Green marketing

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According to the American Marketing Association, green marketing is the marketing of products that are presumed to be environmentally safe.^[1] 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.^[2] Other similar terms used are Environmental Marketing and Ecological Marketing.

Contents 1 History 2 Greenhouse gas reduction market 3 Popularity and effectiveness 3.1 Ongoing debate 3.2 Confusion 3.3 Statistics 4 Green marketing cases 4.1 Philips Light's "Marathon" 4.2 Car sharing services 4.3 Electronics Sector 4.4 Introduction of CNG in Delhi 5 See also 6 References 7 External links

[edit] History

The term Green Marketing came into prominence in the late 1980s and early 1990s.^[4] The American Marketing Association (AMA) held the first workshop on "Ecological Marketing" in 1975.^[5] The proceedings of this workshop resulted in one of the first books on green marketing entitled "Ecological Marketing".^[6]

According to Jacquelyn Ottman, (author of Green Marketing: Opportunity for Innovation) from an organizational standpoint, environmental considerations should be integrated into all aspects of marketing — new product development and communications and all points in between.^[7] 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.^[8]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.^[9] 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.^{[citation needed]} 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,^{[citation needed]} particularly in light of growing global concern about climate change.^{[citation needed]} This concern has led more companies to advertise their commitment to reduce their climate impacts,^{[citation needed]} and the effect this is having on their products and services.^{[citation needed]}

[edit] Greenhouse gas reduction market

The emerging greenhouse gas reduction market can potentially catalyze projects with important local environmental, economic, and quality-of-life benefits. The Kyoto Protocol’s Clean Development Mechanism (CDM), for example, enables trading between industrial and developing nations, providing a framework that can result in capital flows to environmentally beneficial development activities. Although the United States is not participating in the Kyoto Protocol, several US programs enable similar transactions on a voluntary and regulatory basis.^[9]

While international trade in greenhouse gas^[10] reductions holds substantial promise as a source of new funding for sustainable development, this market can be largely inaccessible to many smaller-scale projects, remote communities, and least developed localities. To facilitate participation and broaden the benefits, several barriers must be overcome, including: a lack of market awareness among stakeholders and prospective participants; specialized, somewhat complicated participation rules; and the need for simplified participation mechanisms for small projects, without which transaction costs can overwhelm the financial benefits of participation. If the barriers are adequately addressed, greenhouse gas trading can play an important role supporting activities that benefit people’s lives and the environment.^[9]

[edit] Popularity and effectiveness

[edit] Ongoing debate

The popularity of such marketing approach and its effectiveness is hotly debated.Supporters claim that environmental appeals are actually growing in number–the Energy Star label, for example, now appears on 11,000 different companies'^[11] models in 38 product categories, from washing machines and light bulbs to skyscrapers and homes. The difference is, however, that green–rightfully so–is on the wane as the primary sales pitch for products. On the other hand, Roper’s Green Gauge shows that a high percentage of consumers (42%)^[12] feel that environmental products don’t work as well as conventional ones. This is an unfortunate legacy from the 1970s when shower heads sputtered and natural detergents left clothes dingy. Given the choice, all but the greenest of customers will reach for synthetic detergents over the premium-priced, proverbial "Happy Planet" any day, including Earth Day. New reports, however show a growing trend towards green products.^[13]

[edit] Confusion

One challenge green marketers -- old and new -- are likely to face as green products and messages become more common is confusion in the marketplace. "Consumers don't really understand a lot about these issues, and there's a lot of confusion out there," says Jacquelyn Ottman(founder of J. Ottman Consulting and author of "Green Marketing: Opportunity for Innovation.")^[14]

[edit] Statistics

According to market researcher Mintel, about 12% of the U.S. population can be identified as True Greens, consumers who seek out and regularly buy so-called green products. Another 68%^[15][13] can be classified as Light Greens, consumers who buy green sometimes. "What chief marketing officers are always looking for is touch points with consumers, and this is just a big, big, big touch point that's not being served," says Mintel Research Director David Lockwood. "All the corporate executives that we talk to are extremely convinced that being able to make some sort of strong case about the environment is going to work down to their bottom line."^[13]

[edit] Green marketing cases

[edit] Philips Light's "Marathon"

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.^[16] The product had difficulty climbing out of its deep green niche.^[16]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.^[17] 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.^[17]

[edit] 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.^{[citation needed]} They may be thought of as a "time-sharing" system for cars. Consumers who drive less than 7,500 miles a year and do not need a car for work can save thousands of dollars annually by joining one of the many services springing up, including ZipCar (East Coast), Flex Car (Washington State),^[18] and Hour Car (Twin Cities)^[19] .

[edit] 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.^[20].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.

[edit] 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.^[21]

[edit] See also

• Marketing
• Green movement
• Green politics
• Green hosting

[edit] References

[edit] External links

• Guides for the use of Environmental Marketing Claims