Green Marketing

Consumer Awareness towards Green Marketing 1. EXECUTIVE SUMMARY Terms like â€Å"Green Marketing† and â€Å"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. Other similar terms used are Environmental Marketing and Ecological Marketing. American Marketing Association Define: – 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 To succeed, any green strategy must fulfill three criteria: ? Firstly, it must be a sustainable and credible programmed, which brings real benefits to the environment. ? Secondly, it must deliver sound economic ROI and competitive advantage to the business. ? Thirdly, i t must be supported by relevant green messages, which resonate with customers and prospects. Basically the main aim of the project is to analyze the developments which are taking place throughout the world to promote green products and green marketing. Title of the project: The title of the project is â€Å"Consumer awareness towards Green Marketing. † 1 Consumer Awareness towards Green Marketing ? Objectives of Research: †¢ †¢ †¢ To understand the level of awareness regarding green marketing among consumers. To understand the buying behavior of consumers related to green marketing. To understand how green marketing helps Company to built its image. To understand initiative taken by government towards green marketing. To understand the success of green marketing as a corporate social responsibility. †¢ †¢ Limitations of the study: †¢ Demographic Constraints – will be a main issue of concern. This is †¢ †¢ due to the reason that t he data collection will be restricted to the Borivali and Kandivali region. Unawareness – people are unaware of the i. e. Green marketing. Time Constraint – the time duration for doing the complete research on green marketing is very limited. Green Marketing a broad topic which requires an in-depth research and analysis. Due to the time period given for research is very limited. 2. RESEARCH METHODOLOGY 2 Consumer Awareness towards Green MarketingResearch Methodology is a way to systematically solve the research problem. It may be understood as a science of studying how research is done scientifically. When we talk of research methodology we not only talk of the research methods but also consider the logic behind the methods we use in the context of our research study and explain why we are using a particular method or technique and why we are not using others. The major steps involved in research process are: ? Formulating the Research Problem ? Choice of Research Desi gn ? Sources of Data ?Processing and analyzing the data ? Formulating the Research Problem: The problem well defined is half solved. The formulation of a general topic into a specific research problem constitutes the first step of specific enquiry. ? Unit of analysis: Consumers between age group of 25 to 30 yrs. ? Characteristics of Interest: Awareness of Green Marketing. ? Choice of Research Design: Every project requires an action plan and method for conducting a study. This project is more prone to single cross-sectional descriptive research design. 3 Consumer Awareness towards Green Marketing Sources of Data: The data presented are both primary data and secondary data. ? Primary Data: The primary data are those which are collected afresh and for the first time, and thus happen to be original in character. We collect primary data during the course of doing experiments in an experimental research but in case we do research of the descriptive type and performs surveys. Here the Pri mary data will be collected by means of preparing a questionnaire and getting it filled by a large sample space. These questionnaires will help in drawing conclusions about the case. Secondary Data: Secondary data means data that are already available i. e. they refer to the data which have already been collected and analyzed by someone else. When the researcher utilizes secondary data then he has to look into various sources from where he can obtain them. In this case he is certainly not confronted with the problems that are usually associated with the collection of original data. Secondary data may either be published data or unpublished data. ? Processing and analyzing the data: The data analysis has been done in correct form.Usage of current information & graph is made in the project so as to make it easier & appropriate to understand. 3. INTRODUCTION TO GREEN MARKETING Environmental issues have gained importance in business as well as in public life throughout the world. It is not like that a few leaders of different countries 4 Consumer Awareness towards Green Marketing or few big renowned business houses are concerned about the day to day deterioration of oxygen level in our atmosphere but every common citizen of our country and the world is concerned about this common threat of global warming.So in this scenario of global concern, corporate houses has taken greenmarketing as a part of their strategy to promote products by employing environmental claims either about their attributes or about the systems, policies and processes of the firms that manufacture or sell them. 5 Consumer Awareness towards Green Marketing Clearly green marketing is part and parcel of overall corporate strategy; along with manipulating the traditional marketing mix (product, price, promotion and place), it require an understanding of public policy process.So we can say green marketing covers a broad range of activities. 3. 1 Definition & Meaning According to the American Marketi ng 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 6 Consumer Awareness towards Green Marketing ? ? ? ? Product modification, Changes to the production process, Packaging changes, as well as Modifying advertising. So, in simple terms Green marketing refers to the process of selling products and/or services based on their environmental benefits.Such a product or service may be environmentally friendly in itself or produced and/or packaged in an environmentally friendly way. 7 Consumer Awareness towards Green Marketing Green 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. 8 Consumer Awareness towards Green Marketing The many meanings of green The different mean ings of GREEN 9 Consumer Awareness towards Green Marketing . 2 Evolution of Green Marketing The green marketing has evolved over a period of time. According to Peattie (2001), the evolution of green marketing has three phases: ? First phase was termed as â€Å"Ecological† green marketing, and during this period all marketing activities were concerned to help environment problems and provide remedies for environmental problems. ? Second phase was â€Å"Environmental† green marketing and the focus shifted on clean technology that involved designing of innovative new products, which take care of pollution and waste issues. Third phase was â€Å"Sustainable† green marketing. It came into prominence in the late 1990s and early 2000. 3. 3 Importance of Green Marketing 10 Consumer Awareness towards Green Marketing Human Beings have 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. In market societies where there is â€Å"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. When looking through the literature there are several suggested reasons for firms increased use of Green Marketing. Five possible reasons cited are: ? Organizations perceive environmental marketing to be an opportunity ? ? ? ? hat can be used to achieve its objectives. Organizations believe they have a moral obligation to be more socially responsible. Governmental bodies are forcing firms to become more respons ible. Competitors' environmental activities pressure firms to change their environmental marketing activities. Cost factors associated with waste disposal, or reductions in material usage forces firms to modify their behavior. 11 Consumer Awareness towards Green Marketing 3. 4 GOALS OF GREEN MARKETING ? Eliminate the concept of waste. ? ? ? ? ? ? ? Reinvent the concept of product.Make prices reflect actual and environmental costs. Make environmentalism profitable. Bringing out product modifications. Changing in production processes. Packaging changes. Modifying advertising. 12 Consumer Awareness towards Green Marketing 3. 5 Need of Green Marketing: An Anthropological View Issues like Global warming and depletion of ozone umbrella are the main for the healthy survival. Every person rich or poor would be interested in quality life with full of health and vigour and so would the corporate class. Financial gain and economic profit is the main aim of any corporate business.But harm to en vironment cost by sustain business across the globe is realized now though off late. This sense is building corporate citizenship in the business class. So green marketing by the business class is still in the selfish anthological perspective of long term sustainable business and to please the consumer and obtain the sanction license by the governing body. Industries in Asian countries are catching the need of green marketing from the developed countries but still there is a wide gap between their understanding and implementation. 3. 6 Challenges in Green Marketing 13 Consumer Awareness towards Green Marketing Need For Standardization: It is found that only 5% of the marketing messages from â€Å"Green† campaigns are entirely true and there is a lack of standardization to authenticate these claims. There is no standardization to authenticate these claims. There is no standardization currently in place to certify a product as organic. Unless some regulatory bodies are involved in providing the certifications there will not be any verifiable means. A standard quality control board needs to be in place for such labeling and licensing. ? New Concept: Indian literate and urban consumer is getting more aware about the merits of Green products.But it is still a new concept for the masses. The consumer needs to be educated and made aware of the environmental threats. The new green movements need to reach the masses and that will take a lot of time and effort. By India’s ayurvedic heritage, Indian consumers do appreciate the importance of using natural and herbal beauty products. Indian consumer is exposed to healthy living lifestyles such as yoga and natural food consumption. In those aspects the consumer is already aware and will be inclined to accept the green products. ? Patience and Perseverance: 14 Consumer Awareness towards Green MarketingThe investors and corporate need to view the environment as a major longterm investment opportunity, the market ers need to look at the long-term benefits from this new green movement. It will require a lot of patience and no immediate results. Since it is a new concept and idea, it will have its own acceptance period. ? Avoiding Green Myopia: The first rule of green marketing is focusing on customer benefits i. e. the primary reason why consumers buy certain products in the first place. Do this right, and motivate consumers to switch brands or even pay a premium for the greener alternative.It is not going to help if a product is developed which is absolutely green in various aspects but does not pass the customer satisfaction criteria. This will lead to green myopia. Also if the green products are priced very high then again it will lose its market acceptability. 3. 7 Benefits of Green Marketing Today’s consumers are becoming more and more conscious about the environment and are also becoming socially responsible. Therefore, more 15 Consumer Awareness towards Green Marketing companies are responsible to consumer’s aspirations for environmentally less damaging or neutral products.Many companies want to have an early mover advantage as they have to eventually move towards becoming green. Some of the advantages of green marketing are: ? It ensures sustained long term growth along with profitability. ? It saves money in the long run, though initially the cost is more. ? It helps the companies market their products and services keeping the environment aspects in mind. ? It helps in accessing the new markets and enjoying the competitive advantage. ? Most of the employees also feel proud and responsible to be working for an environmentally responsible company. 4. PRESENT TREND IN GREEN MARKETING . 1 GREEN Code 16 Consumer Awareness towards Green Marketing Generalizes with care. Consumer behavior will not necessarily be consistent across different product types, and particular market segments may respond to certain issues on the green agenda but not others. Remem bers, the validity of a piece of market research is not related to the degree to which it supports your preferred option. Explores the context from which market research data comes. Be clear on the nature of the sample used, the questions asked, the way in which responses were recorded and the time and place from which the responses come.Ensures that where market research is crossing international borderlines, that the terminology and interpretation remains consistent. Terms like ‘environment’, ‘green’ and ‘conservation’ do not always translate precisely between languages. Neutrality is important. Ensure that when you pose questions to consumers, that they can make any response without being made to feel guilty or uncomfortable, and ensure that your own preconceptions about the green agenda (such as an assumption that green products will cost extra) are not encoded within the questions. 4. 2 Golden Rules of Green Marketing 1.Know your customer: If you want to sell a greener product to consumers, you first need to make sure that the consumer is aware of and concerned about the issues that your product attempts to address. (Whirlpool learned the hard 17 Consumer Awareness towards Green Marketing way that consumers wouldn’t pay a premium for a CFC-free refrigerator because consumers didn’t know what CFCs were! ). 2. Empower consumers: Make sure that consumers feel, by themselves or in concert with all the other users of your product, that they can make a difference. This is called â€Å"empowerment† and it’s the main reason why consumers buy greener products. . Be transparent: Consumers must believe in the legitimacy of your product and the specific claims you are making. Caution: There’s a lot of skepticism out there that is fueled by the raft of spurious claims made in the â€Å"go-go† era of green marketing that occurred during the late 80s–early90s — one brand of ho usehold cleaner claimed to have been â€Å"environmentally friendly since 1884†! 4. Reassure the buyer: Consumers need to believe that your product performs the job it’s supposed to do — they won't forego product quality in the name of the environment. Besides, products that don’t work will likely wind up in the trash bin, and that’s not very kind to the environment. ) 5. Consider your pricing: If you're charging a premium for your product — and many environmentally preferable products cost more due to economies of scale and use of higher-quality ingredients — make sure that consumers can afford the premium and feel it’s worth it. Many consumers, of course, cannot afford premiums for any type of product these days, much less greener ones, so keep this in mind as you develop your target audience and product specifications. . 3 Green Marketing Strategies V/S Conventional Marketing 18 Consumer Awareness towards Green Marketing Gre en Marketing Consumers Human beings with lives â€Å"Cradle-to cradle† flexible services Conventional Marketing Consumers with lifestyles â€Å"cradle-to-gave† one size fits for all products Selling oriented and benefits Receptive, independent, competitive, departmentalized, short term oriented profit maximizing. Products Marketing And Communication Educational values Corporate Proactive, interdependent, cooperative, holistic, long term 4. GREEN MARKETING MIX PRODUCT 19 Consumer Awareness towards Green Marketing Entrepreneurs wanting to exploit emerging green markets either: Identify customers’ environmental needs and develop products to address these needs or will develop environmentally responsible products to have less impact than competitors. The increasingly wide variety of products on the market that support sustainable developments are: ? Products made from recycled goods, such as Quick’ N Tuff housing ? ? ? ? ? ? ? materials made from recycled bro ccoli boxes.Products that can be recycled or reused. Efficient products, which save water, energy or gasoline, save money and reduce environmental impact. Products with environmentally responsible packaging, McDonalds, for example, changed their packaging from polystyrene clamshells to paper. Products with green labels, as long as they offer substantiation. Certified products, which meet or exceed environmentally responsible criteria. Organic products-many customers are prepared to pay a premium for organic products, which offer promise of quality.Organic butchers, for example, promote the added qualities such as taste and tenderness. A service that rents or loans products-toy libraries. Whatever the product or service, it is vital to ensure that products meet or exceed the quality expectation of customers and is thoroughly tested. PRICE Pricing is the critical element of the marketing mix. Most customers will only be prepared to pay a premium if there is a perception of additional product 20 Consumer Awareness towards Green Marketing value. This value may be improved performance, function, design, visual appeal or taste.Environmental benefits will be often being the deciding factor between products of equal value or quality. Environmentally responsible products, however are often less expensive when product life cycle coast are taken into consideration, for example fuel-efficient vehicles, water efficient printing and non-hazardous products. PLACE The choice of where and when to make products available will have significant impact on the customers you attract. Very few customers go out of their way to buy green products merely for the sake of it.Marketers looking to successfully introduce new green products should position them broadly in the market place so they are not just appealing to a small green niche market. The location must also be consistent with the image you want to project and allow you to project your own image rather than being dominated or co mpromised by the image of venue. The location must differentiate you from the competitors. This can be achieved by in-store promotions and visually appealing displays or using recycled materials to emphasize the environmental and other benefits. PROMOTION 21 Consumer Awareness towards Green MarketingPromoting products and services to target markets include paid advertising, public relations, sales promotions, direct marketing and on-site promotions. Smart green marketers will be able to reinforce environmental credibility by using sustainable marketing and communication tools and practices. For example, many companies in the financial industry are providing electronic statements by email; e-marketing is rapidly replacing more traditional marketing methods and printed materials can be produced using recycled materials and efficient processes such as waterless printing.Retailers, for example are recognizing the value of alliances with other companies, environmental groups and research organizations. When promoting their environmental commitment to reduce the use of plastic bags and promote their green commitment, some retailers sell shopping bags and promote their green commitments. 4. 5 Green Marketing Process Green marketing process comprises with external and internal P’s. After integrating external and internal P’s, green success will automatically come through four S’s.Here external 7 P’s consists of Paying customers, Providers, Politicians, Pressure groups, Problems, Predictions and Partners; internal 7P’s consists of Products, Promotion, Price, Place, Providing information, Processes and Policies. After integrating external and internal 7P’s, we can 22 Consumer Awareness towards Green Marketing find out the green successes through 4 S’s such as Satisfaction – of stakeholder needs, Safety – of products and processes, Social acceptability – of the company and Sustainability – of it s activities.External Green P’s †¢ Paying customers †¢ Providers †¢ Politician’s †¢ Pressure groups †¢ Problems †¢ Predictions †¢ Partners Internal Green P’s †¢ Products †¢ Promotion †¢ Price †¢ Place †¢ Providing information †¢ Processes †¢ Policies Green Marketing 4. 6 Green Marketing: A Corporate Initiative The S’s of Green Success  · Satisfaction – of stakeholder needs  · Safety – of products and processes  · Social acceptability – of the company  · Sustainability – of its activities Green important in because limited earth and if we Marketing is today’s world mankind has resources on the want long term 3 Consumer Awareness towards Green Marketing sustainability of human life on this earth’s surface, then companies has to learn to conserve these scarce natural resources and create products that have less environmental damage. Otherwi se the very existence of humankind will be under question mark. Corporate are going green from the grassroots level to sustain and win the customers’ expectations. The environment is becoming increasingly important part of the corporate reputations and they are actively participating in greening the corporate strategy.Companies have converted almost all the products to make them eco-friendly products. Following are the recent environment friendly initiatives taken by the companies. Cipla: CFC-free Inhaler: Cipla, India’s second largest drug company by market share has planned and started replacing all its CFC contained drugs to meet the international standard and Montreal Protocol ban deadline. The CFC depletes the ozone layer and also is a major cause of global warming. Cipla has updated the necessary technology to avoid the CFC and has also done its clinical trial in India and overseas.The Rota haler and the Asthalin inhaler are environment – friendly inhalers , used by asthma and bronchitis patients. These inhalers are using HFA (Hydro Fluro Alkaline) technology. The Rota haler is a powder based inhaler, different from regular inhaler which contains propellants. Maruti Suzuki The company has remained ahead of regulatory requirements in pursuit of environment protection and energy conservation at its manufacturing facilities, and in development of products that use fewer natural resources and are environment friendly. The company credited the ‘Just-in-Time' philosophy 24Consumer Awareness towards Green Marketing adopted and internalized by the employees as the prime reason that helped to excel in this direction. The company has been promoting 3R since its inception. As a result the company has not only been able to recycle 100% of treated waste water but also reduced fresh water consumption. The company has implemented rain water harvesting to recharge the aquifers. Also, recyclable packing for bought out components is being activel y promoted. The company has been facilitating implementation of Environment Management System (EMS) at its suppliers' end.Regular training programs are conducted for all the suppliers on EMS. Surveys are conducted to assess the vendors who need more guidance. The systems and the environmental performance of suppliers are audited. The green co-efficient of this system is much better than the conventional system. The Country’s largest car manufacturer had managed to slash energy consumption per car at its Gurgaon factory by 26 per cent over the past six years, while its carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions during car manufacturing processes has come down 39 per cent in the past five years.The model with gas as fuel was adopted by Maruti Suzuki India Limited as their Green Marketing practices. Bharat Petroleum Bharat Petroleum launched a campaign to position itself as a responsible corporate ‘green’ entity. Foraying into renewable energy-solar and wind power-it installed solar panels on its service stations. It also ran a program to cut production of greenhouse gases by 10% across its units worldwide and achieved it much ahead of schedule. Cleaner fuels such as Greener Diesel 25 Consumer Awareness towards Green Marketing (ultra low sulphur content) and BP Auotgas were developed.Almost all of its plants are ISO 14001 certified. Currently it is running a program to contain its net emissions at current levels for ten years. Hindustan Petroleum Hindustan petroleum owns a massive e-waste recycling plants, where enormous shredders and granulators reduce four million pounds of computer detritus each month to bite-sized chunks-the first step in reclaiming not just steel and plastic but also toxic chemicals like mercury and even some precious metals. HP will take back any brand of equipment; its own machines are 100 percent recyclable.It has promised to cut energy consumption by 20 percent by 2010. Proctor & Gamble Laundry detergents are also touting energy savings. Proctor & Gamble’s (P) newest market entry, Tide Coldwater, is designed to clean clothes effectively in cold water. About 80 to 85 percent of the energy used to wash clothes from heating water. Working with utility companies, P and G found that consumers could save energy and resources by using cold rather than warm water. As energy and resource prices continue to soar, opportunities for products offering efficiency and savings are destined for market growth.ITC ITC has been ‘Carbon Positive’ for three years in a row sequestering/storing twice the amount of CO2 than the Company emits. It has been ‘Water Positive' six years in a row creating three times more Rainwater Harvesting potential than ITC's net consumption. It has obtained close to 100% solid waste recycling. All Environment, Health and Safety Management Systems in ITC conform to the best international standards. ITC's businesses generate livelihoods for over 5 million people. 26 Consumer A wareness towards Green MarketingITC's globally recognized E-Choupal initiative is the world's largest rural digital infrastructure benefiting over 4 million farming families. ITC's Social and Farm Forestry initiative has greened over 80,000 hectares creating an estimated 35 million person days of employment among the disadvantaged. ITC's Watershed Development Initiative brings precious water to nearly 35,000 hectares of dry lands and moisture-stressed areas. ITC's Sustainable Community Development initiatives include women empowerment, supplementary education, integrated animal husbandry programs. 4. Initiatives Taken By Government Development of ISO 14000 Series of Standards. ISO has been developed to help any company in any country to meet the goal of sustainable development and environmental friendliness. The ISO 14000 family of standards (i. e. ISO 14001, 14004, 14010, 14011 and 1412) were published as an official document in 1996. The ISO series aims to provide guidance for dev eloping a comprehensive approach to environmental 27 Consumer Awareness towards Green Marketing management and for standardizing some key environmental tools of analysis such as labeling and life cycle assessment.Eco-Labeling Initiatives Eco label provide information regarding the environmental performance of products. The objective of eco-labeling is to provide authentication to genuine claims regarding the environmental impact of products and processes by manufacturers. In India the government has introduced the eco-mark scheme since 1981. The objectives of the scheme are: †¢ To provide incentives to manufacturers and importers to reduce the adverse environmental impact of products. †¢ To reward genuine initiatives by companies to reduce adverse impact of environmental impact of products. To assist consumers to become environmentally responsible in their daily lives by providing them information to take account of environmental factors in their daily lives. †¢ To en courage citizens to purchase products which have less environmental impact. Eco-Labeling Schemes in India The Ministry of environment and forest of government of India has prescribed the following criteria for products that: †¢ They cause substantially less pollution than comparable products in production, usage and disposal. †¢ They are recycled and/or recyclable whereas comparable products are not. They contribute to a reduction on adverse environmental health consequences. 28 Consumer Awareness towards Green Marketing †¢ They comply with laws, standards and regulations pertaining to the environment. †¢ Their price is not exorbitantly higher than comparable products. Eco-Mark in India Under the concept, products which are less harmful to the environment or have benign impact on environment through the various stages of development-manufacture, packaging, distribution, use and disposal or recycling may be awarded the Eco-Mark.An earthen pot has been chosen as th e logo for Eco-Mark scheme in India. The familiar earthen pot has renewable resource like earth, does not produce hazardous waste and consume little energy in making. As a symbol it puts across its environmental message. Its image has the ability to reach people and help to promote a greater awareness of the need to be kind to the environment. The logo Eco-Mark scheme signifies that the product which carries it does least damage to the environment. 4. 6 Reasons for adoption of Green Marketing by the Firms.Green marketing has been widely adopted by the firms worldwide and the following are the possible reasons cited for this wide adoption: 1) Opportunities – As demands change, many firms see these changes as an opportunity to be exploited and have a competitive advantage over firms marketing non-environmentally responsible alternatives. Some examples of 29 Consumer Awareness towards Green Marketing firms who have strived to become more environmentally responsible, in an attemp t to better satisfy their consumer needs are: ?McDonald's replaced its clam shell packaging with waxed paper because of increased consumer concern relating to polystyrene production and Ozone depletion. ? Tuna manufacturers modified their fishing techniques because of the increased concern over driftnet fishing, and the resulting death of dolphins. ? Xerox introduced a â€Å"high quality† recycled photocopier paper in an attempt to satisfy the demands of firms for less environmentally harmful products. 2) Governmental Pressure – As with all marketing related activities, governments want to â€Å"protect† consumers and society; this protection has significant green marketing implications.Governmental regulations relating to environmental marketing are designed to protect consumers in several ways: 1. Reduce production of harmful goods or by-products. 2. Modify consumer and industry's use and/or consumption of harmful goods. 3. Ensure that all types of consumers h ave the ability to evaluate the environmental composition of goods. Governments establish regulations designed to control the amount of hazardous wastes produced by firms. 3) Competitive Pressure – Another major force in the environmental marketing area has been firms' desire to maintain their competitive position.In many cases firms observe competitors promoting their environmental behaviors and attempt to emulate this behavior. In some instances this competitive pressure has caused an entire industry to modify and thus reduce its detrimental environmental behavior. For example, it could be argued that Xerox's â€Å"Revive 100% Recycled paper† was introduced a few years ago in an attempt to address the introduction of recycled photocopier paper by other manufacturers. In another example when one tuna manufacture stopped using driftnets the others followed suit. 30Consumer Awareness towards Green Marketing 4) Social Responsibility- Many firms are beginning to realize t hat they are members of the wider community and therefore must behave in an environmentally responsible fashion. This translates into firms that believe they must achieve environmental objectives as well as profit related objectives. This results in environmental issues being integrated into the firm's corporate culture. There are examples of firms adopting both strategies. Organizations like the Body Shop heavily promote the fact that they are environmentally responsible.While this behavior is a competitive advantage, the firm was established specifically to offer consumers environmentally responsible alternatives to conventional cosmetic products. This philosophy is directly tied to the overall corporate culture, rather than simply being a competitive tool. An example of a firm that does not promote its environmental initiatives is Coca-Cola. They have invested large sums of money in various recycling activities, as well as having modified their packaging to minimize its environme ntal impact. While being concerned about the environment, Coke has not used this concern as a marketing tool.Thus many consumers may not realize that Coke is a very environmentally committed organization. Another firm who is very environmentally responsible but does not promote this fact, at least outside the organization, is Walt Disney World (WDW). WDW has an extensive waste management program and infrastructure in place, yet these facilities are not highlighted in their general tourist promotional activities. 31 Consumer Awareness towards Green Marketing 5) Cost or Profit Issues – Firms may also use green marketing in an attempt to address cost or profit related issues.Disposing of environmentally harmful by-products, such as polychlorinated biphenyl (PCB) contaminated oil are becoming increasingly costly and in some cases difficult. Therefore firms that can reduce harmful wastes may incur substantial cost savings. When attempting to minimize waste, firms are often forced to reexamine their production processes. In these cases they often develop more effective production processes that not only reduce waste, but reduce the need for some raw materials. This serves as a double cost savings, since both waste and raw material are reduced. 5. GREEN CONSUMER BEHAVIOR 5. Environmentally Conscious Consumer Behavior ‘Environmentally Conscious Behavior’ (ECCB) is consumer behavior based on some awareness of the environmental impacts associated with a product or service, and a desire to reduce those impacts. Many researchers in the field of consumer’s psychology and market research have demonstrated a substantial growth in ECCB across a range of markets. It has been demonstrated through case studies that how product developers and marketers have capitalized on this positive attitude and effectively differentiated their product in terms of their ‘environmentally friendly’ character. 2 Consumer Awareness towards Green Marketing Th e term environmental consciousness does not have a standardized definition in the body of academic literature; the reason can be due to arousal of the term out of political and everyday language. Environmental consciousness is the desire to protect flora and fauna, a willingness to scrutinize the consequences of economic activity and a willingness to combine long-term with short-term planning. 5. 2 Attributes of the Green ConsumersTo take the advantage of the emerging green market, it is important to understand who green customers are and the factors influencing their purchasing decisions and behavior. Attributes of Environmentally Conscious Consumers Implication for Green Marketers 33 Consumer Awareness towards Green Marketing Target products to women who generally buy On behalf of men and families. Use the influence of children to Will most likely be well educated, encourage parents to try green young adult women who have more products. The green consumers of the future are genera lly knowledgeable money to spend. bout environmental issues. They should be offered samples and increments to try products. Will expect green products to function as non green products and won’t pay much extra or sacrifice quality for greener products. Will not buy green products on the basis of environmental benefits alone. Products choice is still based on whether it meets their basic want or need. Environmental features are added selling points. Effectively communicate assurance of quality for example quality of performances, look, feel, fit, comfort, durability.Like environmental attributes such as energy efficiency or toxic substance reduction with other benefits such as lower price, convenience, or quality of life improvements. Will be more likely to respond to Emphasize personal benefits by using product attribute that will personally terms such as ‘safe’, ‘non-toxic’, ‘cost benefit them. effective’ rather than more generalized gr een messages such as ‘biodegradable’ or ‘ozone friendly’. Will tolerate only minimal inconvenience in using green products and don’t want to go out of their way to buy them.Making the use of product simplee. g. minimize or eliminate refilling bottles. Select mainstream distributors wherever possible. Offer one-stop shopping and eye appealing displays. Will be analytical, eager to learn, and Reinforce product benefits with can be cynical about corporate claims evidence of corporate performance for green product unless they have and improvements. Educate 34 Consumer Awareness towards Green Marketing independent verification. consumers about environmental issues and your efforts through a variety of means.Provide credible environmental endorsements. use labels in compliance with government labeling guidelines, to convey precise, detailed information about your product and its packaging. Communicate your steps towards sustainability and commitments to im provement. Seek feedback and promote your efforts to respond to customer concerns. Will not expect companies to have perfect green credentials, but will look for a commitment to improve and evidence backed by facts. 5. 3 Green Buyers and Green Consumers 35 Consumer Awareness towards Green MarketingResearch about the identity and nature of green consumer has been the central character in the development of green marketing, as business attempt to understand and respond to external pressures to improve their environmental performance. Marketing practitioners and academics are attempting to identify and understand green consumers and their needs, and to develop market offerings that meet these needs. SEGMENTATION OF GREEN CONSUMERS ? True-Blue Greens- The most environmentally active segment of the ? ? ? ? society. Greenback Greens- Those most willing to pay the highest premium for green products.Spouts- Fence-sitters who have embraced environmentalism more slowly. Grousers- Uninvolved o r disinterested in environmental issues, who feel the issues are too big for them to solve. Apathetic- The least engaged group who believe that the environmental indifference is main stream. Apart from this Natural Marketing Institute (NMI) divides the market into following categories: ? Lohas- Very progressive on environment and society, looking for ? ? ? ? ways to do more; not too concerned about price. Naturalites- Primarily concerned about personal health and wellness, and use many natural products; would like to do more to protect the environment.Conventional- Practical, like to see the results of what they do; interested in green products that make sense in the long run. Drifters- Not too concerned about the environment, figuring we’ve got time to fix the environmental problems; don’t necessarily buy a lot of green products. Unconcerned- Have other priorities, not really sure what green products are available and probably wouldn’t be interested anyway; the y buy products strictly on price, value, quality and convenience. 5. 4 Consumer Information and Education 36 Consumer Awareness towards Green MarketingIf managers believe that consumers view greenness as a motivating variable, they should invest in conveying information through advertising, direct mailing, brand labels, in-store displays and pamphlets. The important points to be noted here are: a. Firms willing to provide clear, comprehensive and credible information must ensure that consumers have low cost to access it. b. Governmental policies and stakeholder initiatives can be important in reducing consumers’ search, information or transaction costs. c. Regulators can publish and disseminate it to the media by press releases and post it on the internet. . Stakeholders can use the media as well as use their organizationspecific vehicles such as newsletters. Green marketing can be successfully implemented by use of ICT in cost effective way: ? By developing compelling, conci se messages, plan innovative ways to repeatedly deliver, identify appropriate links within network of political, legislative, nonprofit organization and media, develop concept based programs and events. ? Utilize extensive relationship with local and national media to get a client’s message to the right media targets. Identify venues, plan tours, identify audiences, and organize meals, speakers and press. ? Strategies and plan joint PR initiatives as well as joint advertising campaigns and events to cross-promote companies and organization campaigns. ? Help develop identify and branding for print, broadcast and digital mediums. ? Consulting and creation of a corporate design, brochures, leaflets, info materials. ? Develop web sites, e-mail campaigns, and banner advertising. ? Develop creative print, broadcast and digital advertising, identify advertising targets and purchase appropriate media slots. 6.FUTURE GROWTH OF GREEN MARKETING 37 Consumer Awareness towards Green Market ing There are many lessons to be learned to avoid green marketing myopia, the short version of all this is that effective green marketing requires applying good marketing principles to make green products desirable for consumers. The question that remains, however, is, what is green marketing’s future? Business scholars have viewed it as a â€Å"fringe† topic, given that environmentalism’s acceptance of limits and conservation does not mesh well with marketing’s traditional axioms of â€Å"give customer what they want† and â€Å"sell as much as you can†.Evidence indicates that successful green products have avoided green marketing myopia by following three important principles: Consumer Value Positioning: ? Design environmental products to perform as well as (or better than) alternatives. ? Promote and deliver the consumer desired value of environmental products and target relevant consumer market segments. ? Broaden mainstream appeal by bun dling consumer desired value into environmental products. Calibration of Consumer Knowledge: 38 Consumer Awareness towards Green Marketing Educate consumers with marketing messages that connect environmental attributes with desired consumer value. ? Frame environmental product attributes as â€Å"solutions† for consumer needs. ? Create engaging and educational internet sites about environmental products desired consumer value. Credibility of Product Claims: ? Employ environmental product and consumer benefit claims that are specific and meaningful. ? Procure product endorsements or eco-certifications from trustworthy third parties and educate consumers about the meaning behind those endorsements and eco-certifications. Encourage consumer evangelism via consumers social and internet communication network with compelling, interesting and entertaining information about environmental products. 7. ANALYSIS OF EFFECTS OF GREEN MARKETING 39 Consumer Awareness towards Green Marketing Size of sample: This refers to the numbers of items to be selected from universe to constitute a sample. An optimum sample is one, which fulfills the requirements of efficiency, representativeness, reliability and flexibility. Sample size – 64 consumers Sample design: A sample design is definite plan for obtaining a sample from a given population.It refers to the technique or the procedure the researcher would adopt in selecting items for the samples. Sample design – consumers Sample type: Convenience sampling: – when population elements are selected for inclusion in the sample based on the case of access; it can be called convenience sampling. This study is based on stratified sampling and a structured questionnaire has been used to gather data from about 50 respondents to analyze effects of green marketing. By analyzing respondents’ answers towards the questions helps to understand the various aspects related to green marketing.The study attempts to ex pand research on exploring how many people have positive attitude towards green marketing and what are their thoughts on it. RESULTS: According to the analysis of questionnaire most of the respondents were not aware about green marketing but after reading the questionnaire they realized what it is all about. Of the 64 respondents 37 were male and 27 female. The respondents were between the age group of 25-27 and 28-30 yrs. 40 Consumer Awareness towards Green Marketing ? Are you aware of the term â€Å"green marketing†? The above bar graph indicates that 56% of respondents are familiar with the term Green Marketing.But many of them have a misconception with the term Green Marketing. They consider Green Marketing as something related to vegetable market or ? Have you heard of any campaign related to Green Marketing? 41 Consumer Awareness towards Green Marketing The above bar graph indicates that 44% of respondents are aware of the campaign related to Green Marketing. Rest 56% d oes not know about any campaign related to Green marketing. ? Have you been part of any such campaign? The above graph indicates that only 17% of the total has been a part of Green Marketing campaigns. ? Do you consider the environmental aspects of the products before buying them? 2 Consumer Awareness towards Green Marketing The above graph indicates that only 58% i. e. the majority of respondents consider the environmental aspect sometimes. And, only 23% consider the environmental aspect of the product while buying it. ? Do you think that green marketing and advertising are good sources of information about green products and services? The above graph indicates that only 69% i. e. the majority of respondents consider green marketing and advertising as good sources of information for green products and services. And, only 10% do not consider it. 43 Consumer Awareness towards Green Marketing Do you think that Green Marketing activities are good at addressing environmental issues? The above graph indicates that 87% of the respondents feel that Green Marketing activities are good at addressing environmental issues while 13% respondents do not. ? Do you think Green Marketing activities results in better product quality? 44 Consumer Awareness towards Green Marketing The above graph indicates that 70% of the respondents think that Green Marketing activities results in better product quality. ? Do you think that Green Marketing strengthen company’s image in the mind of consumer? 45 Consumer Awareness towards Green MarketingThe above graph indicates that majority of the respondents i. e. 86% think that Green Marketing strengthen company’s image in the mind of consumer. ? Do you think that companies that focus on environmental concerns persuade consumers to buy products? 46 Consumer Awareness towards Green Marketing The above graph indicates that the respondents the companies initiative towards environment do influence the consumers to buy product. 63% of respondents agree to it. ? Are you aware of the eco-labeling initiatives of the government? 47 Consumer Awareness towards Green Marketing The above graph indicates that majority of the respondents i. . 69% of the respondents are not aware of the eco-labeling initiatives of the government. 8. RECOMMENDATIONS Finite resources such as oil, metal, and even fresh water will become scarcer and more expensive. If businesses do not become more efficient in using these resources it will have a huge impact on the bottom line. Investing in Green Products thus changes from ‘beyond doing good’ to ultimately ‘good business sense’. Thus they should: Invest in research and create clean and environment friendly products. Clean energy sources such as solar, wind, bio-fuels and hydra power. Water harvesting.Recycle at every level. Move towards paperless office. ? Educate masses of the environment issues because they are going to be the bulk consumers. ? Socially responsible investing in environment driven projects. ? Plant more trees. ? ? ? ? ? The corporations must rethink: ? Their raw material and procurement strategies. ? They should develop new products ? They should redesign existing products and service. ? They should realize that pollution prevention can be a cost saving activity. ? They should steer their product and packaging designs to use less material. 48 Consumer Awareness towards Green Marketing . Conclusion As the demand for green products undoubtedly exists, Green Marketing provides an opportunity to the companies to increase their market-share by introducing eco friendly products. Stricter environmental regulations across the world, growing consumer preference for eco-friendly companies, and the inherent cost advantages in lowering toxic waste, are encouraging industries big and small to clean up. Result of a survey conducted showed that, consumers are not overly committed to improving their environment and may be looking to lay too mu ch responsibility on industry and government.Though it’s the responsibility of the firm to produce products, which are having minimum impact on the environment, but ultimately it’s the consumer who is having responsibility to use eco friendly products. Consumers are not too much concerned about the environment but as they have become more sophisticated, they require clear information about how choosing one product over another will benefit the environment. Consumer education results in their empowerment. Empowered consumers choose environmentally preferable products when all else is equal.Ultimately green marketing requires that consumers ‘Think Green, Think clean, Think Eco-friendly’ i. e. they want a cleaner environment and are willing to â€Å"pay† for it, possibly through higher priced goods, modified individual lifestyles, or even governmental intervention. Until this occurs it will be difficult for firms alone to lead the green marketing revol ution. 49 Consumer Awareness towards Green Marketing 10. BIBLIOGRAPHY ? Kotler Philips & G. Armstrong. Principles of marketing. New Delhi, Prentice Hall. ? Richa Agrawal, Green Marketing: An Emerging Trend (PJMR, Vol. 5,April 2000) ?Excerpts from the survey report conducted by BT-TERI. ? www. ecomall. com ? www. greenmarketingcorner. com ? www. greenpeace. org 50 Consumer Awareness towards Green Marketing 11. ANNEXURE Questionnaire Consumer Awareness towards Green Marketing Name: Age: Gender: Are you aware of the term â€Å"green marketing†? Yes No What do you understand by the term â€Å"Green Marketing†? Have you heard of any campaign related to Green Marketing? Yes 51 Consumer Awareness towards Green Marketing No Have you been part of any such campaign? Yes No Do you consider the environmental aspects of the products before buying them? Yes No SometimesDo you think that green marketing and advertising are good sources of information about green products and services ? Yes No Sometimes Do you think that Green Marketing activities are good at addressing environmental issues? Yes No 52 Consumer Awareness towards Green Marketing Do you think Green Marketing activities results in better product quality? Yes No Do you think that Green Marketing strengthen company’s image in the mind of consumer? Yes No Do you think that companies that focus on environment al concerns persuade consumers to buy products? Yes No Are you aware of the eco-labeling initiatives of the government? Yes No Thank You 53