inferior to other products but have the advantage of being able to preserve the environment. All of Method‘s bottles are completely recyclable and made from 100% recycled plastic. The design of the packages Themselves is scored against Method‘s very own ?green card? program that ensures roommates considers the recyclability of packaging design, packaging weight, reusability and compost ability. As you already know, Starbucks is a coffee shop that have go international, Starbucks always brings something else that can attract customers, such his campaign this time I think this unique, the theme is encourage consumers to do planting, painting and sweep the streets for street.
Car sharing services.
Car-sharing services address the longer-term solutions to consumer needs for better fuel savings and fewer traffic tie-ups and parking nightmares, to complement the environmental benefit of more open space and reduction of greenhouse gases. They may be thought of as a "time-sharing" system for cars. Consumers who drive less than 7,500
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miles a year and do not need a car for work can save thousands of dollars annually by joining one of the many services springing up, including Zipcar (East Coast), I-GO Car (Chicago), and Hour Car (Twin Cities).
Electronics sector.
The consumer electronics sector provides room for using green marketing to attract new customers. One example of this is HP's promise to cut its global energy use 20 percent by the year 2010. To accomplish this reduction below 2005 levels, The Hewlett-Packard Company announced plans to deliver energy-efficient products and services and institute energy-efficient operating practices in its facilities worldwide.
Products and services.
Now companies are offering more eco-friendly alternatives for their customers. Recycled products for example, are one of the most popular alternatives that can benefit the environment. These benefits include sustainable forestry, clean air, energy efficiency, water conservation, and a healthy office. One example, is the E-commerce business and office supply company Shoplet which offers a web tool that allows you to replace similar items in your shopping cart with greener products.
Introduction of CNG in Delhi.
New Delhi, capital of India, was being polluted at a very fast pace until Supreme Court of India forced a change to alternative fuels. In 2002, a directive was issued to completely adopt CNG in all public transport systems to curb pollution.
Advantages of CNG
?
CNG does not contain any lead, thereby eliminating fouling of spark plugs (unleaded fuel is lead free, but still can cause plugs to foul).
?
CNG-powered vehicles have lower maintenance costs than other hydrocarbon-fuelpowered vehicles.
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? ?
CNG fuel systems are sealed, preventing fuel losses from spills or evaporation. Increased life of lubricating oils, as CNG does not contaminate and dilute the crankcase oil.
? ?
Being a gaseous fuel, CNG mixes easily and evenly in air. CNG is less likely to ignite on hot surfaces, since it has a high auto-ignition temperature (540 °C), and a narrow range (5–15 percent) offlammability.
?
Less pollution and more efficiency: CNG emits significantly fewer pollutants (e.g., carbon dioxide (CO2), unburned hydrocarbons (UHC),carbon
monoxide (CO), nitrogen oxides (NOx), sulfur oxides (SOx) and PM (particulate matter) than petrol. For example, an engine running on petrol for 100 km emits 22 kilograms of CO2, while covering the same distance on CNG emits only 16.3 kilograms of CO2. CNG is essentially methane (CH4), which has a calorific value of 900 kJ/mol. This burns with oxygen to produce 1 mole of CO2 and 2 moles of H2O. By comparison, petrol can be regarded as essentially benzene (C6H6) with a calorific value of about 3,300 kJ/mol, which burns to produce 6 moles of CO2 and 3 moles of H2O. From this, it can be seen that per mole of CO2 produced, CNG releases more than 1.6 times as much energy as that released from petrol (said another way: for the same amount of energy, CNG produces nearly 40 percent less CO2). The corresponding figures are 78 and 25.8 grams, respectively, for nitrogen oxides. Carbon monoxide emissions are reduced even further. Due to lower carbon dioxide and nitrogen oxides emissions, switching to CNG can help mitigate greenhouse gas emissions. The ability of CNG to reduce greenhouse gas emissions over the entire fuel lifecycle will depend on the source of the natural gas and the fuel it is replacing. The lifecycle greenhouse gas emissions for CNG compressed from California's pipeline natural gas is given a value of 67.70 grams of CO2-equivalent per megajoule(gCO2e/MJ) by CARB (the California Air Resources Board), approximately 28 percent lower than the average gasoline fuel in that market (95.86 gCO2e/MJ). CNG produced from landfill biogas was found by CARB to have the lowest greenhouse gas emissions of any fuel analyzed, with a value of 11.26 gCO 2e/MJ (more than 88 percent lower than conventional gasoline) in the low-carbon fuel standard that went into effect on January 12, 2010.
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CNG-powered vehicles are considered to be safer than gasoline-powered vehicles.
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Tourism Devel opme nt Projec ts in M exico that are using “green” market ing:
La Concha Pearl La Paz ?saves 42% on energy costs?. ?is aiming for LEED Gold? ?Energy efficient technologies with plenty of open space?. ?60% of lots for vegetation, compost bin and nursery, recycled water/waste water treatment installed for irrigation Water recycling, Homeowner Association dues will offset carbon emissions from travel to the area, landscaping is 80% edible or medicinal, co-housing design, engaged in community. Passive solar, and water recycling, energy-efficient construction, and golf carts in place of vehicles The largest solar community in North America (3000 homesites). Straw-bale construction available. Golf course uses salt-tolerant grass requiring less fresh water; recycled water for irrigation. 50% of the land for green space; 100% retention of native plants for landscaping. Charitable golf tournaments raise funds for local groups. All food is planned to be sourced from local organic produce. The
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Colina del Sol
Los Barriles
Ola Brisa
Todos Santos
Real de Santa Ana
Todos Santos
El Dorado Ranch
San Felipe
Playa de La Paz
La Paz
project‘s environmentally conscious philosophy includes a ?sensitivity about nature.? Villages at Loreto Bay Nopolo Grants 1% of its net profits to local charitable organizations -$1.2 million since 2004. This project changed hands in 2008 and the commitment of the owners to the sustainability features is unknown. Turtle sanctuary and archaeological protection on-site. Solar energy and solar thermal. Permaculture. Water conservation. Recycled and local products. Commitment to 1% of profits back to community.
Playa Viva
Zihuatenejo
Los Arboles Tulum
Riviera Maya
95% of each property is open space. Housing compact specifies ?green? building requirements and environmental safeguards. No introduction of non-native flora. On-site ?green building? expert.
Paraiso del Mar
La Paz
Electric boats transport guests to downtown La Paz, reclaimed water for irrigation, 50% of site plan is preserved.
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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 CLAIM ? Employ environmental product and consumer benefit claims that are specific and meaningful.
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?
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.
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Conclusion
The sustainability movement may ebb and flow, but it is here to stay. Each company, regardless of its industry, should consider integrating sustainability into its business strategy. Those that do will seek recognition of their efforts. These companies should consider green marketing, keeping in mind that green marketing is not a cure-all for boosting sales. Companies should remember that there is no universal green marketing strategy. At all times, companies engaged in green marketing should structure their efforts to minimize greenwashing risks.
Many companies might find the frameworks in this paper helpful as they formulate green marketing plans. These companies will analyze their internal sustainability characteristics and external sustainability influences and identify themselves as industry-leaders, industry-competent, or industry-basic companies. This self-evaluation will, in turn, assist them in identifying the most appropriate tools for implementing green marketing. Some companies will determine that qualifying for a certain certification or complying with certain standards should be part of their plan. These companies should consider the credibility, applicability, and feasibility selection framework discussed in this paper when they make their decisions. Green marketing is not overly complicated or risky for the companies that give it the attention it deserves early on in the planning stages.
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doc_544790136.docx
this is the important project report on GREEN MARKETING
A Project Report Seminar on contemporary issue ?Green Marketing? Submitted in partial fulfillment for the Award of degree of Master of Business Administration (MBA)
Submitted By Ishwar Singh Ranawat MBA IInd Sem RTU Roll No. ---------
Submitted To Dr. Manish Jain (Head of the Department) Department of Management
ARYA INSTITUTE OF ENGINEERING &TECHNOLOGY KUKAS, JAIPUR (RAJ.) 2013-15
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Acknowledgement
I express my warmest thanks & deep sense of gratitude to the individuals for their generous help in discussing the project and giving their valuable time in successful completion of this project. Time to time I got constructive suggestions, guidance and encouragement. I would like to express my deep thanks to Dr. Arvind Agarwal, President, Arya Group of Colleges and Prof. M. L. Gupta, Principal, Arya Institute of Engineering & Technology, Jaipur for extending me the opportunity of presenting the research project and providing all the necessary resources for this purpose. With much pride and delight I would like to express my sincere thanks to Dr. Manish Jain (Head of the department) for his excellent guidance and valuable suggestions throughout the project work. I express heartfelt thanks to Ms. Padma Sharma (Project Guide) for his wonderful support and for giving me an opportunity to present project report on “GREEN MARKETING”. I also want to give my humble regards to Ms. Gundeep (Head- Training & Placement Cell), Ms. Anchal Sharma, Mr. Pramod Sharma, Ms. Nisha Goyal, Ms. Anchal, Mr. Hitesh Tikyani and Ms. Neelu Sharma for their valuable support and believe in my work. Without their sustained interest and encouragement, this work could not have been possible to reach the state of completion with satisfaction. In fact it is their real devotion to the development work, which instilled in me, the need of a passionate commitment to pursue this project. I am also grateful to My friend Mr. Radha Krishna Paliwal for providing critical feedback and support whenever required. There are times in such projects when the clock beats you time and again and you run out of energy, you just want to finish it once and forever. Parents made me endure such times with their unfailing humour and warm wishes. I regret for any inadvertent omissions. Ishwar Singh Ranawat
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Introduction
Development and conservation professionals are increasingly incorporating
conservation products into their portfolio of activities to contribute to biodiversity conservation and poverty alleviation for the communities that live in high biodiversity areas. Tremendous progress has been made in involving communities in good conservation practices, developing enterprises that are sustainable and generating income that also promotes biodiversity conservation. Yet, these groundbreaking enterprises and products still struggle to understand the markets for their products and how to access these markets. This guidance tool is intended to provide an overview of green market trends using
the language, research findings, and market segmentation of U.S. based markets. For many development and conservation professionals, the language of these green markets may be new, but endeavor to learn the marketing language as it will assist you in finding opportunities to best position your conservation products. One term that has been used extensively by the markets and development and conservation professionals is sustainability. From the markets point of view, 2007 is considered the tipping point for the sustainability movement marking when it moved from niche to mainstream markets. Climate Change, reducing energy dependence and costs, excess consumption, burning forests, threatened species and the media attention around them have been an important driver for both consumers and companies. Going green, is now the common phrase used to characterize the environmental side of the sustainability movement. Corporate response has been enthusiastic with some companies
broadcasting their green accomplishments widely in an effort to drive profits through product sales on the consumer end, while others understand that being greener will save them money as they cut costs and green their company operations throughout their value chains. Even before mainstream consumers started driving green purchases, some companies were already driven by stockholders and an institutional culture of Corporate Responsibility.
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Whatever the drivers, the power of the educated and wired global consumer, and the non-governmental organizations which organize and mobilize these consumers, continues to expand and evolve so that products take into account both environmental and social issues. Even with a weak global economy, the evidence shows that green and socially responsible products have an upward trend in sales. Strong green sales have continued in the US, Europe and elsewhere with more consumers purchasing green products in 2008 over 2007. These same consumers are often willing to pay a premium for green products deemed to be of higher value than conventional products.
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A recent survey of the U.S sales of organic products both food and non-food (which includes organic fibers, personal care products and pet foods), showed that that market reached $24.6 billion by the close of 2008, which was an increase of 17.1% over 2007, despite the recession and weakening economy.
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2 Summary of Organic Trade Association‘s 2009 Organic Industry Survey available from: The upward trend can be measured by indicators which include: • consumer purchasing trends and surveys; • media coverage (television, print, and internet); • ?green‘ advertising; • green product marketing trends; and • Corporate Sustainability Reports.
Marketing forecasts remain optimistic about expansion and business opportunities around sustainability into 2009 and 2010. The Natural Marketing Institute estimates the green marketplace will reach $420 billion by 2010 and has identified several consumer segments (food, personal care, pet products) that have a unique opportunity for green innovation and in attracting consumers with new green options. The webpage to the right illustrates how Aveda is integrating wildlife friendly products from Nepal into their personal care product line.
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EVOLUTION OF GREEN MARKETING
As resources are scarce and human wants are unlimited, it is important for the marketers to utilize the resources efficiently without waste as well as to achieve the organization's objective. So green marketing is the need of the hour. There is growing interest among the consumers over the globe regarding protection of environment. Worldwide evidence indicates people are concerned about the environment and are changing their behavior. As a result of this, green marketing has emerged which speaks for growing market for sustainable and socially responsible products and services.
The green marketing has evolved over a period of time. According to Peattie (2001), the evolution of green marketing has three phases: The first phase was known as "Ecological" green marketing, and during this period all marketing activities were concerned to help environment problems and provide remedies for environmental problems.
The second phase was "Environmental" green marketing and the focus shifted on clean technology that involved designing of innovative new products, which take care of pollution and waste issues.
The third phase was "Sustainable" green marketing. It came into prominence in the late 1990s and early 2000. This was the result of the term sustainable development which is defined as "meeting the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs."
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History of Green Marketing
The term Green Marketing came into prominence in the late 1980s and early 1990s. The American Marketing Association (AMA) held the first workshop on "Ecological Marketing" in 1975. The proceedings of this workshop resulted in one of the first books on green marketing entitled "Ecological Marketing".
The Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) Reports started with the ice cream seller Ben & Jerry's where the financial report was supplemented by a greater view on the company's environmental impact. In 1987 a document prepared by the World Commission on Environment and Development defined sustainable development as meeting ?the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own need?, this became known as the Brundtland Report and was another step towards widespread thinking on sustainability in everyday activity. Two tangible milestones for wave 1 of green marketing came in the form of published books, both of which were called Green Marketing. They were by Ken Peattie (1992) in the United Kingdom and by Jacquelyn Ottman (1993) in the United States of America.
According to Jacquelyn Ottman, (author of "The New Rules of Green Marketing: Strategies, Tools, and Inspiration for Sustainable Branding" (Greenleaf
Publishing and Berrett-Koehler Publishers, February 2011)) from an organizational standpoint, environmental considerations should be integrated into all aspects of marketing — new product development and communications and all points in between. The holistic nature of green also suggests that besides suppliers and retailers new stakeholders be enlisted, including educators, members of the community, regulators, and NGOs. Environmental issues should be balanced with primary customer needs.
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.
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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 Makower, 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.
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Defining Green Marketing and Taking Its Pulse
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.
Green, environmental and eco-marketing are part of the new marketing approaches which do not just refocus, adjust or enhance existing marketing thinking and practice, but seek to challenge those approaches and provide a substantially different perspective. In more detail green, environmental and eco-marketing belong to the group of approaches which seek to address the lack of fit between marketing as it is currently practiced and the ecological and social realities of the wider marketing environment. The legal implications of marketing claims call for caution. Misleading or overstated claims can lead to regulatory or civil challenges. In the United States, the Federal Trade Commission provides some guidance on environmental marketing claims. This
Commission is expected to do an overall review of this guidance, and the legal standards it contains, in 2011.
The American Marketing Association defines green marketing as, ?the marketing of products that are presumed to be environmentally safe.? (American Marketing Association, 2011) Dr. Aseem Prakash, the Walker Family Professor for the College of Arts and Sciences at the University of Washington at Seattle, defines green marketing as, ?the strategies to promote products by employing environmental claims either about their attributes or about the systems, policies, and processes of the firms that manufacture or sell them.? (Prakash, 2002, p. 285) For the purposes of this paper, the exact definition is not critical, as it is clear that green marketing involves some sort of environmental claim being made in connection with a product or service. Usually, it is easy to recognize the influence of green marketing.
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The purpose of green marketing has evolved over time. Originally, it was largely associated with a consumer-oriented focus on the environmental aspects of a product. (Ellis, 2011) However, now green marketing is increasingly being used by businesses to influence other businesses. In situations in which influencing consumers directly is still the goal, the primary emphasis is on the tangible, personal benefits for consumers with a secondary emphasis on the environmental benefits. (Ellis, 2011) This evolution recognizes that the ?dark green? consumer segment, which bases purchasing decisions primarily on green buying factors, is much smaller than the ?light green? consumer segment. For light green consumers, the environmental features of a product are a less significant buying factor and simply serve as ?nice to have? or may not be directly related to the purchasing decision at all. (Makower, 2011) This explains why, in the words of Brian Walker, the CEO of Herman Miller, ?we are not all wearing environmentally-friendly hemp shirts.? (Walker, 2008) It also explains why some major manufacturers are pulling back on producing or advertising green-for-the-sake-of-green products.
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ACTUAL GREEN MARKETING
Green marketing must satisfy two objectives; (1) improved environmental quality and (2) customer satisfaction. The concept of green marketing is the business practice which considers consumers concerns with regards to preservation and conservation of the natural environment (Coddington 1993). Green marketing has been previously and primarily focused on the ecological context has been shifted to more sustainability issues in the marketing efforts and main focus now is in socio-economic and environmental context (Zaman et al. 2010). Hence green market is identified as a part of market segments based on the greenness of the consumers (Simintiras et al. 1994).
Green advertising, like all other forms of advertising, should be truthful and not deceptive or misleading to reasonable consumers. The Federal Trade Commission has determined that consumers think the phrase please recycles on a product means that a product is recyclable. Hence if product or packaging bearing this phrase is not completely recyclable, the advertising message is deceptive. Vague claims that are open to varying interpretations are more likely to be deemed misleading. For example, a claim like zero carbon on a product could lead consumers to believe that no carbon dioxide is omitted during the production of the product, when in fact a company merely purchases credits to offset its carbon production. Other environmental claims like sustainable or green powered are also problematic because they are not clearly defined (Anderson 2009).
Vague generalized claims are also difficult to substantiate. For example, to substantiate a claim that a dress is sustainably produced could involve an in-depth analysis of every environmental impact associated with the materials of the dress, manufacture, and distribution.
Some cases company expresses the green advertising as like the following two statements (Anderson 2009): • My company‘s cloth bag is reusable and made from 100% recycled fibers. • This book is printed in the USA on recycled paper that contains 40% postconsumer waste.
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From the definition of green marketing we can express the following conditions of actual green marketing (Welling and Chavan 2010): • Manufacturer supply the products to the consumers which are of good quality and at the same time not harmful to them even in long run. • Use the resources for development in such a manner which will enable the future generations to avail the resources to meet their needs leading to Sustainable Development. • Framing and implementing policies which will not have any detrimental effect on the environment i.e., at present as well in future. Environmental marketing policy appears as green wash rather than green hope in the last decade (Lightfoot and Burchell, 2004).
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GOLDEN RULES OF GREEN MARKETING
1. Know you're 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 Journal of Engineering, Science and Management Education refrigerator because consumers dint know what CFCs were.).
2. 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.
3. 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..
4. 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.
5. 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.
6. Being Genuine & Transparent: means that
a) you are actually doing what you claim to be doing in your green marketing campaign and b) 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.
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The New Rules Checklist
Use the following checklist to test your understanding of the mainstreaming of green and the need for your business to respond now. ? ? Is there an awareness within our company of the true extent of environmentalism within society today? What are the top environmental issues of concern to our consumers? Shareholders? Employees? Suppliers? Retailers? Community? What is our top environmental risk? Is there a PVC, BPA, or other chemical scare lurking in our brand‘s future? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? What are the natural resources that our brands depend on – and what are the long-term projections for their availability? To which generations do our consumers belong and what are the unique ways in which they express their environmental and social concerns? To what extent do environmental issues affect the way consumers engage with our in our category in general? brand and the products To what extent are our consumers politically and socially active about environmental issues? How has environmentalism affected the shopping habits of our consumers? What types of greener products and services are our consumers buying these days? What are our competitors‘ key sustainability-oriented initiatives? To what extent are they introducing or possibly acquiring new sustainable brands? What are the key sources of sustainability-related information on which our consumers rely? Which environment-oriented legislators and legislative initiatives affect our business? What opportunities do we have to grow our sales and enhance our image through greener products and green marketing campaigns? What personal rewards in going green might be meaningful in enlisting the support of colleagues and stakeholders in our company‘s sustainability efforts?
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IMPORTANCE OF GREEN MARKETING
Economy of the world faces serious difficulties due to global warming, greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions (Mohajan 2011). Green marketing is in the focus of present marketing strategy due to the pressure that comes from inclined environmental awareness in the global climate change. Therefore, the marketers need to include a green approach in framing the marketing programmes. There are several suggested reasons for firms increased use of green marketing and some of them are as follows (Singh 2008): • organizations perceive environmental marketing to be an opportunity which can be used to achieve its objectives, • organizations believe that they have a moral obligation to be more socially responsible, • cost factors associated with waste disposal, or reductions in material usage forces firms to modify their behavior, • competitors environmental activities pressure firms to change their environmental marketing activities, and • governmental bodies are forcing firms to become more responsible.
In the 21st century consumers become more conscious about their safer and healthier lives and healthy environment. Obviously the customers always want to buy eco-friendly and environment harmless commodities for their daily lives.
In 2007 green marketing came in main stream of global business and it has captured the public consciousness. The best example of green marketing issues that helping to make environment safe and eco-friendly is from printing machines industries which are trying to be more greener by reducing emissions of Volatile Organic Compounds (VOCs), handling of contaminated water and toxic waste as well as tracking of inks, solvents and other chemicals (Chaudhary et al. 2011).
There are many opportunities of green marketing. Recently firms marketing goods with environmentally safe have realized a competitive advantage over firms marketing non-environmentally responsible alternatives.
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Some companies have found benefits for using green marketing technologies, for example the Xerox company introduced a high quality recycled photocopier paper in an attempt to satisfy the demands of firms for less environmentally harmful products, the Tuna company manufacturers modified their fishing techniques because of the increased concern over driftnet fishing, and the resulting death of dolphins and the McDonald’s company replaced its clam shell packaging with waxed paper because of increased consumer concern relating to polystyrene production and ozone depletion (Singh 2008).
The government of a country can stress to product green marketing commodities to reduce production of harmful goods or by-products, to modify consumer consumption of harmful goods. These governmental regulations are designed to control the amount of hazardous wastes produced by firms. Government can impose a tax on production or use of non-green marketing products.
For example, in Australia there is a higher gas tax associated with leaded petrol. A company can produce green marketing product to teach other companies the importance and demand of it. For example, it could be argued that Xerox‘s Revive 100% Recycled paper was introduced in the market a few years ago in an attempt to address the introduction of recycled photocopier paper by other manufacturers. The powerful
interpretation of the term green marketing comes from the National Institute of Building Sciences Whole Building Design Guide, which states that the majority of green products on the market today must (Defining Green Products 2010): • promote good indoor environmental quality (IEQ), t ypically through reduced or eliminated volatile organic compounds (VOC) emissions, • not contain chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs), halogenated chlorofluorocarbons (HCFCs), or other ozone depleting substances, • have low embodied energy (the total energy required to produce a finished product, including the energy used to grow, extract, manufacture, and transport to the point of use), • be durable and have low maintenance requirements, • incorporate recycled content, • be made using natural and renewable resources, • be easily reused, either whole or through disassembly,
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• not contain highly toxic compounds and not contribute to highly toxic by-products during the manufacturing process, • employ sustainable harvesting practices if wood or bio-based, • have been salvaged from existing or demolished buildings for reuse, • be able to be readily recycled, preferably in a closed-loop recycling system, which allows a manufactured product to be recycled into the same product without significant deterioration of quality, • be obtained from local resources and manufacturers, and • be biodegradable (Amatruda 2010).
Poorly conceived approaches to marketing are another reason why terms like green, sustainable, and environmentally friendly are misused, leading to greenwashing and confused, skeptical consumers. Peattie and Crane (2005) describe four critical issues that have ?dogged the development of green marketing? as follows: • Green marketing firms have ?frequently only used the environment as an additional promotional dimension without any attempt to analyze or modify the underlying product itself and its environmental impacts.? • ?Many firms have sought to address consumers‘ n eeds, but their interest in the environment has been limited to the marketing department, or the production department, or some other individual function. This has prevented firms from developing a broad, holistic approach to green marketing.? • ?Many companies have been enthusiastic about green marketing when it has involved short term cost savings… but lukewarm when it has come to investing money in order to develop more sustainable products and processes.? • ?Much green marketing activity also has focused on avoiding any significant change, and focusing instead on marginal, incremental improvements to existing products and processes? As our resources are limited but human needs and wants are unlimited, resources have to be utilized economically and in an environment friendly way. In this situation the green marketing will play an important role in sustainable development.
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MARKETING MIX OF GREEN MARKETING
As soon as a company come up with new innovations like eco friendly products, it can access new markets, enhance their market shares, and increase profits. Just as we have 4Ps product prices, place and promotion in marketing, we have 4ps in green marketing too, but they are a bit different. They are buttressed by three additional Ps, namely people, planet and profits.
PRODUCT
The products have to be developed depending on the needs of the customers who prefer environment friendly products. Products can be made from recycled materials or from used goods. Efficient products not only save water, energy and money, but also reduce harmful effects on the environment. Green chemistry forms the growing focus of product development. The marketer's role in product management includes providing product designers with market-driven trends and customer requests for green product attributes such as energy saving, organic, green chemicals, local sourcing, etc., For example, Nike is the first among the shoe companies to market itself as green.
PRICE
Green pricing takes into consideration the people, planet and profit in a way that takes care of the health of employees and communities and ensures efficient productivity. Value can be added to it by changing its appearance, functionality and through customization, etc. Wal-Mart unveiled its first recyclable cloth shopping bag. IKEA started charging consumers when they opted for plastic bags and encouraged people to shop using its "Big Blue Bag".
PLACE
Green place is about managing logistics to cut down on transportation emissions, thereby in effect aiming at reducing the carbon footprint. For example, instead of marketing an imported mango juice in India it can be licensed for local production. This avoids shipping of the product from far away, thus reducing shipping cost and more importantly, the consequent carbon emission by the ships and other modes of transport.
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PROMOTION
Green promotion involves configuring the tools of promotion, such as advertising, marketing materials, signage, white papers, web sites, videos and presentations by keeping people, planet and profits in mind. British petroleum (BP) displays gas station which its sunflower motif and boasts of putting money into solar power. Indian Tobacco Company has introduced environmental-friendly papers and boards, which are free of elemental chlorine.
Toyota is trying to push gas/electric hybrid technology into much of its product line. It is also making the single largest R&D investment in the every-elusive hydrogen car and promoting itself as the first eco-friendly car company. International business machines Corporation (IBM) has revealed a portfolio of green retail store technologies and services to help retailers improve energy efficiency in their IT operations.
Green marketer can attract customers on the basis of performance, money savings, health and convenience, or just plain environmental friendliness, so as to target a wide range of green consumers. Consumer awareness can be created by spreading the message among consumers about the benefits of environmental-friendly products. Positing of profiles related to green marketing on social networks creates awareness within and across online peer groups. Marketing can also directly target the consumers through advertisements for product such as energy saving compact fluorescent lamps, the battery –powered Reva car, etc.
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Issues in Green Marketing
Direct Green Marketing Issues
No one expects companies to be perfect, but
concealing an unsavory past is a sure recipe for green marketing failure. Similarly, companies should acknowledge their challenges and flaws; in fact, they can even be a focus of the companies‘ sustainability process and green marketing efforts (e.g., sustainability program next steps and difficult decisions). Companies should be wary, however, of setting unrealistic expectations or making green promises they cannot keep.
Indirect Green Marketing Issues
Engaging with third party sustainability reporting websites and services is, by its very nature, a disclosure-intensive endeavor. The information that companies provide is often included in sustainability rankings or otherwise disclosed in whole, or in part, to the public. If a company is publicly traded, it should consult with legal counsel prior to entering any significant data or other information on disclosure websites.
Voluntary disclosure websites are designed to elicit detailed responses on corporate sustainability efforts; companies should be aware of the possibility of employees accidentally disclosing confidential or proprietary information. Of course, disclosing incorrect or misleading information could result in greenwashing claims or liability. Also, companies should bear in mind that disclosure of their sustainability data and programs will allow them to be publicly ranked relative to competitors. Often this is a good thing, but if a company is lagging competitors or public perception in important areas, then its green marketing plan should be tailored accordingly – a good plan to improve sustainability performance goes a long way toward repairing an otherwise poor report.
For many companies, these concerns are not applicable. Even if they are, addressing them is usually as simple as vetting disclosures. To do this, companies should consult with their marketing or legal personnel to the extent the risks warrant. Independent sustainability consulting firms can also be of great help in many situations.
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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 nostandardization to authenticate these claims. There is nostandardization currently in place to certify a product asorganic. Unless some regulatory bodies are involved in providing the certifications there will not be any verifiablemeans. A standard quality control board needs to be in placefor such labeling and licensing.
New Concept
Indian literate and urban consumer is getting more awareabout the merits of Green products. But it is still a newconcept for the masses. The consumer needs to be educatedand made aware of the environmental threats. The new greenmovements need to reach the masses and that will take a lot of time and effort. By India's ayurvedic heritage, Indianconsumers do appreciate the importance of using natural andherbal beauty products. Indian consumer is exposed tohealthy living lifestyles such as yoga and natural foodconsumption. In those aspects the consumer is already awareand will be inclined to accept the green products.
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The Seven Sins of Greenwashing
1. Sin of the Hidden Trade-off: committed by suggesting a product is ?green?
based on an unreasonably narrow set of attributes without attention to other important environmental issues. Paper, for example, is not necessarily environmentally-preferable just because it comes from a sustainably-harvested forest. Other important environmental issues in the paper-making process, including energy, greenhouse gas emissions, and water and air pollution, may be equally or more significant.
2. Sin of No Proof: committed by an environmental claim that cannot be substantiated
by easily accessible supporting information or by a reliable third-party certification. Common examples are tissue products that claim various percentages of post-consumer recycled content without providing any evidence.
3. Sin of Vagueness: committed by every claim that is so poorly defined or broad that
its real meaning is likely to be misunderstood by the consumer. ?All -natural? is an example. Arsenic, uranium, mercury, and formaldehyde are all naturally occurring, and poisonous. ?All natural? isn‘t necessarily ?green.?
4. Sin of Irrelevance: committed by making an environmental claim that may be
truthful but is unimportant or unhelpful for consumers seeking environmentally preferable products. ?CFC-free? is a common example, since it is a frequent claim despite the fact that CFCs are banned by law.
5. Sin of Lesser of Two Evils: committed by claims that may be true within the
product category, but risk distracting the consumer from the greater environmental impacts of the category as a whole. Organic cigarettes might be an example of this category, as might be fuel-efficient sport-utility vehicles.
6. Sin of Fibbing: this least frequent sin is committed by making environmental claims
that are simply false. The most common examples are products that falsely claim to be Energy Star certified or registered.
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7. Sin of Worshiping False Labels: committed by a product that, through either
words or images, gives the impression of third-party endorsement where no such endorsement actually exists; fake labels, in other words.
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How you will communicate to your customers that you are “green”?
The main message is to explain to them and to show them in practice that you care about the environment. Many people think that most of SMEs based around Industrial Areas or Eco – Industrial Parks produce a lot of waste, deplete water resources and do not care about environmental deterioration, etc. Now you - as a member of the administrative personnel of such an enterprise or Industrial Area - would have to prove your responsibility to the environment with actions.
The main problem faced by most entrepreneurs is that you develop many green initiatives but either you do not communicate them or you do not recognize them as "green" in order to communicate them. Could it be that you are "green" and you do not know it; Here are some examples of simple "green" practices.
Examples of simple “green” practices
? ? ? ? ? ? Saving water Saving energy through several ways Use energy that comes from renewable resources Avoid waste & environmental pollution Reduced use of chemicals and raw materials that aren‘t environmentally friendly Have a proper policy and commitment to the environment
If any of the above examples is one of your business practice you should inform your clients. The next big question is how? But of course by creating your own Marketing Plan. Read the following chapter and you will know the basic steps.
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Create your own Marketing Plan
Before starting the implementation of your marketing plan, organize it step by step. Start by defining your mission statement.
Step 1: Define your mission statement
Before you start anything take the plunge for exactly what you want to do. The mission/scope of your company is the beginning of your marketing strategy. You must be clear on what you want to do. The entrepreneurial initiative belongs to you and, based on that, you will be able to follow the next steps of building your marketing plan . But what is the purpose of your mission statement? Not only to communicate your business competitive advantage but also your green business competitive advantage such as: • To express the responsibility of your business • Present your environmental commitment • Express a high priority on the needs and satisfaction of your customers • Provide information to regulate activities for your business • Provide motivation and convince your employees If you define this then you can learn about your customer profile .
Step 2: Learn about your customers
Marketing involves finding out what the customer wants and matching your products to meet those requirements, and in the process making a profit out of it. The basic step is to analyze the current situation. This analysis is a thorough assessment of "where you are now", relying more on facts and not on regulatory proposals (what you should do to turn green or how to shape in the near future). It consists of separate analysis of internal (resources and capabilities) and external (competitors, consumers) factors of your enterprise or the cluster of enterprises that you are responsible for. The analysis of external factors (i.e. customer analysis) should be directed towards understanding the current situation along with the trends that allow the prediction of future policies of your products.
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The analysis of internal factors (i.e. product, geographical sales analysis) is easier, since the necessary data are usually available directly from your SME‘s files themselves. Every SME or EIP should collect the following information in order to be aware of the marketing environment and to easily comprehend how they should focus to their ?markets - targets?. The internal and external factors of analysis are explained in the following paragraphs.
In the General Analysis of the sales, the figures can answer to questions like: What share of the green market products your enterprise has? What are the conclusions drawn from the comparison of the ?green? sales of your enterprise with the ?green? sales throughout the enterprise? Does the market share of your SME‘s green products increases or decreases? The most important factors of market that must be analyzed are: Total market size, market share of green industry in the total market, growth rate of green industry sales, Cyclicality and seasonality of green products, profitability of green industry. Additionally, the following factors of the industry should also be examined: capacity of green industry, entry ?barriers? for new competitors to come, bargaining power of green supplies and buyers, etc.
Finally, the monitoring of the environment of your enterprise improves their capacity to deal with frequent and drastic environmental changes. Of course, every enterprise in order to be realistic should analyze their competitors in the following issues: Which is their financial status, their current market share, their goals, their strategy and their major strengths and weaknesses and how they are likely to change and what is their ability to: a. conceive and design new green products b. produce or manufacture green products c. promote and advertise green products on the market In the Customer Analysis of sales, you must identify and reach for ?green? customers, as well as ?green? consumers in general where sales did not reach the level of provisions. The information you should get is acquired from external factors. In this level it is important to understand who are your current customers and the potential customers for your green products, how they can be classified and what classification of those consumers is the most important for you and your competitors today and in the future.
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The Product Analysis of sales has as a specific objective to find out the problematic, in terms of sales, product types and decide (problematic product types, in terms of sales and to decide) what products need to be withdrawn from market, so as their productivity line will become profitable and this is an internal factor of analysis.
The Geographical Analysis of sales, which is the most common type of sales analysis, has a goal to record the sales by geographic areas (internal factor also):-
Analysis of Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, Threats (SWOT Analysis) After analyzing the basic factors that are crucial for your SME (or EIP), in order to identify possible problems and opportunities for its components‘ green development, you should proceed in explaining how these factors could be categorized. This categorization is required of SMEs to identify their priorities. The SWOT analysis affected the idea that good strategy means ensuring a good ?match? between the external situations of your enterprise (that is opportunities and threats) and its internal capacities and characteristics (that is its strengths and weaknesses). The Swot analysis method is the main tool used from the marketers, in order to choose among different paths, the most appropriate strategic options that can be implemented.
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Example of SWOT Analysis Matrix of an enterprise having adopted a green marketing strategy:
STRENGTHS ? Energy Saving ? Quality image ? Better working conditions WEAKNESSES ? ?Green? strategies are high cost investments and may be no liquidity for adopting them ? Certain green strategies have a long-term projection to the enterprises profit
THREATS OPPORTUNITIES ? The international financial ? Better enterprise Image instability generates a need to ? Increase of green sales reduce the cost of products – ? Gain new consumers and possibility of green products increase market share reduce of sales ? Gain profitability (Increased ? Local markets must follow the profitability) green international trends ? Possibility of third person otherwise will be isolated and funding lose share of the consumers ? The implementation of green marketing strategies must be accurate otherwise through media a possible mistake can be widely spread
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The strengths and weaknesses concern the enterprise and its internal environment or its key relations with suppliers, intermediates and clients (micro-environment). The emphasis is on what you can do better than their competitors, in order to better satisfy a customer need or desire. Instead, weaknesses turn out to be ?restrictions? for the operation. However, you can and should seek to convert these weaknesses into strengths and even abilities by strategically investing in key areas and by effectively connecting several key areas.
SWOT Analysis Matrix of an SME in comparison with Bigger Enterprises
STRENGTHS WEAKNESSES ? Can be more flexible on ? The competitors with better decision making turnover, profitability, market share and know-how, have ? Flexible working practices greater ability of adopting ? Produces its products ?green? strategies domestically and can control its ? The competitors have better quality most essentially distribution networks ? Can be more flexible on pricing ? Bigger enterprise can spend policy more on communication, advertising and promotion strategies
OPPORTUNITIES THREATS ? With respective investment on ? Foreign competitors can Green strategies an SME could construct a new gain a competitive advantage ? facility of the latest technology ? The company merged with with another increases the number ? radical elements of innovation of potential customers in the ? An SME could exploit easier ? country – the EIP‘s and better the dynamic of headquarters innovative ideas ? Declining trend on market size ? An SME can focus on niche markets
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Based on the Swot analysis results we can conclude in which points your SME or EIP is strong and where is not. And based on that, the next step would be the ability to meet more effectively the client‘s needs than these of its competitors. Being aware of the profile of the consumers you want to target and the restrictions imposed by the answers to the above criteria, will make you have a detailed picture of which may lead your SME or EIP to the next step of ?being Green?.
Step 3: Develop your own Marketing Strategy
When all the quantitative and qualitative data concerning your customers has been collected you are ready to answer the main question ?where do we wish to go?? and "how to get where we want". Depending on that answer, you must decide and design both your marketing strategy as well as your action plans. These actions can be targeted to sales targets, profit, market share, target markets, etc. They should be achievable, measurable, quantified and reported in a given timeframe. Thus, the EIPs develop strategies which are implemented either separately from each other, or all together, so they can create a ?Green? Portfolio. We can divide this Portfolio into 2 main critical axes: The first analyzes the possible actions concerning the green functional structure and fixed equipment, while the second one analyzes the actions concerning the “greenisation” of the products of your Products.
Actions for the Development of your Green Structures & Improvement of the Production Process
These actions have been aiming at the creation of green protocols within the Industrial Area, for efficient and less costly use of energy resources, for the respect of environment and for the saving of energy of the enterprises. If there is no commitment from all the enterprises established in the Industrial Area, there is an increased risk of inappropriate functioning of the entire Industrial Area and a high failure rate for this operation. The ?green? commitment must be in both economically and in human f actors and can be achieved through the following initiatives:
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?
Creation of green guidelines manufacturing protocol:
The green manufacturing protocol includes indicative list of green material that can be used in order to more eco-friendly buildings (energy saving). The use of environmentally efficient hardware and software that minimizes energy consumption and waste pollution is the implementation of green manufacturing. ? Guidelines creation for management green equipment, in order to increase the energy efficiency of the management equipment, both at the workplace and at the storage facilities. ? Creation of motives for the use of Renewable Energy Sources (RES): The use of RES systems is highly recommended but in order to be adopted it has to be followed by economical alleviation. You should really consider the possibility of combining heat and power energy. This strategy relies on the simultaneous production of exploitable electricity and heat energy from the same source. ? Creation of effective waste management standards based on the integration of techniques and processes designed to produce less waste using appropriate infrastructure and on the materials reuse, as a strategy that eliminates waste, reduces the cost of their deposition and saves energy and materials that can be reused as raw materials. ? Implementation of green policies regarding the logistics: Base them on environmental standards and certifications. This can be achieved in two ways; the first concerns the improvement of conventional and widely used technologies. The second major category concerns new, "exotic" technologic developments. Another green policy regarding the logistics can be planned and implemented through the creation of green transport and logistics and can be achieved through the design of a green network, which will take account of the effects of locating production plants and distribution centers, compared to the operator system emissions. ? Development of green corporate culture protocols for the employees: That can be succeeded through lifelong education of employees in every green initiative, new energy strategy and product innovation made by the board of the Industrial Area or the EIP.
Although the above initiatives are sufficient and cost saving, require high commitment of resources. That‘s why most enterprises resort to the following actions, which can be implemented in less time and with less economical support from investors.
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Actions for the Development of your Image & for the Integration of Ecological Standards.
Firstly, is the science that unifies different branches of similar academic interest to develop efficient and environmentally friendly processes and products. Secondly, the intensity of knowledge, in order to create more green value when eco-content is added to products and services. Thirdly, productivity gains certifications through specific Environmental Management standards. The first two factors denatured through the development of CSR programs and the third factor that concerns strategies for improving productivity through processes leading to certified environmental standards will be analyzed in the following. ? Corporate Social Responsibility
Among the most frequently used information tools on CSR include product labels, packaging, press relations / media, the news bulletins, thematic events, exhibitions, posters, flyers, brochures , the brochures, websites, advertisements, information packs, or simply advertising by word of mouth. In short, effective communication requires to become all they can to ensure that the public - goal really got the message. ? Environmental Management Standards
Another way to achieve an eco-friendly identity is to follow a total of Environmental Management Standards. The most widely used global standard for environmental management is ISO 14001 which can be applied to all enterprises regardless of size and type or EMAS (Eco Management and Audit Scheme) which is a European Union mechanism certifing organizations that improve their environmental performance on an ongoing basis.
Development of Actions concerning your Products
Although, the marketing mix of a product can be composed by various elements, the ?4Ps? has been established as the most important. The 4Ps elements are the product, the price, the promotion and the placement. You should focus in these 4 elements when creating your green marketing strategy.
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A. Green Product Green Products and Services are those that can create criteria to reduce negative impacts on the environment, health climate and natural resources. There are no standard specifications on what exactly makes a product green. Some general guidelines/examples conclude that a green product: • Does not present a dangerous impact to people or animals • Is efficient in its use of resources during manufacture, use, and disposal • Does not contribute to excessive waste in its use or packaging. Other favorable attributes from the ?green? point of view are the incorporation of recycled materials into the product and the products own recyclability.
B. Green Pricing A very important factor is the pricing of green products, because the majority of them are more expensive than the conventional ones. A number of enterprises, even Small – Medium Enterprises (SMEs) have undertaken audits of their production processes to identify hidden environmental costs and to provide better information for pricing decisions.
C. Green Promotion The green marketing promotion needs the most attention. Because it is the factor that helps you reduce consumer confusion and educate them to understand terms such as recyclable, environmentally friendly, etc. You should focus in four general green promotional guidelines concerning the product in general: a. Qualifications and disclosures should be sufficiently clear. b. Environmental claims should make clear whether they apply to the product, the package, or a component of either. c. You should avoid implying a significant environmental benefit where the benefit is, in fact, negligible. d. A claim comparing the environmental attributes of one product with those of another product should make the basis for the comparison sufficiently clear and should be substantiated.
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D. Green Placement / Distribution The biggest problem of our time on the product distribution is the increased costs due to increased fuel and increasing transport costs. This in itself creates further issues to be resolved regarding the creation of green policy distribution. Package redesign for lighter weight and / or greater recyclability reduces waste while simultaneously reducing costs. The above guidelines have been evolved by the years following the technological progress of the products. In that way, we have added new terms of characterizing the green products such as Eco-labeling and Eco-sponsoring.
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Resent trends in Green Marketing in INDIA
Organizations are Perceive Environmental marketing asan Opportunity to achieve its objectives. Firms haverealized that consumers prefer products that do not harmthe natural environment as also the human health. Firmsmarketing such green products are preferred over theothers not doing so and thus develop a competitiveadvantage, simultaneously meeting their business objectives. Organizations believe they have a moral obligation to bemore socially responsible.
This
is
in
keeping
with
the philosophy
of CSR which has been successfully adopted by many business houses to improve their c orporateimage. 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 forcesthe 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.
Inorder 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
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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.
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REASONS OF ADOPTING GREEN MARKETING BY THE FIRMS
Green marketing has been widely adopted by the firms worldwide and the following are the possible reasons cited for this wide adoption:
1. Opportunities - As demand changes, many firms see these changes as an
opportunity to exploit and have a competitive advantage over firms marketing nonenvironmentally 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.
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Tuna manufacturers modified their fishing techniques because of the increased concern over driftnet fishing, and the resulting death of dolphins.
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. ?
Xerox introduced a "high quality" recycled photocopier paper in an attempt to satisfy the demands of firms for less environmentally harmful products.
2. Government Pressure - As with all marketing related activities, governments want
to "protect" consumer and society; this protection has significant green marketing implications. Government regulations relating to environmental marketing are designed to protect consumers in several ways,
1. Reduce production of harmful goods or by-products Modify consumer and industry's use and/or consumption of harmful goods
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2. Ensure that all types of consumers have the ability to evaluate the environmental composition of goods. Government establish regulations designed to control the amount of hazardous wastes produced by firms.
3. Competitive Pressure - Another major force in the environmental marketing area
has been firms' desire to maintain their competitive position. In many cases firms observe competitors promoting their environmental 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 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.
An example of a firm that does not promote its environmental initiative 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.
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5. Cost of Profit Issues - Firms may also use green marketing in an attempt to
address cost or profit related issues. Disposing of environmentally harmful byproducts, 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 reexamine 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.
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Green Marketing cases
Interestingly, green marketing continues to be an issue of 5 global interest. In fact, Google Trends reports that, on a relative basis, more searches for ?green marketing? originated from India than from any other country.
Rank Country 1. India 2. UK 3. US 4. Thailand 5. Australia 6. Canada 7. China Many companies are adopting green for capturing market opportunity of green marketing some cases
EXAMPLE 1 : Best Green IT Project: State Bank of India: Green IT@SBI
By using eco and power friendly equipment in its 10,000 new ATMs, the banking giant has not only saved power costs and earned carbon credits, but also set the right example for others to follow. SBI is also entered into green service known as ?Green Channel Counter?. SBI is providing many services like; paper less banking, no deposit slip, no withdrawal form, no checks, no money transactions form all these transaction are done through SBI shopping & ATM cards. State Bank of India turns to wind energy to reduce emissions: The State Bank of India became the first Indian bank to harness wind energy through a 15-megawatt wind farm developed by Suzlon Energy. The wind farm located in Coimbatore uses 10 Suzlon wind turbines, each with a capacity of 1.5 MW. The wind farm is spread across three states – Tamil Nadu, with 4.5 MW of wind capacity; Maharashtra, with 9 MW; and Gujarat, with 1.5 MW. The wind project is the first step in the State Bank of India's green banking program dedicated to the reduction of its carbon footprint and promotion of energy efficient processes, especially among the bank's clients.
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EXAMPLE 2 : Lead Free Paints from Kansai Nerolac
Kansai Nerolac Paints Ltd. has always been committed to the welfare of society and environment and as a responsible corporate has always taken initiatives in the areas of health, education, community development and environment preservation. Kansai Nerolac has worked on removing hazardous heavy metals from their paints. The hazardous heavy metals like lead, mercury, chromium, arsenic and antimony can have adverse effects on humans. Lead in paints especially poses danger to human health where it can cause damage to Central Nervous System, kidney and reproductive system. Children are more prone to lead poisoning leading to lower intelligence levels and memory loss.
EXAMPLE 3 : Indian Oil's Green Agenda Green Initiatives
? Indian Oil is fully geared to meet the target of reaching EURO-III compliant fuels to all parts of the country by the year 2010; major cities will upgrade to Euro-IV compliant fuels by that time. ? ? ? ? ? Indian Oil has invested about Rs. 7,000 crore so far in green fuel projects at its refineries; ongoing projects account for a further Rs. 5,000 crore. Motor Spirit Quality Improvement Unit commissioned at Mathura Refinery; similar units are coming up at three more refineries. Diesel quality improvement facilities in place at all seven Indian Oil refineries, several more green fuel projects are under implementation or on the anvil. The R&D Centre of Indian Oil is engaged in the formulations of eco-friendly biodegradable lube formulations. The Centre has been certified under ISO-14000:1996 for environment
management systems.
GREEN FUEL ALTERNATIVES In the country's pursuit of alternative sources of energy, Indian Oil is focusing on CNG (compressed natural gas), Auto gas (LPG), ethanol blended petrol, bio-diesel, and Hydrogen energy.
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EXAMPLE 4 : India's 1st Green Stadium
The Thyagaraja Stadium stands tall in the quiet residential colony behind the Capital's famous INA Market. It was jointly dedicated by Union Sports Minister MS Gill and Chief Minister Sheila Dikshit on Friday. Journal of Engineering, Science and Management Education Dikshit said that the stadium is going to be the first green stadium in India, which has taken a series of steps to ensure energy conservation and this stadium has been constructed as per the green building concept with eco-friendly materials.
EXAMPLE 5: Eco-friendly Rickshaws before CWG
Chief minister Shiela Dikshit launched on Tuesday a battery operated rickshaw, ?E-rick?, sponsored by a cellular services provider, to promote eco-friendly transportation in the city ahead of the Commonwealth Games.
EXAMPLE 6 : Wipro Green It.
Wipro can do for you in your quest for a sustainable tomorrow - reduce costs, reduce your carbon footprints and become more efficient - all while saving the environment.
Wipro's Green Machines (In India Only) Wipro Infotech was India's first company to launch environment friendly computer peripherals. For the Indian market, Wipro has launched a new range of desktops and laptops called Wipro Greenware. These products are RoHS (Restriction of Hazardous Substances) compliant thus reducing e-waste in the environment.
EXAMPLE 7 : Agartala to be India's first Green City
Tripura Sunday announced plans to make all public and private vehicles in Agartala run on compressed natural gas (CNG) by 2013, thus making the capital ?India's first green city?. Tripura Natural Gas Co Ltd (TNGCL), a joint venture of the Gas Authority of India Ltd (GAIL) and the Tripura and Assam governments, has undertaken a project to supply CNG to all private and government vehicles.CNG will also be available to those now using electricity, petrol and diesel to run various machineries. TNGCL chairman Pabitra Kar told reporters. He said: ?The company will soon provide PNG connections to 10,000 new domestic consumers in the city and outskirts. Agartala will be the first city in India within the next three years to become a green city.
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EXAMPLE 8 : Going Green: Tata's new mantra
The ideal global benchmark though is 1.5. Tata Motors is setting up an eco-friendly showroom using natural building material for its flooring and energy efficient lights. Tata Motors said the project is at a preliminary stage. The Indian Hotels Company, which runs the Taj chain, is in the process of creating eco rooms which will have energyefficient mini bars, organic bed linen and napkins made from recycled paper. But there won't be any carpets since chemicals are used to clean those. And when it comes to illumination, the rooms will have CFLs or LEDs. About 5% of the total rooms at a Taj hotel would sport a chic eco-room design. One of the most interesting innovations has come in the form of a biogas-based power plant at Taj Green Cove in Kovalam, which uses the waste generated at the hotel to meet its cooking requirements. Another eco-friendly consumer product that is in the works is Indica EV, an electric car that will run on polymer lithium ion batteries. Tata Motors plans to introduce the Indica EV in select European markets this year.
Phillips's "Marathon" CFL lightbulb
Philips Lighting's first shot at marketing a standalone compact fluorescent light (CFL) bulb was Earth Light, at $15 each versus 75 cents for incandescent bulbs. The product had difficulty climbing out of its deep green niche. The company re-launched the product as "Marathon," underscoring its new "super long life" positioning and promise of saving $26 in energy costs over its five-year lifetime. Finally, with the U.S. EPA's Energy Star label to add credibility as well as new sensitivity to rising utility costs and electricity shortages, sales climbed 12 percent in an otherwise flat market.
Jamie Oliver
Jamie Oliver is a chef who educates the American about what they eat; he conducted a campaign through TV show that aired on ABC that show has all the real-life appeal that drives viewers to watch reality programs – along with the story of a man on a mission usually reserved for documentary films. Along the way, the show is Rapidly Becoming a brilliant case study in social marketing and how to change beliefs. The last episode aired this past week Jamie Showed making a bet with DJ a local radio in Huntington that could get 1000 people in the city to cook healthy in 5 days. Over the first few episodes, you also saw Jamie helping school ?lunch ladies? to the make healthier food
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for schoolchildren and working with a small group of high school students on reinventing their lunch menus. Jamie Oliver can give you an example; the kinds of green marketing that not only do the modification in terms of introducing hybrid products that are eco friendly but also educational tool that educates viewers or consumers with a better lifestyle.
Toyota
Prices and specifications as the Toyota Prius hybrid cars are relatively higher than conventional cars fuel oil (BBM), because this eco friendly technology is still relatively new in the world even though. The concept car was developed in Japan when 1997 as a response to concerns about the high society world that global warming is caused by high carbon dioxide released by motor vehicles. Toyota Prius concept car is using petrol and electric power sources. With the technology of course this car more fuel efficient and most importantly, lower exhaust emissions and eco friendly. Be some related awards that have been achieved by Toyota Prius was certified as super ultra-low emission vehicle (SULEV) from the California Air Resources Board and the Advanced Technology Partial Zero Emission Vehicle or vehicles with nearzero emissions levels, from the same agency. This car was also named the Best Car America in 2004 and Europe in 2005 Best Cars.
Timberland LLC
Timberland LLC is a US-based global manufacturer and retailer of outdoors wear with a focus on footwear. Timberland footwear is popular for hiking, mountaineering, and casual wear. The Company also sells apparel such as clothes, watches, glasses and leather goods. In 2007, Timberland was named the 78th best employer in the US on the CNN Money ?One hundred best companies to work for? list. Timberland is a strong proponent of corporate social responsibility. (Source: Wikipedia) As you already know from the information provided by the Wikipedia, Timberland is a company that does have a purpose for corporate social responsibility, so it is not surprising that timberland campaign which I will discuss this time doing green marketing campaign, but this time timberland make the uniquely campaign named with eartkeeper
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who have to goal of recruiting one million people up to become part of an online network designed to inspire environmental change. A new Earth keeper product collection has also been unveiled.
Method
Method Products (branded as method) is a San Francisco-based corporation which produces nontoxic, biodegradable natural cleaning supplies with a focus on minimalist product design. Among the company‘s first products was an hourglass -shaped bottle of dish soap, designed by Karim Rashid. The company was founded in 2001 by Eric Ryan, a designer and marketer, and Adam Lowry, a chemical engineer. In 2006, Inc. magazine named Method the 7th fastest-growing private company in the United States. Method has gained recognition for its commitment to sustainability, including taking innovative steps to measure and reduce its carbon footprint. In September 2012, Ecover, the Belgian manufacturer of green cleaning products bought Method. Both brands are all gross sales of approximately $ 200 million. (Source: Wikipedia) Modifications made to the method similar to the two products above, he developed a product that can ensure the cleanliness but still love nature, without leaving a trace that can damage the environment. This method of green marketing focus to offering quality products that is not inferior to other products but have the advantage of being able to preserve the environment. All of Method‘s bottles are completely recyclable and made from 100% recycled plastic. The design of the packages Themselves is scored against Method‘s very own ?green card? program that ensures roommates considers the recyclability of packaging design, packaging weight, reusability and compost ability. As you already know, Starbucks is a coffee shop that have go international, Starbucks always brings something else that can attract customers, such his campaign this time I think this unique, the theme is encourage consumers to do planting, painting and sweep the streets for street.
Car sharing services.
Car-sharing services address the longer-term solutions to consumer needs for better fuel savings and fewer traffic tie-ups and parking nightmares, to complement the environmental benefit of more open space and reduction of greenhouse gases. They may be thought of as a "time-sharing" system for cars. Consumers who drive less than 7,500
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miles a year and do not need a car for work can save thousands of dollars annually by joining one of the many services springing up, including Zipcar (East Coast), I-GO Car (Chicago), and Hour Car (Twin Cities).
Electronics sector.
The consumer electronics sector provides room for using green marketing to attract new customers. One example of this is HP's promise to cut its global energy use 20 percent by the year 2010. To accomplish this reduction below 2005 levels, The Hewlett-Packard Company announced plans to deliver energy-efficient products and services and institute energy-efficient operating practices in its facilities worldwide.
Products and services.
Now companies are offering more eco-friendly alternatives for their customers. Recycled products for example, are one of the most popular alternatives that can benefit the environment. These benefits include sustainable forestry, clean air, energy efficiency, water conservation, and a healthy office. One example, is the E-commerce business and office supply company Shoplet which offers a web tool that allows you to replace similar items in your shopping cart with greener products.
Introduction of CNG in Delhi.
New Delhi, capital of India, was being polluted at a very fast pace until Supreme Court of India forced a change to alternative fuels. In 2002, a directive was issued to completely adopt CNG in all public transport systems to curb pollution.
Advantages of CNG
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CNG does not contain any lead, thereby eliminating fouling of spark plugs (unleaded fuel is lead free, but still can cause plugs to foul).
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CNG-powered vehicles have lower maintenance costs than other hydrocarbon-fuelpowered vehicles.
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? ?
CNG fuel systems are sealed, preventing fuel losses from spills or evaporation. Increased life of lubricating oils, as CNG does not contaminate and dilute the crankcase oil.
? ?
Being a gaseous fuel, CNG mixes easily and evenly in air. CNG is less likely to ignite on hot surfaces, since it has a high auto-ignition temperature (540 °C), and a narrow range (5–15 percent) offlammability.
?
Less pollution and more efficiency: CNG emits significantly fewer pollutants (e.g., carbon dioxide (CO2), unburned hydrocarbons (UHC),carbon
monoxide (CO), nitrogen oxides (NOx), sulfur oxides (SOx) and PM (particulate matter) than petrol. For example, an engine running on petrol for 100 km emits 22 kilograms of CO2, while covering the same distance on CNG emits only 16.3 kilograms of CO2. CNG is essentially methane (CH4), which has a calorific value of 900 kJ/mol. This burns with oxygen to produce 1 mole of CO2 and 2 moles of H2O. By comparison, petrol can be regarded as essentially benzene (C6H6) with a calorific value of about 3,300 kJ/mol, which burns to produce 6 moles of CO2 and 3 moles of H2O. From this, it can be seen that per mole of CO2 produced, CNG releases more than 1.6 times as much energy as that released from petrol (said another way: for the same amount of energy, CNG produces nearly 40 percent less CO2). The corresponding figures are 78 and 25.8 grams, respectively, for nitrogen oxides. Carbon monoxide emissions are reduced even further. Due to lower carbon dioxide and nitrogen oxides emissions, switching to CNG can help mitigate greenhouse gas emissions. The ability of CNG to reduce greenhouse gas emissions over the entire fuel lifecycle will depend on the source of the natural gas and the fuel it is replacing. The lifecycle greenhouse gas emissions for CNG compressed from California's pipeline natural gas is given a value of 67.70 grams of CO2-equivalent per megajoule(gCO2e/MJ) by CARB (the California Air Resources Board), approximately 28 percent lower than the average gasoline fuel in that market (95.86 gCO2e/MJ). CNG produced from landfill biogas was found by CARB to have the lowest greenhouse gas emissions of any fuel analyzed, with a value of 11.26 gCO 2e/MJ (more than 88 percent lower than conventional gasoline) in the low-carbon fuel standard that went into effect on January 12, 2010.
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CNG-powered vehicles are considered to be safer than gasoline-powered vehicles.
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Tourism Devel opme nt Projec ts in M exico that are using “green” market ing:
La Concha Pearl La Paz ?saves 42% on energy costs?. ?is aiming for LEED Gold? ?Energy efficient technologies with plenty of open space?. ?60% of lots for vegetation, compost bin and nursery, recycled water/waste water treatment installed for irrigation Water recycling, Homeowner Association dues will offset carbon emissions from travel to the area, landscaping is 80% edible or medicinal, co-housing design, engaged in community. Passive solar, and water recycling, energy-efficient construction, and golf carts in place of vehicles The largest solar community in North America (3000 homesites). Straw-bale construction available. Golf course uses salt-tolerant grass requiring less fresh water; recycled water for irrigation. 50% of the land for green space; 100% retention of native plants for landscaping. Charitable golf tournaments raise funds for local groups. All food is planned to be sourced from local organic produce. The
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Colina del Sol
Los Barriles
Ola Brisa
Todos Santos
Real de Santa Ana
Todos Santos
El Dorado Ranch
San Felipe
Playa de La Paz
La Paz
project‘s environmentally conscious philosophy includes a ?sensitivity about nature.? Villages at Loreto Bay Nopolo Grants 1% of its net profits to local charitable organizations -$1.2 million since 2004. This project changed hands in 2008 and the commitment of the owners to the sustainability features is unknown. Turtle sanctuary and archaeological protection on-site. Solar energy and solar thermal. Permaculture. Water conservation. Recycled and local products. Commitment to 1% of profits back to community.
Playa Viva
Zihuatenejo
Los Arboles Tulum
Riviera Maya
95% of each property is open space. Housing compact specifies ?green? building requirements and environmental safeguards. No introduction of non-native flora. On-site ?green building? expert.
Paraiso del Mar
La Paz
Electric boats transport guests to downtown La Paz, reclaimed water for irrigation, 50% of site plan is preserved.
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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 CLAIM ? Employ environmental product and consumer benefit claims that are specific and meaningful.
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?
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.
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Conclusion
The sustainability movement may ebb and flow, but it is here to stay. Each company, regardless of its industry, should consider integrating sustainability into its business strategy. Those that do will seek recognition of their efforts. These companies should consider green marketing, keeping in mind that green marketing is not a cure-all for boosting sales. Companies should remember that there is no universal green marketing strategy. At all times, companies engaged in green marketing should structure their efforts to minimize greenwashing risks.
Many companies might find the frameworks in this paper helpful as they formulate green marketing plans. These companies will analyze their internal sustainability characteristics and external sustainability influences and identify themselves as industry-leaders, industry-competent, or industry-basic companies. This self-evaluation will, in turn, assist them in identifying the most appropriate tools for implementing green marketing. Some companies will determine that qualifying for a certain certification or complying with certain standards should be part of their plan. These companies should consider the credibility, applicability, and feasibility selection framework discussed in this paper when they make their decisions. Green marketing is not overly complicated or risky for the companies that give it the attention it deserves early on in the planning stages.
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