Greeen Marketing

According to the American Marketing Association, 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, as well as modifying advertising. Yet defining green marketing is not a simple task where several meanings intersect and contradict each other; an example of this will be the existence of varying social, environmental and retail definitions attached to this term. Other similar terms used are Environmental Marketing and Ecological Marketing.

Green marketing involves developing and promoting products and services that satisfy your customers' wants and needs for quality, performance, affordable pricing and convenience without having a detrimental impact on the environment

History

The term Green Marketing came into prominence in the late 1980s and early 1990s.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".A recent survey discovered that 94 percent of all consumers prefer to do business with companies that demonstrate that they care about the environment. Almost 80 percent said they would pay more for environmentally friendly products.

According to Jacquelyn A. Ottman, (author of Green Marketing: Opportunity for Innovation) from an organizational standpoint, environmental considerations should be integrated into all aspects of marketing Ð'-- new product development and communications and all points in between.The holistic nature of green also suggests that besides suppliers and retailers new stakeholders be enlisted, including educators, members of the community, regulators, and NGOs. Environmental issues should be balanced with primary customer needs.

The past decade has shown that harnessing consumer power to effect positive environmental change is far easier said than done. The so-called "green consumer" movements in the U.S. and other countries have struggled to reach critical mass and to remain in the forefront of shoppers' minds. While public opinion polls taken since the late 1980s have shown consistently that a significant percentage of consumers in the U.S. and elsewhere profess a strong willingness to favor environmentally conscious products and companies, consumers' efforts to do so in real life have remained sketchy at best.[12] One of green marketing's challenges is the lack of standards or public consensus about what constitutes "green," according to Joel Makower, a writer on green marketing In essence, there is no definition of "how good is good enough" when it comes to a product or company making green marketing claims. This lack of consensus -- by consumers, marketers, activists, regulators, and influential people -- has slowed the growth of green products, says Makower, because companies are often reluctant to promote their green attributes, and consumers are often skeptical about claims.

Despite these challenges, green marketing has continued to gain adherents, particularly in light of growing global concern about climate change. This concern has led more companies to advertise their commitment to reducing their climate impacts, and the effect this is having on their products and services.

Principles of Green Marketing

Issues Related to Product Content and Related Claims

11. Include power from emerging renewable resources (wind, solar, biomass, geothermal).

12. Make a difference. Marketed renewables should be above and beyond any renewables requirements. Ratebased resources should be marketed only under certain circumstances.

13. Avoid distinctions between "existing" and "new"renewables.

14. Fully disclose product contents and provide information to allow on-going product verification (in the absence of uniform disclosure requirements).

15. Document claims that power from undesirable sources is not being supported.

16. Do not charge excessive prices.

17. Do not collect premiums in advance and avoid donation programs.

18. Other Issues.

19. Support a universal system of price, fuel mix and emissions disclosure.

20. Support public policies that advance sustainable energy goals.

SIX Winning Strategies for Green Marketing:

1. Do your homework. Understand the full range of environmental, economic, political and social issues that affect your consumer and your products and services now and over the long term.

2. Create new products and services that balance consumer's desire for high quality, convenience and affordable pricing with minimal environmental impact over the entire life of your products.

3. Empower consumers with solutions. Help them understand the issues that affect your business as well as the benefits of your environmentally preferable technology, materials and design.

4. Establish credibility for your marketing efforts.

5. Build coalition with corporate environmental stakeholders.

6. Communicate your corporate commitment and project your values.

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