A Research Paper on Green Marketing

INTRODUCTION

Green marketing is the marketing of products or goods that are environmentally safe. Green Marketing is also termed as environmental marketing. Thus Green Marketing means the holistic marketing approach and concept. It refers to an organizations effort‘s at designing and promoting products in a perfect manner that will not harm the environment. Green marketing includes a broad range of activities like product modification, packaging changes and modifying advertisements. It satisfy human needs or wants with minimal detrimental impact on the natural environment. Green marketing try to avoid damage to the environment during manufacture, consume a disproportionate amount of energy; avoid unnecessary waste. In other words, Green marketing means all activities designed to generate and facilitate any exchange process intended to satisfy human wants with minimal effect on the national environment. It involves developing and promoting products and services that satisfy customers want and need for Quality, Performance, Affordable Pricing and Convenience without having a detrimental input on the environment.

The green marketing came in to existence over a period of time and it has three phases. The first phase was termed as ―Ecological‖ marketing‖. During this period all marketing activities were concerned to help environment problems and provide remedies for environmental problems. Second phase was termed as "Environmental marketing‖ and this phase focus on use of clean technology and designing and innovation of new products, which take care of pollution and waste issues. Third phase was termed as "Sustainable green marketing‖. It came into existence in the late 1990s and early 2000.

Nike is the first shoe company among the shoe industry to market itself as green. It is marketing its Air Jordan shoes as environment friendly and reduced the usage of harmful glue adhesives. Kansai Nerolac also makes itself as a green company. Nerolac has worked on removing harmful heavy metals from their paints. It does not add any lead or other such heavy metals in its manufacturing process. Dell has been one of the vendors who focus on producing green IT products.

green marketing. In May 2007, IBM also launched Project Big Green to help clients around the world and improve the efficiency of IT.

Tata motors Ltd. is setting up an eco-friendly showroom using natural material for its flooring and energy efficient lights. The Taj chain, is in the process of creating eco-rooms which have energy efficient mini bars, organic bed linen and napkins made up of recycled papers. 2. Samsung recently launched solar mobile guru.3. Battery operated L.G TV 4. Introduction of C.N.G in Delhi.5. Barauni refinery of IOC is taken steps for restricting air and water pollutants Philips Light's "Marathon" also setting up a eco-showrooms using natural material for its flooring and other activities. A lot of companies are involved into Green Marketing for the following reasons: Opportunity: With the increase in consumers who prefer environment-friendly products and those who have become health conscious, there is a vast opportunity for Green Marketing in India. For example: Surf Excel, LG Social Responsibility: Many companies have started realizing that they have some social responsibilities. So they believe in achieving profit related objectives with environmental objectives. Example: HSBC BANK goods. For example: Ban of plastics in Mumbai and prohibition of smoking in India. Competitive Pressure: Many companies take up green marketing to maintain their competition pressures. The green marketing initiatives by niche companies such as Body Shop and Green & Black have prompted many mainline competitors to follow suit. Cost Reduction: It is believed that the reduction of harmful things will cut down the cost of the final product also. Some companies have now developed a symbiotic relationship in which one company uses the by-products of another company as raw materials. In this manner, the problem of disposing off the effluent waste is reduced. Thus Green Marketing ensures sustained long term growth, profitability, saves money in the long run, helps marketing of products keeping the environment-concern in mind, helps in breaking through newer markets and enjoying competitive advantages

Implementing Green marketing is not going to be an easy job. The firm has to face many problems while treading the way of Green marketing. Challenges which have to be faced are listed as under: • Practicing green marketing initially will be a costly affair. Green marketing encourages green products/services, green technology, green power/energy; a lot of money has to be spent on R&D programmes • The customers may not believe in the firm‘s strategy of Green marketing, the firm therefore should ensure that they convince the customer about their green product, this can be done by implementing Eco-labeling schemes. Eco-labeling schemes offer its ―approval‖ to ―environmentally less harmless‖ products have been very popular in Japan and Europe. In fact the first eco-label programme was initiated by Germany in 1978. • The profits will be very low since renewable and recyclable products and green technologies are more expensive. Green marketing will be successful only in long run time. • Many customers may not be willing to pay a higher price for green products which

• The firm may give up on Green marketing concept or be forced to practice unfair means to cut cost to sustain in the competition and thus the entire idea of going green will be a farce. • It is difficult for the firm in convincing the stakeholders for practicing Green marketing and many a times there may be some who simply may not believe and co-operate.

BENEFITS OF GREEN MARKETING

Green marketing offers business bottom line incentives and top line growth possibilities. While modification of business or production processes may involve start-up costs, it will save money in the long term. For example the cost of installing solar energy is an investment in future energy cost savings. Companies that develop new and improved products and services with environmental impacts in mind give themselves access to new markets, substantially increase profits and enjoy competitive advantages over those marketing non-environmentally responsible alternatives. Socially Responsible Investment (SRI) in Australia is no longer a niche investment. Potential investors increasingly look to companies to demonstrate their social and environmental responsibility as well as traditional financial objectives and outcomes. Competitive businesses with an eye to emerging market forces address their triple bottom line performance. For example, to support its aim of being a sustainable business, The Body Shop produces a social and environmental performance report, ‗The New Bottom Line‘, every two years.

Green marketing is based on the premise that businesses have a responsibility to satisfy human needs and desires while preserving the integrity of the natural environment. That this latter concern has been ignored throughout most of recorded human history does not mean it will be unimportant in the future. Indeed, there are significant indications that environmental issues will grow in importance over the coming years and will require imaginative and innovative redesign and reengineering of existing marketing efforts on the part of many businesses. Solutions to environmental problems can be characterized into roughly three categories: ethical, legal, and business (economic and technological). Long-term sustainability of the planet is likely to require some rather distinct changes in the ethical change; it has a tremendous advantage over moral persuasion in terms of speed and efficacy of implementation, although its results are not always as intended. In the short term, business solutions—the enlightened self-interest of commercial enterprises finding new ways to incorporate technology and carry on exchanges with greater concern for heretofore unpriced environmental goods and services—offer particular promise. Green marketing and the promotion of responsible consumption are part of that solution. Green marketing is a tool for protecting the environment for the future generation. it has a positive impact on environmental safety. Because of the growing concern of environmental protection, there is an emergence of a new market which is the green market. For companies to survive in this market, they need to go green in all aspect of their business. Consumers want to identify themselves with companies that are green compliant and are willing to pay a premium for a greener life style. As such, green marketing is not just an environmental protection tool but also, a marketing strategy.

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Lecturer, I.B.PG College, Panipat