PROJECT REPORT

(Submitted for the Degree of B.Com Honours in Accounting & Finance

under the University of Calcutta)

Title of the Project

CONSUMER AWARENESS ON
Green marketing

Submitted By
Name of the Candidate: PRIYANSHU AGRAWAL
Registration No.: 017-1221-2380-16
Roll No.: 1017-41-1047
UID.: 0101160908
Name of the College: THE BHAWANIPUR EDUCATION SOCIETY COLLEGE

Supervised By:
Name of the Supervisor: SOUVIK MAZUMDER

FEBRUARY, 2019.

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Annexure- IA

Supervisor's Certificate

This is to certify that Mr. PRIYANSHU AGRAWAL a student of B.Com. Honours in Accounting

& Finance in Business of THE BHAWANIPUR EDUCATION SOCIETY COLLEGE under the

University of Calcutta has worked under my supervision and guidance for his Project Work and

prepared a Project Report with the Title CONSUMER AWARENESS ON GREEN

MARKETING which he is submitting, is his genuine and original work to the best of my

knowledge.

Place: Signature:

Name:

Date: Designation:

Name of the College:

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Annexure- IB

Student's Declaration

I hereby declare that the Project Work with the title CONSUMER AWARENESS ON GREEN

MARKETING submitted by me for the partial fulfilment of the degree of B.Com. Honours in

Accounting & Finance under the University of Calcutta is my original work and has not been submitted

earlier to any other University /Institution for the fulfilment of the requirement for any course of study.

I also declare that no chapter of this manuscript in whole or in part has been incorporated in this report

from any earlier work done by others or by me. However, extracts of any literature which has been

used for this report has been duly acknowledged providing details of such literature in the references.

Signature

Address:

Registration No.

Place:

Date:

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 ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

First, I thank COORDINATOR MR. DILIP SHAH my project guide, for his continuous
invaluable support in helping me make my project. He was always there to listen and
give advice at each and every step. He has helped me to express my ideas and inculcate
them into my project as well. He told me of different ways to approach the research
problem and the need to be persistent to accomplish my goal.
Second, I thank my college HEAD OF DEPARTMENT MR. DIVYESH SHAH in giving
us such a great and good opportunity to sharpen our project as well as communication
skills which is possible only when we were involved in anything like this. The college
has given us tremendous support in making us believe that it is possible for students of
B.Com (H) also to make project.
I would also like to thank my SUPERVISOR SOUVIK MAZUMDER who was also a
continuous help in suggesting me about the ways in which I could include more
explanations into my project work. They helped me out with different articles on my
project topic and suggesting website names which were of great importance in
completing this project.

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 TABLE OF CONTENT

SR.NO. CONTENTS PAGE NO.

1 INTRODUCTION

1.1 Abstract 7
1.2 Definition And Meaning 7-8
1.3 Literature Review 8
1.4 Objectives 8
1.5 Research Methodology 9
1.6 Limitations 9-10
2 CONCEPTUAL FRAMEWORK

2.1 Evolution Of Green Marketing 11

2.2 Importance Of Green Marketing 12
2.3 Goals Of Green Marketing 12
2.4 Need Of Green Marketing: An Anthropological View 13
2.5 Challenges In Green Marketing 13-14
2.6 Benefits Of Green Marketing 14-15
2.7 Green Code 15
2.8 Golden Rules Of Green Marketing 15-16
2.9 Green Marketing Mix 16-17
2.10 Green Marketing Process 17-18
2.11 Difference Between Domestic and International 18-21
marketing
3 DATA ANALYSIS AND FINDINGS

3.1 Green Marketing: A Corporate Initiative 22-24

3.2 Initiatives Taken By Government 24-25
3.3 Reasons For Adopting Green Marketing 26-27
3.4 Analysis Of Effects Of Green Marketing 28-36

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 4 CONCLUSION, RECOMMENDATION AND
BIBLIOGRAPHY
4.1 Green Consumer Behavior 37
4.2 Attributes Of Green Consumer 38
4.3 Future Growth Of Green Marketing 38-39
4.4 Recommendation 39
4.5 Conclusion 40
4.6 Bibliography 40

5 ANNEXURE 41-43

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 CHAPTER 1. INTRODUCTION

1.1 ABSTRACT

Terms like "Green Marketing" and "Environmental Marketing" appear frequently in the popular
press. Many governments around the world have become so concerned about green marketing
activities that they have attempted to regulate them. Other similar terms used are Environmental
Marketing and Ecological Marketing.

American Marketing Association Define: - Green marketing is the marketing of products that are
presumed to be environmentally safe.

Thus green marketing incorporates a broad range of activities including:

 PRODUCT MODIFICATION,
 CHANGES TO THE PRODUCTION PROCESS,
 PACKAGING CHANGES,
 ADVERTISEMENT MODIFYING

To succeed, any green strategy must fulfill three criteria:

 Firstly, it must be a sustainable and credible programme, which brings real benefits to the
environment.
 Secondly, it must deliver sound economic ROI and competitive advantage to the business.
 Thirdly, it must be supported by relevant green messages, which resonate with customers and
prospects.

Basically the main aim of the project is to analyze the developments which are taking place
throughout the world to promote green products and green marketing.

1.2 DEFINITION AND MEANING

So, in simple terms Green marketing refers to the process of selling products and/or services based
on their environmental benefits. Such a product or service may be environmentally friendly in itself
or produced and/or packaged in an environmentally friendly way.

Green marketing consists of all activities designed to generate and facilitate any exchanges intended
to satisfy human needs or wants, such that the satisfaction of these needs and wants occurs, with
minimal detrimental impact on the natural environment.

Environmental issues have gained importance in business as well as in public life throughout the
world. It is not like that a few leaders of different countries or few big renowned business houses are

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concerned about the day to day deterioration of oxygen level in our atmosphere but every common
citizen of our country and the world is concerned about this common threat of global warming.

So in this scenario of global concern, corporate houses has taken green-marketing as a part of their
strategy 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.

Clearly green marketing is part and parcel of overall corporate strategy; along with manipulating the
traditional marketing mix (product, price, promotion and place), it require an understanding of public
policy process. So we can say green marketing covers a broad range of activities.

1.3 LITERATURE REVIEW

 Caterora Graham in international marketing has drawn a parallel line between Green
Marketing & Product Development & the author has cited a variety of examples where the
importance of Green Marketing has been laid focus on.
 Philip Kotler & Kevin Lane Keller, in Marketing Management has initiated the topic by
discussing about the relevance of Green Marketing in the past few decades and has also
discussed the explosion of environmentally friendly products.
 Along with the definition from different sources, the authors Debraj Dutta & Mahua Dutta
of Marketing Management, has given an explanation of what is Green Marketing.

 K.K. Shrivastava and Sujata Khandai, the author of consumer behavior in Indian context,
has discussed Green marketing Legislation in association with the Multinational Corporation.
 According to Jacquelyn Ottman , author of "The New Rules of Green Marketing: Strategies,
Tools, and Inspiration for Sustainable Branding" , from an organizational standpoint,
environmental considerations should be integrated into all aspects of marketing — new
product development and communications and all points in between.

1.4 OBJECTIVES
 To understand the level of awareness regarding green marketing among consumers.
 To understand the buying behavior of consumers related to green marketing.
 To understand how green marketing helps Company to build its image.
 To understand initiative taken by government towards green marketing.
 To understand the success of green marketing as a corporate social responsibility.

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1.5 RESEARCH METHODOLOGY

Research Methodology is a way to systematically solve the research problem. It may be understood
as a science of studying how research is done scientifically. When we talk of research methodology
we not only talk of the research methods but also consider the logic behind the methods we use in the
context of our research study and explain why we are using a particular method or technique and why
we are not using others.

The major steps involved in research process are:

 Formulating the Research Problem

The problem well defined is half solved. The formulation of a general topic into a specific
research problem constitutes the first step of specific enquiry.

1. Process of analysis: Analysis is done with the help of questionnaire which were
distributed to the respondent and they were asked to fill in the
response to the questions asked in the questionnaire.
2. Characteristics of Interest: Awareness of Green Marketing.
3. Number of Respondent: 68

 Choice of Research Design

Every project requires an action plan and method for conducting a study. This project is more
prone to single cross-sectional descriptive research design.

 Sources of Data
Primary Data type is used for preparation of the project..

 Primary Data:

The primary data are those which are collected afresh and for the first time, and thus
happen to be original in character. We collect primary data during the course of doing
experiments in an experimental research but in case we do research of the descriptive type
and performs surveys. Here the Primary data will be collected by means of preparing a
questionnaire and getting it filled by a large sample space. These questionnaires will help
in drawing conclusions about the case.

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1.6 LIMITATIONS OF THE STUDY

 The time period provided is too short.

 The project was made on the basis of primary data in the absence of secondary data.
 Many of the respondent were unaware of the term ‘Green Marketing’
 Respondent may give biased answers on their personal experience
 Respondent are not always too eager to take the survey, and in order to fill the questionnaire
faster, they select random answers. This makes it harder to come to the correct result.

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 CHAPTER 2. CONCEPTUAL FRAMEWORK

2.1 EVOLUTION OF GREEN MARKETING

The green marketing has evolved over a period of time. According to Peattie (2001), the evolution of
green marketing has three phases:
 First phase was termed as "Ecological" green marketing, and during this period all marketing
activities were concerned to help environment problems and provide remedies for
environmental problems.
 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.
 Third phase was "Sustainable" green marketing. It came into prominence in the late 1990s
and early 2000.

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2.2 IMPORTANCE OF GREEN MARKETING

Human Beings have limited resources on the earth, with which she/he must attempt to provide for the
worlds' unlimited wants. There is extensive debate as to whether the earth is a resource at man's
disposal. In market societies where there is "freedom of choice", it has generally been accepted that
individuals and organizations have the right to attempt to have their wants satisfied. As firms face
limited natural resources, they must develop new or alternative ways of satisfying these unlimited
wants. Ultimately green marketing looks at how marketing activities utilize these limited resources,
while satisfying consumers wants, both of individuals and industry, as well as achieving the selling
organization's objectives.

When looking through the literature there are several suggested reasons for firms increased use of
Green Marketing. Five possible reasons cited are:

 Organizations perceive environmental marketing to be an opportunity that can be used to

achieve its objectives.
 Organizations believe they have a moral obligation to be more socially responsible.
 Governmental bodies are forcing firms to become more responsible.
 Competitors' environmental activities pressure firms to change their environmental marketing
activities.
 Cost factors associated with waste disposal, or reductions in material usage forces firms to
modify their behavior.

2.3 GOALS OF GREEN MARKETING

 Eliminate the concept of waste.
 Reinvent the concept of product.
 Make prices reflect actual and environmental costs.
 Make environmentalism profitable.
 Bringing out product modifications.
 Changing in production processes.
 Packaging changes.

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2.4 NEED MARKETING: AN ANTHROPOLOGICAL VIEW

Issues like Global warming and depletion of ozone umbrella are the main for the healthy survival.
Financial gain and economic profit is the main aim of any corporate business. But harm to
environment cost by sustain business across the globe is realized now though off late. This sense is
building corporate citizenship in the business class. So green marketing by the business class is still
in the selfish anthological perspective of long term sustainable business and to please the consumer
and obtain the sanction license by the governing body. Industries in Asian countries are catching the
need of green marketing from the developed countries but still there is a wide gap between their
understanding and implementation.

2.5 CHALLENGES IN GREEN MARKETING

Need For Standardization:

It is found that only 5% of the marketing messages from “Green”

campaigns are entirely true and there is a lack of standardization to
authenticate these claims. There is no standardization to authenticate these
claims. There is no standardization currently in place to certify a product
as organic. Unless some regulatory bodies are involved in providing the
certifications there will not be any verifiable means. A standard quality
control board needs to be in place for such labeling and licensing.

New Concept:
Indian literate and urban consumer is getting more aware about the merits of Green products. But it
is still a new concept for the masses. The consumer needs to be educated and made aware of the
environmental threats. The new green movements need to reach the masses and that will take a lot of
time and effort. By India’s ayurvedic heritage, Indian consumers do appreciate the importance of
using natural and herbal beauty products. Indian consumer is exposed to healthy living lifestyles such
as yoga and natural food consumption. In those aspects the consumer is already aware and will be
inclined to accept the green products.

Patience and Perseverance:

The investors and corporate need to view the environment as a major long-term investment
opportunity, the marketers need to look at the long-term benefits from this new green movement. It
will require a lot of patience and no immediate results. Since it is a new concept and idea, it will have
its own acceptance period.

Avoiding Green Myopia:

The first rule of green marketing is focusing on customer benefits i.e. the primary reason why
consumers buy certain products in the first place. Do this right, and motivate consumers to switch
brands or even pay a premium for the greener alternative. It is not going to help if a product is
developed which is absolutely green in various aspects but does not pass the customer satisfaction

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criteria. This will lead to green myopia. Also if the green products are priced very high then again it
will lose its market acceptability.

2.6 BENEFITS OF GREEN MARKETING

Today’s consumers are becoming more and more conscious about the environment and are also
becoming socially responsible. Therefore, more companies are responsible to consumer’s aspirations
for environmentally less damaging or neutral products. Many companies want to have an early mover
advantage as they have to eventually move towards becoming green.

Some of the advantages of green marketing are:

 It ensures sustained long term growth along with profitability.

 It saves money in the long run, though initially the cost is more.
 It helps the companies market their products and services keeping the
environment aspects in mind.
 It helps in accessing the new markets and enjoying the competitive advantage.
 Most of the employees also feel proud and responsible to be working for an
environmentally responsible company.

2.7 GREEN Code

Generalizes with care. Consumer behavior will not necessarily be consistent across different product
types, and particular market segments may respond to certain issues on the green agenda but not
others.

Remembers, the validity of a piece of market research is not related to the degree to which it supports
your preferred option.

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Explores the context from which market research data comes. Be clear on the nature of the sample
used, the questions asked, the way in which responses were recorded and the time and place from
which the responses come.

Ensures that where market research is crossing international borderlines, that the terminology and
interpretation remains consistent. Terms like ‘environment’, ‘green’ and ‘conservation’ do not
always translate precisely between languages.

Neutrality is important. Ensure that when you pose questions to consumers, that they can make any
response without being made to feel guilty or uncomfortable, and ensure that your own
preconceptions about the green agenda (such as an assumption that green products will cost extra)
are not encoded within the questions.

2.8 Golden Rules of GREEN MARKETING

1. Know your customer: If you want to sell a greener product to consumers, you first need to make
sure that the consumer is aware of and concerned about the issues that your product attempts to
address. (Whirlpool learned the hard way that consumers wouldn’t pay a premium for a CFC-
free refrigerator because consumers didn’t know what CFCs were!).
2. Empower consumers: Make sure that consumers feel, by themselves or in concert with all the
other users of your product, that they can make a difference. This is called “empowerment” and
it’s the main reason why consumers buy greener products.

3. Be transparent: Consumers must believe in the legitimacy of your product and the specific
claims you are making. Caution: There’s a lot of skepticism out there that is fueled by the raft of
spurious claims made in the “go-go” era of green marketing that occurred during the late 80s–
early90s — one brand of household cleaner claimed to have been “environmentally friendly
since 1884”!

4. Reassure the buyer: Consumers need to believe that your product performs the job it’s supposed
to do — they won't forego product quality in the name of the environment. (Besides, products
that don’t work will likely wind up in the trash bin, and that’s not very kind to the environment.)

5. Consider your pricing: If you're charging a premium for your product - and many
environmentally preferable products cost more due to economies of scale and use of higher-
quality ingredients - make sure that consumers can afford the premium and feel it’s worth it.
Many consumers, of course, cannot afford premiums for any type of product these days, much
less greener ones, so keep this in mind as you develop your target audience and product
specifications.

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2.9 GREEN MARKETING MIX

PRODUCT
Entrepreneurs wanting to exploit emerging green markets either: Identify customers’ environmental
needs and develop products to address these needs or will develop environmentally responsible
products to have less impact than competitors.

The increasingly wide variety of products on the market that support sustainable developments are:
 Products made from recycled goods, such as Quick’ N Tuff housing materials made from
recycled broccoli boxes.
 Products that can be recycled or reused.
 Efficient products, which save water, energy or gasoline, save money and reduce
environmental impact.
 Products with environmentally responsible packaging, McDonalds, for example, changed
their packaging from polystyrene clamshells to paper.
 Products with green labels, as long as they offer substantiation.
 Certified products, which meet or exceed environmentally responsible criteria.
 Organic products-many customers are prepared to pay a premium for organic products,
which offer promise of quality. Organic butchers, for example, promote the added qualities
such as taste and tenderness.
 A service that rents or loans products-toy libraries.

PRICE
Pricing is the critical element of the marketing mix. Most customers will only be prepared to pay a
premium if there is a perception of additional product value. This value may be improved
performance, function, design, visual appeal or taste. Environmental benefits will be often being the
deciding factor between products of equal value or quality.
Environmentally responsible products, however are often less expensive when product life cycle
coast are taken into consideration, for example fuel-efficient vehicles, water efficient printing and
non-hazardous products.

PLACE

The choice of where and when to make products available will have significant impact on the
customers you attract. Very few customers go out of their way to buy green products merely for the
sake of it. Marketers looking to successfully introduce new green products should position them
broadly in the market place so they are not just appealing to a small green niche market.
The location must also be consistent with the image you want to project and allow you to project your
own image rather than being dominated or compromised by the image of venue. The location must

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differentiate you from the competitors. This can be achieved by in-store promotions and visually
appealing displays or using recycled materials to emphasize the environmental and other benefits.

PROMOTION
Promoting products and services to target markets include paid advertising, public relations, sales
promotions, direct marketing and on-site promotions. Smart green marketers will be able to reinforce
environmental credibility by using sustainable marketing and communication tools and practices. For
example, many companies in the financial industry are providing electronic statements by email; e-
marketing is rapidly replacing more traditional marketing methods and printed materials can be
produced using recycled materials and efficient processes such as waterless printing.
Retailers, for example are recognizing the value of alliances with other companies, environmental
groups and research organizations. When promoting their environmental commitment to reduce the
use of plastic bags and promote their green commitment, some retailers sell shopping bags and
promote their green commitments.

2.10 Green Marketing Process

Green marketing process comprises with external and internal P’s. After integrating external and
internal P’s, green success will automatically come through four S’s. Here external 7 P’s consists of
Paying customers, Providers, Politicians, Pressure groups, Problems, Predictions and Partners;
internal 7P’s consists of Products, Promotion, Price, Place, Providing information, Processes and
Policies. After integrating external and internal 7P’s, we can find out the green successes through 4
S’s such as Satisfaction – of stakeholder needs, Safety – of products and processes, Social
acceptability – of the company and Sustainability – of its activities.

External Green P’s Internal Green P’s

 Paying customers  Products
 Providers  Promotion
 Politician’s  Price
 Pressure groups  Place
 Problems  Providing information
 Predictions  Processes
 Partners  Policies

Green Marketing

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2.11 DIFFERENCE BETWEEN DOMESTIC AND INTERNATIONAL
GREEN MARKETING

Today, the marketing organizations are not restricted to their national borders. The entire world is
open for them. New markets are springing forth in emerging economies like – China, Indonesia,
India, Korea, Mexico, Chile, Brazil, Argentina, and many other economies all over the world. In
today’s global market opportunities are on a par with the expansion of economies, with the
increasing purchasing power, and with the changing consumer taste and preferences.

The economic, social, and political changes affect the practise of business worldwide, the business
organizations have to remain flexible enough to react rapidly to changing global trends to be
competitive.

The objective of this post is to make you understand the terms - International Marketing, Domestic
Marketing, Global Marketing, and Foreign Marketing. Also to make you understand the differences
between International Marketing and Domestic Marketing

Definition of Domestic Marketing

It is concerned with the marketing practises within the researchers or Marketers home country
(domestic market).

Definition of International Marketing

According to Cateora and Graham, “international marketing is the performance of business
activities designed to plan, price, promote and direct the flow of a company’s goods and services to
consumers or users in more than one nation for a profit.”

Ecolo
Human
gical Politi
itarian cal
Corpor
ate
Equa Social
lity Respo
nsibilit
GREEN y
Susta
Fair
inabil
Trade
ity
New
Cons Conser
umer Non- vation
ism Profit

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According to Terpstra and Sorathy, “international marketing consists of finding and satisfying
global customer needs better than the competition, both domestic and international and of
coordinating marketing activities with in the constraints of the global environment.”

Definition of Global Marketing

According to Kotler, “Global Marketing is concerned with integrating or standardizing marketing
actions across a number of geographic markets.”

Global Marketing treats the entire world as a single market and standardizes the marketing actions
for every geographic location. Mc Donald’s is a well known example of global marketing.

Definition of Foreign Marketing

Foreign marketing is the domestic operations within a foreign country (i.e., marketing methods used
outside the home market).

Difference between International Marketing and Domestic Marketing

Difference between International Marketing and Domestic

Marketing

Basis Domestic Marketing International Marketing

“It is concerned with the “It is the performance of

marketing practises within
Definition the researchers or Marketers
home country (domestic
market).”
business activities designed to
plan, price, promote and direct
the flow of a company’s goods
and services to consumers or
users in more than one nation
for a profit.”

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 Role of Political factors are of minor Political factors play a vital
Politics importance. role.

Languages & One language and culture. Many languages and

Cultures differences in cultures.

Financial Uniform financial climate. Variety of financial climate.

Climate

Risk Normal risk is involved. Higher risks of different

Involved nature are involved.

Control of Control of marketing Control of marketing activities

Marketing activities is easy as compared is difficult because of different
Activities to international activities. factors like – regional,
cultural, political, etc.

Payment Minimum payment and Considerable payment and

credit risks. credit risks.

Familiarity Well familiarity with Lack of Familiarity with

domestic market. foreign markets, research
becomes essential.

Knowledge Management knowledge is Specific management

Requirement required. knowledge andcompetence is
required.

Product Mix Product mix is decided Product mix is decided

keeping in view the according to foreign market.
satisfaction and more sales.

Product Product planning and Product planning and

Planning and development according to development according to
Development domestic market. foreign market.

Focus Focus of interest is on Focus of interest is on

general information. strategicemphasis.

Market Market is much more Different or diverse markets

Aspect homogeneous and different fragmented in nature
segments.

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 CHAPTER 3. DATA ANALYSIS AND FINDINGS

3.1 GREEN MARKETING: A Corporate Initiative by ITC

Green Marketing is important in today’s world because mankind has limited resources on the earth
and if we want long term sustainability of human life on this earth’s surface, then companies has to
learn to conserve these scarce natural resources and create products that have less environmental
damage. Otherwise the very existence of humankind will be under question mark.

Corporate are going green from the grassroots level to sustain and win the customers’ expectations.
The environment is becoming increasingly important part of the corporate reputations and they are
actively participating in greening the corporate strategy. Companies have converted almost all the
products to make them eco-friendly products.

ENERGY CONSERVATION AND RENEWABLE ENERGY

As a responsible corporate citizen, ITC has made a commitment to reduce dependence on energy
from fossil fuels. Substantial progress has been made in enhancing the renewable energy portfolio
and during 2014-15 over 43% of ITC's total energy requirements was met from carbon neutral fuels
such as biomass, and wind and solar. ITC has developed a strategic approach and drawn up action
plans based on a feasible balance of energy conservation and renewable energy investments to
progressively move towards meeting at least 50% of its total energy requirements from renewable
sources by 2020.

WATER CONSERVATION
With water scarcity increasingly becoming an area of serious concern, ITC continues to focus on
integrated water management including water conservation and harvesting initiatives at its units -
while also working towards meeting the water security needs of all stakeholders at the local watershed
level. These include adopting latest technologies to reduce fresh water intake and increase reuse and
recycling practices, best practices to achieve zero effluent discharges, rainwater harvesting, etc. These
initiatives, along with ITC's CSR interventions in the area of integrated watershed management, have

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resulted in the creation of rainwater harvesting potential that is over twice the net water consumption
of the Company's operations.

GREENHOUSE GASES AND CARBON SEQUESTRATION

The Company's Social & Farm Forestry initiatives enable sequestration of over twice the amount of
Carbon Dioxide emitted by its operations. Besides mitigating the impact of increasing levels of GHG
emissions in the atmosphere, these initiatives help greening degraded wasteland, prevent soil erosion,
enhance organic matter content in soil and enable ground water recharge.

WASTE RECYCLING
ITC has made significant progress in reducing specific waste generation through constant monitoring
and improvement of efficiencies in material utilisation and also in achieving almost total recycling of
waste generated in operations. In this way, ITC has prevented waste reaching landfills and associated
problems such as soil and groundwater contamination and GHG emissions, all of which can impact
public health. In 2014-15, ITC achieved over 99% waste recycling, with the Paperboards and
Specialty Papers Business, which accounts for 91.2% of the total waste generated in the Company,
recycling 99.8% of the total waste generated by its operations. During 2014-15, this Business also
recycled around 114,563 tonnes of externally sourced post-consumer waste paper, thereby creating
yet another positive environmental footprint.

SAFETY
ITC's commitment to provide a safe and healthy workplace to all has been reaffirmed by the
significant reduction in the number of accidents and several national and international awards and
certifications received by various units. The Company's approach is to institutionalise safety as a
value-led concept with focus on inculcating a sense of ownership at all levels and driving behavioural
change leading to the creation of a safety culture.

WOMEN'S EMPOWERMENT
Specifically designed for women from economically weaker sections of rural communities, ITC’s
Women’s Empowerment Programme aims to provide them with sustainable economic livelihood
opportunities through financial assistance as well as skills training. Women are motivated to form
micro-credit self-help groups so that they can build up small savings, finance self-employment and
micro-enterprises.

HEALTH & SANITATION

Open defecation remains a persistent and pervasive problem across the country. It is particularly acute
in rural areas where there is a lack of awareness regarding the causality between open defecation and
health related issues, especially of diarrhoeal diseases which are a major cause of child mortality in
India. ITC’s Health & Sanitation Programme seeks to address this serious issue by supporting the
building and usage of low-cost family-owned toilets in the catchments of its manufacturing units, the
majority of which are located in rural areas.

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ITC’s strategy is centred on galvanising a people’s movement and mobilising empowered grassroots
institutions that take the lead in building family-owned toilets. Intensive awareness generation
programmes customised to target men, women and children combined with a mandatory financial
contribution from participating families help to ensure high and sustained usage levels of the
constructed toilets. Wherever possible, the initiative works in active collaboration with government
sanitation schemes. More than 20,000 toilets have been built of which 58% were constructed during
the last two years.

SOLID WASTE RECYCLING – WELL-BEING OUT OF WASTE (WOW)

ITC’s Well-being Out of Waste (WOW) programme is a flagship initiative that seeks to address the
crucial issue of post-consumer waste management in line with the Government’s `Swachh Bharat’
programme, ensuring the proper segregation and recycling of waste in a manner that protects and
restores the environment, ensures the cleanliness and hygiene of neighbourhoods and in the process
creates sustainable livelihoods for a whole host of participants in the waste management process.

ITC’s WOW programme aims to create awareness among general public about the “Reduce-Reuse-
Recycle” approach. The programme seeks to inculcate the habit of source segregation prior to
collection of post-consumer waste..

3.2 Initiatives Taken By Government

Development of ISO 14000 Series of Standards

ISO has been developed to help any company in any country to meet the goal of sustainable
development and environmental friendliness. The ISO 14000 family of standards (i.e. ISO 14001,
14004, 14010, 14011 and 1412) were published as an official document in 1996. The ISO series aims
to provide guidance for developing a comprehensive approach to environmental management and for
standardizing some key environmental tools of analysis such as labeling and life cycle assessment.

Eco-Labeling Initiatives

Eco label provide information regarding the environmental performance of products. The objective
of eco-labeling is to provide authentication to genuine claims regarding the environmental impact of
products and processes by manufacturers.

In India the government has introduced the eco-mark scheme since 1981. The objectives of the
scheme are:

• To provide incentives to manufacturers and importers to reduce the adverse environmental impact
of products.

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• To reward genuine initiatives by companies to reduce adverse impact of environmental impact of
products.

• To assist consumers to become environmentally responsible in their daily lives by providing them
information to take account of environmental factors in their daily lives.

• To encourage citizens to purchase products which have less environmental impact.

Eco-Labeling Schemes in India

The Ministry of environment and forest of government of India has prescribed the following criteria
for products that:

• They cause substantially less pollution than comparable products in production, usage and disposal.

• They are recycled and/or recyclable whereas comparable products are not.

• They contribute to a reduction on adverse environmental health consequences.

• They comply with laws, standards and regulations pertaining to the environment.

• Their price is not exorbitantly higher than comparable products.

Eco-Mark in India
Under the concept, products which are less harmful to the environment or have benign impact on
environment through the various stages of development-manufacture, packaging, distribution, use
and disposal or recycling may be awarded the Eco-Mark. An earthen pot has been chosen as the logo
for Eco-Mark scheme in India. The familiar earthen pot has renewable resource like earth, does not
produce hazardous waste and consume little energy in making. As a symbol it puts across its
environmental message. Its image has the ability to reach people and help to promote a greater
awareness of the need to be kind to the environment. The logo Eco-Mark scheme signifies that the
product which carries it does least damage to the environment.

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3.3 Reasons for adoption of 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 demands change, many firms see these changes as an opportunity to be

exploited and have a competitive advantage over firms marketing non-environmentally
responsible alternatives. Some examples of firms who have strived to become more
environmentally responsible, in an attempt to better satisfy their consumer needs are:
 McDonald's replaced its clam shell packaging with waxed paper because of increased
consumer concern relating to polystyrene production and Ozone depletion.
 Tuna manufacturers modified their fishing techniques because of the increased concern over
driftnet fishing, and the resulting death of dolphins.
 Xerox introduced a "high quality" recycled photocopier paper in an attempt to satisfy the
demands of firms for less environmentally harmful products.

2) Governmental Pressure - As with all marketing related activities, governments want to "protect"
consumers and society; this protection has significant green marketing implications.

Governmental regulations relating to environmental marketing are designed to protect consumers in

several ways:

1. Reduce production of harmful goods or by-products.

2. Modify consumer and industry's use and/or consumption of harmful goods.
3. Ensure that all types of consumers have the ability to evaluate the environmental composition
of goods.

Governments establish regulations designed to control the amount of hazardous wastes produced by
firms.

3) Competitive Pressure - Another major force in the environmental marketing area has been firms'
desire to maintain their competitive position. In many cases firms observe competitors promoting
their environmental behaviors and attempt to emulate this behavior. In some instances this
competitive pressure has caused an entire industry to modify and thus reduce its detrimental
environmental behavior. For example, it could be argued that Xerox's "Revive 100% Recycled paper"
was introduced a few years ago in an attempt to address the introduction of recycled photocopier
paper by other manufacturers. In another example when one tuna manufacture stopped using driftnets
the others followed suit.

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4) Social Responsibility- Many firms are beginning to realize that they are members of the wider
community and therefore must behave in an environmentally responsible fashion. This translates into
firms that believe they must achieve environmental objectives as well as profit related objectives.
This results in environmental issues being integrated into the firm's corporate culture. There are
examples of firms adopting both strategies. Organizations like the Body Shop heavily promote the
fact that they are environmentally responsible. While this behavior is a competitive advantage, the
firm was established specifically to offer consumers environmentally responsible alternatives to
conventional cosmetic products. This philosophy is directly tied to the overall corporate culture,
rather than simply being a competitive tool.

An example of a firm that does not promote its environmental initiatives is Coca-Cola. They have
invested large sums of money in various recycling activities, as well as having modified their
packaging to minimize its environmental impact. While being concerned about the environment,
Coke has not used this concern as a marketing tool. Thus many consumers may not realize that Coke
is a very environmentally committed organization. Another firm who is very environmentally
responsible but does not promote this fact, at least outside the organization, is Walt Disney World
(WDW). WDW has an extensive waste management program and infrastructure in place, yet these
facilities are not highlighted in their general tourist promotional activities.

5) Cost or Profit Issues - Firms may also use green marketing in an attempt to address cost or profit
related issues. Disposing of environmentally harmful by-products, such as polychlorinated biphenyl
(PCB) contaminated oil are becoming increasingly costly and in some cases difficult.

Therefore firms that can reduce harmful wastes may incur substantial cost savings. When attempting
to minimize waste, firms are often forced to re-examine their production processes. In these cases
they often develop more effective production processes that not only reduce waste, but reduce the
need for some raw materials. This serves as a double cost savings, since both waste and raw material
are reduced.

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 3.4 ANALYSIS OF EFFECTS OF GREEN MARKETING

Size of sample: 68

Question-1

OPTION NO. OF RESPONDENT

YES 54
NO 14

Interpretation:
According to the analysis of questionnaire most of the respondents were aware about green
marketing. Out of the 68 respondents, 54 knew about green marketing and while 18 of them didn’t
know.

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 Question-2

OPTIONS NO. OF RESPONDENT

TELEVISION 25
MAGAZINES/NEWSPAPERS 13
TEACHERS 23
OTHERS 7

Interpretation:

The above pie chart indicates that around 37% of the respondent became aware of green/eco-friendly
products through magazines or newspaper whereas 34% of the came to know via television. 19% of
the respondent got know about these products while studying through their teachers and rest of the
respondent became aware through various sources such as friend, internet etc.

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 Question-3

OPTIONS NO.OF RESPONDENT

YES 46
NO 9
SOMETIMES 13

Interpretation:

The above pie chart gives us the information about whether the people considers environmental
aspects such as ingredients used, packaging etc before buying the products. We can see that
majority of the respondent i.e around 68% sometimes considers the environmental and not all on
all occasion. Around 19% always considers environmental aspects but at the same time 13%
never considers.

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 Question-4

OPTIONS NO.OF RESPONDENT

YES 40
NO 6
LITTLE 22

Interpretation:

The above pie chart indicates that the majority of respondents i.e around 58% considers paying extra
for green products but only if there isn’t much difference in the price in comparison to its substitute
goods which is non green. 32% of the respondent are ready to pay extra for green products while 9%
of them are not ready to spend more.

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 Question-5

OPTIONS NO.OF RESPONDENT

Enhance Quality of life 40
Environmental Protection Responsibility 9
Potential increase of product value 16
Getting high level of satisfaction 3

Interpretation:

The above graph indicates that only 69% i.e. the majority of respondents consider green marketing
and advertising as good sources of information for green products and services. And, only 10% do
not consider it

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 Question-6

OPTIONS NO.OF RESPONDENT

Cannot see any benefit of these features 2
Product cost is too high 10
Producers only claim, actually it is not 26
Environmental issues are gimmick for 10
commercials only
I am ready to pay extra for eco-friendly 20
products

Interpretation:

The above chart indicates that around 38% of the respondent doesn’t like to pay extra for ‘green’
products because they feel that company just advertise its green or eco-friendly but in reality it is not,
while around 15 of the respondent

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 Question-7

OPTIONS NO.OF RESPONDENT

Consumers are getting aware of green 23
products
Company increasing its competitive 16
edge
Company’s attempt to address society’s 29
new concern

Interpretation:
The above pie graph indicates that around 43% of the respondent believes that green marketing is in
headlines nowadays because more and more company are trying to address this new and important
concern. 34% of the respondent believes that the reason for this headlines is that consumers are
nowadays getting aware of these green products while rest of the respondent i.e 23.5% believes that
all these are just used by company to tackle the increasing competition.

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 Question-8

OPTIONS NO.OF RESPONDENT

YES 47
NO 19
MAYBE 2

Interpretation:

The above pie chart indicates that majority of the respondents i.e. 69% of the respondents believes
that green marketing strengthen company’s image in consumers mind while 3% believes that it
doesn’t have any impact. While rest of the respondent aren’t sure whether there is any impact on
consumers mind due to green marketing or not.

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 Question-9

OPTIONS NO.OF RESPONDENT

YES 33
NO 1
MAYBE 34

Interpretation:

The above pie chart indicates, half of the respondent believes that companies which focus on
environmental concerns manages to persuade customers to buy their products while other half is not
sure whether those companies are successful or not. Only 1 of the respondent thinks that the
companies can’t persuade the customers to buy their environmental friendly products.

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 CHAPTER 4. CONCLUSION, RECOMMENDATION &
BIBLIOGRAPHY

4.1 GREEN CONSUMER BEHAVIOR

Environmentally Conscious Consumer Behavior

‘Environmentally Conscious Behavior’ (ECCB) is consumer behavior based on some awareness of

the environmental impacts associated with a product or service, and a desire to reduce those impacts.
Many researchers in the field of consumer’s psychology and market research have demonstrated a
substantial growth in ECCB across a range of markets. It has been demonstrated through case studies
that how product developers and marketers have capitalized on this positive attitude and effectively
differentiated their product in terms of their ‘environmentally friendly’ character.

The term environmental consciousness does not have a standardized definition in the body of
academic literature; the reason can be due to arousal of the term out of political and everyday
language. Environmental consciousness is the desire to protect flora and fauna, a willingness to
scrutinize the consequences of economic activity and a willingness to combine long-term with short-
term planning.

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4.2 Attributes of the Green Consumers
To take the advantage of the emerging green market, it is important to understand who green
customers are and the factors influencing their purchasing decisions and behavior.

Attributes of Environmentally
Implication for Green Marketers
Conscious Consumers

Use the influence of children to

encourage parents to try green
Will most likely be well educated,
products. The green consumers of the
young adult women who have more
future are generally knowledgeable
money to spend.
about environmental issues. They
should be offered samples and
increments to try products.
Will expect green products to function Effectively communicate assurance of
as non green products and won’t pay quality for example quality of
much extra or sacrifice quality for performances, look, feel, fit, comfort,
greener products. durability.
Will not buy green products on the Like environmental attributes such as
basis of environmental benefits alone. energy efficiency or toxic substance
Products choice is still based on reduction with other benefits such as
whether it meets their basic want or lower price, convenience, or quality of
need. Environmental features are life improvements.
added selling points.
Will be more likely to respond to Emphasize personal benefits by using
product attribute that will personally terms such as ‘safe’, ‘non-toxic’, ‘cost
benefit them. effective’ rather than more generalized
green messages such as
‘biodegradable’ or ‘ozone friendly’.
Will tolerate only minimal Making the use of product simple- e.g.
inconvenience in using green products minimize or eliminate refilling bottles.
and don’t want to go out of their way Select mainstream distributors
to buy them. wherever possible. Offer one-stop
shopping and eye appealing displays.

4.3 FUTURE GROWTH OF GREEN MARKETING

There are many lessons 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”.

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Evidence indicates that successful green products have avoided green marketing myopia by following
three important principles:

Consumer Value Positioning:

 Design environmental products to perform as well as (or better than) alternatives.

 Promote and deliver the consumer desired value of environmental products and target relevant
consumer market segments.
 Broaden mainstream appeal by bundling consumer desired value into environmental products.

Calibration of Consumer Knowledge:

 Educate consumers with marketing messages that connect environmental attributes with
desired consumer value.
 Frame environmental product attributes as “solutions” for consumer needs.
 Create engaging and educational internet sites about environmental products desired
consumer value.

Credibility of Product Claims:

 Employ environmental product and consumer benefit claims that are specific and meaningful.
 Procure product endorsements or eco-certifications from trustworthy third parties and educate
consumers about the meaning behind those endorsements and eco-certifications.
 Encourage consumer evangelism via consumers social and internet communication network
with compelling, interesting and entertaining information about environmental products.

4.4. RECOMMENDATIONS

Finite resources such as oil, metal, and even fresh water will become scarcer and more expensive. If
businesses do not become more efficient in using these resources it will have a huge impact on the
bottom line. Investing in Green Products thus changes from ‘beyond doing good’ to ultimately
‘good business sense’. Thus they should:

 Invest in research and create clean and environment friendly products.

 Clean energy sources such as solar, wind, bio-fuels and hydra power
 Water harvesting.
 Recycle at every level.
 Move towards paperless office.
 Educate masses of the environment issues because they are going to be the bulk consumers.
 Socially responsible investing in environment driven projects.
 Plant more trees.

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4.5. CONCLUSION

As the demand for green products undoubtedly exists, Green Marketing provides an opportunity to
the companies to increase their market-share by introducing eco friendly products. Stricter
environmental regulations across the world, growing consumer preference for eco-friendly
companies, and the inherent cost advantages in lowering toxic waste, are encouraging industries big
and small to clean up.

Result of a survey conducted showed that, consumers are not overly committed to improving their
environment and may be looking to lay too much responsibility on industry and government. Though
it’s the responsibility of the firm to produce products, which are having minimum impact on the
environment, but ultimately it’s the consumer who is having responsibility to use eco friendly
products. Consumers are not too much concerned about the environment but as they have become
more sophisticated, they require clear information about how choosing one product over another will
benefit the environment. Consumer education results in their empowerment. Empowered consumers
choose environmentally preferable products when all else is equal.

Ultimately green marketing requires that consumers ‘Think Green, Think clean, Think Eco-friendly’
i.e. they want a cleaner environment and are willing to "pay" for it, possibly through higher priced
goods, modified individual lifestyles, or even governmental intervention. Until this occurs it will be
difficult for firms alone to lead the green marketing revolution

4.6. BIBLIOGRAPHY

 Kotler Philips & G. Armstrong. Principles of marketing. New Delhi, Prentice Hall.

 Richa Agrawal, Green Marketing: An Emerging Trend (PJMR, Vol. 5,April 2000)

 Excerpts from the survey report conducted by BT-TERI.

 www.ecomall.com

 www.greenmarketingcorner.com

 www.greenpeace.org

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 5. ANNEXURE

Questionnaire

Consumer Awareness towards Green Marketing

Name:

Age:

Gender:

Are you aware of the term ‘Green Marketing’

Yes
No

How you became aware of ‘green products’ or ‘eco-friendly products’?

Television

Magazines/Newspapers

Teacher

Others

Do you consider the environmental aspects of the products before buying them?

Yes

No

Sometimes

If green features increases the price of the product, are you willing to pay more?

Yes

No
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 Little

What is the main reason that makes you willing to pay more for the ‘Green’
Products?

Enhance quality of life

Environmental Protection Responsibility

Potential increase of product value

Getting high level of satisfaction

What is the main reason that makes you not willing to pay more for the ‘Green’
Products”?

Cannot see any benefit of these features

Production cost is too high

Producers only claim, actually it is not

Environmental issues are gimmick for commercials only

I am ready to pay extra for eco-friendly products

Why do you think green marketing is in headlines nowadays?

Consumers are getting aware of green products

Company increasing its competitive edge

Company’s attempt to address society’s new concern

Which marketing element stongly influence your buying behavior of ‘green’

products?
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 Brand

Product Quality

Packaging

Promotion

Do you think that Green Marketing strengthen company’s image in the mind of
consumer?

Yes

No

Maybe

Do you think that companies that focus on environment al concerns persuade

consumers to buy products?

Yes

No

Maybe

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