1.

An Overview of Environmental Marketing: Green Marketing

1.1. Let's Read
The business environment is becoming complex. As developments occur,
changes happen which could directly or indirectly affect the environment and the society
in general. Some business organizations nowadays have acknowledged the impact of
their activities on many aspects particularly in the environment. Advocacies and
programs have been developed and implemented to address environmental concerns.
These issues also affect the business activities, thus, need to be looked into and
addressed.
Before we proceed, let us first understand what is environmental marketing.
Environmental Marketing
The discussion below was taken from the e-book of Nora Hanninen on Environmental
Values in Industrial Marketing Relationships
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The concept of environmental marketing refers to the strategic approach that
addresses ecological concern while remaining competitive in the market (Miles & Covin,
2000). Environmental marketing was a popular research topic in the 1990s, but since
then it has suffered a decrease in both academic and practical interest. Some scholars
even claimed that environmental marketing was not a plausible concept due to several
misunderstandings about its premises, implementation and limited possibilities
regarding enhanced competitiveness (Crane, 2000). Research has explored the drivers
of environmental marketing strategies (Polonsky, 1995; Stone et al., 2004) and
evaluated these strategies according to their width, breadth and depth in the
organizational structure (First & Khetriwal, 2010; Kärnä, Hansen, & Juslin, 2003; Menon
& Menon, 1997). The literature reveals three categories that broadly describe the
company’s strategic stance towards environmental issues (other terms referring to the
same matter being e.g., eco-orientation or environmentalism). The first one reflects a
non-environmentally oriented approach with actions that only aim at meeting the
minimum level of environmental concern required. This stance is named coercive
(Paulraj, 2009), least cost (Shrivastava, 1995), tactic (Menon & Menon, 1997) or
consumption strategy (Kärnä et al., 2003). These terms indicate that the company’s
motivations lie in other issues than environmental concern and that environmental
concern ranks low on the company’s agenda. The second category represents
environmental stances that companies adopt when, in addition to meeting the minimum,
they recognize benefits in including environmental concern as a part of their strategy.
This approach is called competitive (Paulraj, 2009), differentiation (Shrivastava, 1995),
quasi-strategic (Menon & Menon, 1997) or reactive (Kärnä et al., 2003) stance.
Environmental concern is perceived as a capability that benefits overall strategic
objectives but marketers yet emphasize the role of regulation instead of free-market
system in addressing environmental issues (Kärnä et al., 2003) This compliant type of
environmental strategy is found most commonly among industrial companies.
...
Corporate environmental marketing strategy results from numerous external and
internal stakeholder influences: customers, suppliers, legal system, general public,
media, interest groups, owners, employees and management (Polonsky, 1995). The
most explanatory antecedents of environmental corporate and marketing strategies are
top management commitment, public environmental concern, regulatory forces and
potential competitive advantage with the industry type moderating some of the
influences (Banerjee et al., 2003; Stone et al., 2004). Implementation of environmental
concern into operations also depends on organizational policies and structures in
general (Menon & Menon, 1997). Cohesiveness of an organization and connectedness
of its departments enable disseminating eco-orientation throughout the whole company,
which in turn increases the overall awareness of environment and its preservation
(Stone et al., 2004). Besides strategy processes, research has addressed
environmental concern in marketing mix (Leonidou et al., 2013) and marketing
communications (Carlson, Grove, & Kangun, 1993).
Source:
https://jyx.jyu.fi/bitstream/handle/123456789/55908/Hänninen_Nora_screen.pdf?
sequence=5&isAllowed=y

What is Green Marketing?

Green marketing can be defined as, "All activities designed to generate and
facilitate any exchange intended to satisfy human needs or wants such that satisfying of
these needs and wants occur with minimal detrimental input on the national
environment." (Sarah and Madhumitha,2013)
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The contents on this part were taken from the book of Dahlstrom (2011).

Green Marketing
It is the study of all efforts to consume, produce, distribute, promote, package,
and reclaim products in a manner that is sensitive or responsive to ecological concerns
Green marketing management is the process of planning and executing the
marketing mix to facilitate consumption, production, distribution, promotion, packaging,
and product reclamation in a manner that is sensitive or responsive to ecological
concerns.
 The study of green marketing reflects an interest in becoming more aware of
ecological and sustainability issues and consistently working to achieve higher levels of
sustainability

(Example: As I was surfing the internet, I came across this video from a facebook page
(NowThis) where they feature a plastic-free grocery store (Dry Goods Refillery) located
in Montclair, New Jersey. The owner (Rachel Garcia) was inspired to open this kind of
store after getting frustrated by the amount of trash her family produced. Customers
could bring their own container, and if they don’t have one, the store offers paper bags
and/or jars for customers to use.)

Why study green marketing?

1. Environmental Benefits
Green marketing can have an influence on climate change in several substantial
ways. Fossil fuel consumption is a major source of greenhouse gases associated with
climate change. Two leading sources of climate change are the burning of coal for
electricity and the burning of gasoline for automobile transportation. Green marketing
initiatives focused on product development strategies reduce the need to rely on these
forms of energy. For example, new appliances are designed with fuel efficiencies that
markedly reduce energy consumption.

2. Developing Economies
The term developing economies refers to nations that have a relatively low gross
domestic product (GDP) per capita. The low income, underdeveloped assets, and
economic vulnerability endemic to these economies results in high dependence on the
agricultural sector. Inhabitants in these markets, however, face increased exposure to
drought, intense storms, floods, and environmental stress that limits the ability to
enhance quality of life.
As these developing economies progress, there will be increasing pressure on
urban areas. More than half of world’s population currently lives in urban areas, and the
number is expected to increase over the next few decades. For example, current
estimates forecast that nearly 300 million people will migrate to Chinese cities over the
next 20 years. Since the consumption of resources is a global issue, the extent to which
consumers and industries adopt green marketing practices influences the global
environment.
3. Consumer Benefits
These benefits often influence consumer decision making, and consumers will
vary in the extent to which they value these benefits. Initially, consumers benefit from
the knowledge that they are doing their part to reduce climate change. These
consumers are likely to favor corporate efforts to reduce pollution over efforts to raise
corporate profitability.
Consumers also value the opportunity to be associated with environmentally
friendly products and organizations. For instance, the Body Shop s retail ambience
prompts customers to associate their consumption with an environmentally friendly
organization.
Although green product initiatives may independently convince some consumers
to buy, evidence suggests that ecologically based products alone will not be substantial
drivers of sales. Consumers want ecologically friendly products without sacrificing other
valuable features. Current marketing efforts, however, enable some firms to offer green
products that provide initial product savings, lower energy costs, and access to new
technologies.

4. Strategic Benefits
Companies that incorporate ecological consciousness into their mission
statements and strategy enhance their images among consumers, employees,
investors, insurers, and the general public.
Corporate initiatives that emphasize a green orientation to markets have several
implications for the workforce.
The image further influences employee action after hiring. General Electric, for
instance, engages employees to come up with novel solutions for the environment. The
solutions include energy-efficient appliances, compact fluorescent lighting, and wind
turbine power.

(Ecological Solid Waste Management Act or RA 9003 was enacted in 2001 to address
waste pollution in the Phil. Two decades later, it was amended in the form of the
Extended Producer Responsibility Law or RA 11898.
The EPR Law gives more responsibility to producers in a bid to limit waste straight from
the source. T highlights accountability throughout the life cycle of products even after
the consumer’s use. Through the law, companies are required to take a more active role
in mitigating the environment effects of their business.)
5. Product Benefits
Product benefits refer to components introduced into production outputs or
services designed to benefit the consumer, whereas process benefits refer to tools,
devices, and knowledge in throughput technology designed to facilitate manufacturing
and logistics. For example, a hybrid engine is a product innovation, whereas a just-in-
time inventory system is a process innovation.
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In addition to the above discussion, let us read on some excerpts in the article
of Polonsky, Michael Jay (1994) titles An Introduction to Green Marketing.
One business area where environmental issues have received a great deal of
discussion in the popular and professional press is marketing. 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 (Polonsky 1994a). For example, in
the United States (US) the Federal Trade Commission and the National Association of
Attorneys-General have developed extensive documents examining green marketing
issues [FTC 1991, NAAG 1990].
...
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. Indeed, the
terminology used in this area has varied, it includes: Green Marketing, Environmental
Marketing and Ecological Marketing. While green marketing came into prominence in
the late 1980s and early 1990s, it was first discussed much earlier. 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" [Henion and Kinnear 1976a]. Since that time a number of
other books on the topic have been published [Charter 1992, Coddington 1993, Ottman
1993].
...
Green or Environmental Marketing consists of all activities designed to generate
and facilitate any exchanges intended to satisfy human needs or wants, such that the
satisfaction of these needs and wants occurs, with minimal detrimental impact on the
natural environment. [Polonsky 1994b, 2]
This definition incorporates much of the traditional components of the marketing
definition, that is "All activities designed to generate and facilitate any exchanges
intended to satisfy human needs or wants" [Stanton and Futrell 1987]. Therefore, it
ensures that the interests of the organization and all its consumers are protected, as
voluntary exchange will not take place unless both the buyer and seller mutually benefit.
The above definition also includes the protection of the natural environment, by
attempting to minimize the detrimental impact this exchange has on the environment.
This second point is important, for human consumption by its very nature is destructive
to the natural environment. (To be accurate products making green claims should state
they are "less environmentally harmful" rather than "Environmentally Friendly.") Thus,
green marketing should look at minimizing environmental harm, not necessarily
eliminating it.

WHY IS GREEN MARKETING IMPORTANT?

The question of why green marketing has increased in importance is quite simple
and relies on the basic definition of Economics: Economics is the study of how people
use their limited resources to try to satisfy unlimited wants. [McTaggart, Findlay and
Parkin 1992, 24] Thus mankind has limited resources on the earth, with which she/he
must attempt to provide for the worlds' unlimited wants. (There is extensive debate as to
whether the earth is a resource at man's disposal, for example, see Gore 1993.) While
the question of whether these wants are reasonable or achievable is important, this
issue will not be addressed in this paper. 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. WHY ARE FIRMS USING GREEN
MARKETING? When looking through the literature there are several suggested reasons
for firms increased use of Green Marketing.

Five possible reasons cited are:

1. Organizations perceive environmental marketing to be an opportunity that can be
used to achieve its objectives [Keller 1987, Shearer 1990];
2. Organizations believe they have a moral obligation to be more socially responsible
[Davis 1992, Freeman and Liedtka 1991, Keller 1987, McIntosh 1990, Shearer 1990];
3. Governmental bodies are forcing firms to become more responsible [NAAG 1990];
4. Competitors' environmental activities pressure firms to change their environmental
marketing activities [NAAG 1990]; and
 5. Cost factors associated with waste disposal, or reductions in material usage forces
firms to modify their behavior [Azzone and Manzini 1994].
Source:
https://escholarship.org/content/qt49n325b7/qt49n325b7.pdf?t=q9ns2b
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I hope that by this time you have already grasp the concept of green marketing
and why is it important in the business processes particularly in the area of marketing.

2. Marketing 4Ps and Green Marketing

2.1. Let's Read
In this lesson, let us consider two researches that covers the marketing mix in relation to
green marketing.
Visit the corresponding link to read the research.
Title 1: PRESENT SCENARIO OF GREEN MARKETING IN INDIA: A REVIEW
by: IQBAL AHMED HAKIM1 & SHABINA SHAFI
Link: https://journals.indexcopernicus.com/api/file/viewByFileId/782311.pdf

Title 2: Green Marketing: A Marketing Mix concept

by: Thoria Omer Mahmoud
Link: http://eecjournal.com/uploads/issue_files/3-EEC-FEB-2019-5-GreenMarketing.pdf

3. Green Marketing in the World

At the end of the lesson, students must have recognized the different green marketing
as practiced in different countries.