Green marketing: Sales-oriented, yet en­vi­ron­men­tal­ly conscious

It has long been known that cheaply produced consumer goods and the often cited “throwaway mentality” of consumers have a negative impact on the en­vi­ron­ment and working con­di­tions in many of the producing countries. However, most people have only become fully aware of the extent of these problems in recent years, whether through awareness campaigns by NGOs or private content in social media channels. The images of working children in textile factories, garbage piles on dreamy beaches, and plastic in the stomach of dead animals have gradually started leading to a rethink.

Today, it is becoming in­creas­ing­ly important for consumers to be able to consume with a clear con­science. This is where green marketing comes in. It is an in­stru­ment for companies to com­mu­ni­cate sus­tain­able pro­duc­tion strate­gies and en­vi­ron­men­tal­ly conscious ac­tiv­i­ties, and in this way, to win new customers or to retain existing customers in the long term.

Green marketing, eco-marketing, eco­log­i­cal­ly-oriented marketing, sus­tain­able marketing – all these es­sen­tial­ly syn­ony­mous terms revolve around the suc­cess­ful marketing placement of sus­tain­ably-produced products. The term “green marketing” is the English equiv­a­lent of “eco-marketing” and the like, but is now also in­creas­ing­ly used in­ter­na­tion­al­ly.

In the economic context, green marketing refers to all ad­ver­tis­ing and in­for­ma­tion efforts that promote or emphasize the en­vi­ron­men­tal com­pat­i­bil­i­ty of products or the sus­tain­abil­i­ty of the pro­duc­tion chain. It is not just a matter of con­vinc­ing customers of the sus­tain­abil­i­ty of their own products or services, with targeted ad­ver­tis­ing measures. The term also includes all measures that affect the im­prove­ment of a company’s en­vi­ron­men­tal balance sheet or its pro­duc­tion processes.

In a world that is in­creas­ing­ly suffering from the en­vi­ron­men­tal sins of the past and present, every small step forward is important. First and foremost, NGOs, ed­u­ca­tion­al in­sti­tu­tions, and the media have the en­vi­ron­men­tal­ly conscious, sus­tain­able con­sump­tion task of educating people about en­vi­ron­men­tal problems. They inform us on causes and long-term con­se­quences, and propose solutions to improve the current situation. However, companies can also assume re­spon­si­bil­i­ty and act within the framework of corporate social re­spon­si­bil­i­ty. This means that they not only act in a sales-oriented manner, but also take social, eco­log­i­cal, and ethical aspects into account in their decisions.

In this overall concept, green marketing is the subarea that con­cen­trates on an en­vi­ron­men­tal­ly friendly, sus­tain­able ori­en­ta­tion of marketing measures. To put it simply, it is about in­te­grat­ing eco­log­i­cal aspects into all areas of marketing. The basis for this is the classic marketing mix with its four pillars, which are also called the 4Ps of marketing due to their des­ig­na­tions:

1. Product
2. Price
3. Place
4. Promotion

Each in­di­vid­ual area can be made greener through eco­log­i­cal­ly-oriented measures. The pos­si­bil­i­ties range from packaging made of recycled materials and more en­vi­ron­men­tal­ly friendly dis­tri­b­u­tion channels to leasing or deposit models instead of classic sales.

There are different ways to establish green marketing in a company. They are based on how strongly the company wants to position itself and what (financial and personnel) effort can/should be made:

• Passive: Only the ap­plic­a­ble laws and reg­u­la­tions are im­ple­ment­ed.
• Selective: The selection of eco­log­i­cal measures is based on the com­pe­ti­tion and goes just minimally beyond their ac­tiv­i­ties.
• Internal: Green marketing focuses on internal company processes like de­vel­op­ment and pro­duc­tion.
• In­no­v­a­tive: A com­pre­hen­sive eco-strategy will be developed, not just based on already known and proven methods, but also taking in­no­v­a­tive paths in the field of en­vi­ron­men­tal pro­tec­tion and sus­tain­abil­i­ty. The aim is to set new standards and set an example.

Depending on which ori­en­ta­tion you choose, green marketing can be reflected in the classic 4P marketing mix as follows:

• Product policy: The product should consist of natural or at least en­vi­ron­men­tal­ly friendly materials. In the best case, it not only helps to protect nature, but also helps to mitigate existing en­vi­ron­men­tal damage.
• Price policy: The ad­di­tion­al costs arising from the ori­en­ta­tion towards eco­log­i­cal aspects may be reflected to a certain extent in the price. If the price increase is com­mu­ni­cat­ed trans­par­ent­ly and plausibly, many consumers are prepared to pay a higher price for sus­tain­ably produced goods. If the op­por­tu­ni­ty arises, leasing or sharing options are also possible that si­mul­ta­ne­ous­ly have resource-saving and social com­po­nents.
• Dis­tri­b­u­tion policy: The transport routes required within the framework of a pro­duc­tion cycle as well as the dis­tri­b­u­tion channels are decisive for the eco­log­i­cal footprint of a product. They should therefore be organized as en­vi­ron­men­tal­ly friendly and resource-saving as possible. This can be achieved, for example, by using regional raw materials.
• Com­mu­ni­ca­tion: On the one hand, this is about making ad­ver­tis­ing as en­vi­ron­men­tal­ly friendly as possible, e.g. by avoiding using flyers, which often end up in the garbage after a brief glance. On the other hand, a com­mu­ni­ca­tion strategy must be developed for the company’s own en­vi­ron­men­tal ac­tiv­i­ties. This involves informing (future) customers and retaining them for the long time.

Ul­ti­mate­ly, every company must decide for itself how seriously it im­ple­ments green marketing strate­gies and how dom­i­nant­ly it com­mu­ni­cates them to the outside world. It is important that the procedure is credible, to avoid any ac­cu­sa­tion of so-called “green­wash­ing.” This very negative term is used to describe PR measures that present a company or in­di­vid­ual products as par­tic­u­lar­ly en­vi­ron­men­tal­ly friendly and sus­tain­able, without this cor­re­spond­ing to reality. Consumers are therefore de­lib­er­ate­ly deceived in order to achieve com­pet­i­tive ad­van­tages in the short term. This kind of approach, however, per­ma­nent­ly damages the image of a company.

The following examples il­lus­trate the skillful im­ple­men­ta­tion of green marketing in a medium-sized company, as well as in a large in­ter­na­tion­al company.

1) Patagonia

Patagonia is an outdoor clothing company based in Cal­i­for­nia, with a strong com­mit­ment to the en­vi­ron­ment and is a great example of green marketing. Founded by ac­com­plished rock climbers, the brand scores high in terms of au­then­tic­i­ty when it comes to its en­vi­ron­men­tal com­mit­ments. Even though, ad­mit­ted­ly, many of the garments they produce are made of plastic, Patagonia are quick to ac­knowl­edge this issue, and are working on ways to combat mi­croplas­tic pollution that occurs when their plastic-based garments are washed in a washing machine.

The company is deeply involved with en­vi­ron­men­tal pro­tec­tion and land preser­va­tion, and is willing to delve into politics to achieve its en­vi­ron­men­tal goals. Patagonia donates 1% of annual earnings to en­vi­ron­men­tal groups and is involved in the Go Green movement. Its green marketing strategy is visible in its company mission, and is hugely suc­cess­ful, thanks to its authentic image and com­mit­ment to education and sus­tain­abil­i­ty.

2) Ikea

While Ikea is syn­ony­mous with low cost, mass produced homewares, the company has made strides in recent years when it comes to sus­tain­abil­i­ty in both its products, and work processes. Ikea sources half of its wood from sus­tain­able growers, and all cotton from Better Cotton standard-meeting suppliers. Ninety percent of Ikea stores are kitted out with hundreds of thousands of solar panels, and plans have been announced to be com­plete­ly powered by re­new­ables by 2020.

Ikea has also im­ple­ment­ed a strategy called People & Planet Positive, which en­cour­ages consumers to consider the en­vi­ron­ment when pur­chas­ing. This strategy also includes im­ple­ment­ing eco-friendly practices in the pro­duc­tion process, making product ranges more sus­tain­able.

Ikea has been rec­og­nized by the Impact Company for its work on human rights, as well as the en­vi­ron­ment.

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