Green Marketing – The Need of the Hour
Countries all over the world have been affected by environmental dilapidation, which has made our planet vulnerable and susceptible to natural and man-made disasters. Environmental preservation and sustainability are key issues that we cannot afford to ignore in today’s day and age.
By Prof Sangeeta Sahney
Realization of the need for environmentally responsible business practices as well as a growing consciousness among people to behave in a more socially responsible manner has earned two kinds of responses. One, companies have begun to adopt green practices either voluntarily to build brand image, create goodwill, and gain the patronage of environmentally conscious customers, or statutorily due to laws passed by the government and policies promulgated by the various policy makers and stakeholders. Two, there is a move towards adoption of eco-friendly products or environmental friendly products, often termed as green products.
- Green Product
- Green Consumption
- Green Purchase
Green Product
The greenness of a product is defined in terms of the raw material used to manufacture a product, the manufacturing processes used to transform the raw material into a final product, as well as the purchase, usage and disposal of the final product by the consumer, and hence, in absolute terms, there is nothing that can be identified as a purely green product.
Yet, there is a move towards minimizing the environmental impact during the various stages of their life cycle, be it pre-usage, during usage, and post-usage.
Green Consumption
Green consumption is on the rise, and there is a boost towards adoption of green marketing by companies worldwide. Green marketing is a concept that emerged majorly in the 1980s, which involves production and marketing of environmentally safe products. It is termed variedly as ecological marketing, environmental marketing, or sustainable marketing.
While the movement has gained huge momentum in Europe and USA, the growth and propagation has been slow in Asia. Nevertheless, a large number of companies in India dealing with both consumer markets and industrial markets have adopted green marketing. A major challenge faced by such companies is the “newness” of the concept. In India, the awareness for environmental friendly products is low and people often get confused with terms like ‘green’, ‘eco-friendly’, ‘environmental-friendly’, ‘organic’, ‘biodegradable’, etc.
Green Purchase
Green purchase behaviour is an aggregate of individual customers’ purchase behaviour and consumption patterns, often influenced by product offerings from business organizations, and policies of the government. In India, the awareness for environmental friendly products as well as their availability is low and is restricted to bigger towns and cities. While consumers are concerned about the environment, and have favourable attitudes towards green products, they seldom buy and use the same, and an attitude–behaviour discrepancy is observed.
Even amongst people who are aware and informed and have access to such products, the same applies. The attitude–behaviour discrepancy is the resultant of several factors including social, cultural, and product related characteristics. There are huge challenges that marketers face. People are often wary of the higher prices and the quality of such products with respect to consumer adoption of green products.
It is important that marketers create awareness and educate the customers about the fact that while such products may be perceived as costly, the benefits are huge not only with respect to their performance and functionality but also with respect to environmental protection and preservation.
An identification and critical examination of the drivers and barriers of green purchase behaviour is absolutely fundamental for (a) creation of a value proposition attractive for the customers; (b) adoption of green products; and (c) diffusion of the same in a quicker manner.
Both behavioural and regulatory interventions from the sides of the customers as well as the government respectively are required for the initiation and promotion of green value-chain development and green marketing, which is the need of the hour. Companies must encourage responsible consumption behaviour aimed at environmental protection and preservation, and what is required is behavioural modification among the public. This can be most effectively done by creating awareness about the ‘green’ and encouraging people, particularly the youth and the children, to buy and use ‘green products’. Workshops on ‘green’ in colleges, schools and through social media can act as powerful vehicles of change.
There is huge opportunity for those interested in careers in the area of environmental sustainability. Companies at the national, sectoral, and local levels, both in the public and private sectors, have begun to adopt green concepts and techniques, and such organizations offer opportunities for:
(a) Scientists and researchers working in the domain of green R&D
(b) Engineers trained towards adoption of practices for green production
(c) Marketers and salespersons with skills and expertise to formulate strategies for green marketing.
A large number of Engineering and MBA institutes have started offering courses on sustainability and sustainable management practices as part of their curriculum.
About the Author:
Professor Sangeeta Sahney is a senior faculty at Vinod Gupta School of Management, Indian Institute of Technology Kharagpur. With a specialization in Marketing, Prof. Sahney also teaches Organizational Behavior and Human Resources Management. She is also the author of Consumer Behaviour published by Oxford University Press India.
