Contents
What is Green Marketing?
Green marketing is a response to the growing concern over the negative impact of human activities on the environment. It involves the use of marketing strategies and tactics that focus on the environmental attributes of products and services, as well as their sustainable production and distribution. Green marketing can take many forms, including the use of eco-labels, and advertising campaigns that emphasize the environmental benefits of products and the firm as a whole.
By promoting products and services that are environmentally responsible, companies can not only appeal to these environmentally-conscious consumers but also differentiate themselves from competitors and contribute to a more sustainable future. In this era, a company that follows green marketing has a better brand image in front of customers. Green marketing is in boom as the population is very much concerned about their impact on the environment rather than their benefit.
Through green marketing companies offer eco-friendly products and increase their social image. Some companies even adopt green marketing as one of their corporate social responsibility.
Concept of Green Marketing
Green marketing is the practice of promoting environmentally-friendly products or services to appeal to consumers who are concerned about the impact of their purchases on the environment. It involves the use of various marketing strategies and tactics that highlight the environmental benefits of a product or service, such as its use of recycled materials, reducing greenhouse gases, etc.
The main goals of green marketing are to:
- Introducing the use of sustainable resources.
- Reducing wastage and in return reducing cost.
- Be socially responsible
- Have a better competitive advantage over other firms.
Strategies for Green Marketing
There are different ways through which green marketing takes place in society. The ultimate aim of all these types of strategies used is to ensure sustainability and social responsibility to both the firm and the environment.
- Using recycled and renewable material for production:
As we say resources are always diminishing the firm needs to use green products, products that are environmentally friendly or have a reduced impact on the environment. This reduces the cost of production and makes sure that the is no over-exploitation of resources.
- Upgrade your equipment and vehicles and green supply chain marketing:
Upgrading your vehicle and improving better supply chain management reduces the emission of harmful gases into the environment. Transportation can be reduced and vehicles can be periodically upgraded to put to the best use.
- Use green products, price, place, and promotion strategy:
Just like in marketing, in green marketing also, all the Ps should be environmentally friendly. Products using environment-friendly materials should be priced at premium or discount and supplied at stores that are environment-friendly in an environment-friendly packing.
- Partnering with organizations that promote sustainability and social responsibility:
Green marketing should be a collective motive that should be adopted by almost all firms in a specific market. They should make sure that they develop a company brand or identity that is associated with environmental responsibility and sustainability
Green marketing strategies should meet consumer demand, provide a competitive advantage, improve brand image, reduce costs, and should have a positive impact on the environment.
Example of Green Marketing
The most renowned example of green marketing is Starbucks. Starbucks is a multinational company that has devoted its major operations to promoting green marketing. They have adopted this strategy and implemented this a long time back. Their initiatives range from promoting the use of sustainably sourced coffee beans to investing in renewable energy to power its stores. Almost all the materials used in the Starbucks outlet are eco-friendly. The cups they use are often made out of recycled paper and they promote the recycling of their used cups.
Another example of green marketing is H&M. H&M a high-end clothing fashion that promotes the upcycling of old clothes. They have adopted various initiatives and one of the most eye catchy initiatives is giving a bag of old clothes for new ones. This initiative is practiced in almost every H&M outlet where a customer brings in their old clothes and are offered to buy the same number of clothes for the weight of the old clothes. This reduces the disposal of old clothes into the environment. These old clothes are often upcycled and made into better products. H&M has implemented initiatives to promote its sustainability efforts, such as its Conscious Collection, which features clothing made from sustainable materials like organic cotton and recycled polyester.
All these companies that promote green marketing have a superiority over other companies in society. The success of the company lies where they integrate its corporate needs along with the social responsibility envied in them.