DISSERTATION REPORT

OF
A STUDY ON CONSUMER PERCEPTION ON GREEN MARKETING
“Submitted in the Partial Fulfillment for the Requirement of
Post Graduate Diploma in Management in International Business”

(PGDM-IB)

Submitted To: Submitted By:

Internal Guide: Dr. Gopika Kumar Tanya Arora

Designation: Associate Professor Roll No: 51/PGDM (IB)

Batch: 2017-2019

1
 DISSERTATION REPORT

ON

A STUDY ON CONSUMER PERCEPTION ON GREEN MARKETING

“Submitted in the Partial Fulfillment for the Requirement of

Post Graduate Diploma in Management in International Business”

(PGDM-IB)

Submitted To: Submitted By:

Dr. Gopika Kumar Tanya Arora

Associate Professor Roll No. 51/PGDM (IB)

Batch 2017-19

Jagannath International Management School

2
 Kalkaji, New Delhi

DECLARATION

Title of Dissertation Report Program: A Study on Consumer Perception on Green

Marketing
I declare,

(a) That the work presented for assessment in this Summer Internship Report is my
own, that it has not previously been presented for another assessment and that my
debts (for words, data, arguments and ideas) have been appropriately acknowledged.

(b) That the work conforms to the guidelines for presentation and style set out in the
relevant documentation.

Date: …………….… Tanya Arora

51/PGDM-2017(IB)

3
 2017-2019

CERTIFICATE

This is to certify that Ms. Tanya Arora of PGDM (IB) has completed his Summer
Training Project on “A Study on Consumer Perception on Green Marketing” of his own.
His work is up to my satisfaction.

Project Guide

-----------------------

Dr. Gopika Kumar

Associate Professor

4
 ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

The internship opportunity I had with SONY INDIA PRIVATE LIMITED was a great
chance for learning and professional development. I have been provided with great
opportunities. I am also grateful for having a chance to meet so many wonderful people
and professionals who led me though this internship period.

I am using this opportunity to express my gratitude and thanks to my Company Guide

MR. PANKAJ SHARMA, my external guide who despite being extraordinarily busy with
his duties, took time out to hear, guide and keep me on the correct path and allowing
me to carry out my project at their esteemed organization.

I am thankful to my internal faculty guide of my institute DR. J.K BATRA (Director at

JIMS Kalkaji) and my internal mentor MS. SANJEELA MATHUR (Associate Professor
at JIMS Kalkaji) for guiding me with all the rules and regulations of internships and
clearing the doubts whenever required. I choose this moment to acknowledge their help
gratefully.

It is my radiant sentiment to place on records my best regards and deepest sense of

gratitude to the constant support I have received through my Family, Friends and Co-
workers during the Internship period.

I perceive as this opportunity a milestone in my career development. I will strive to use

gained skills and knowledge in the best possible way, and I will continue to work on their
improvement to attain desired career objectives.

Hope to continue cooperation with all of you in the future.

Tanya Arora
51/PGDM-2017(IB)
2017-2019

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CONTENTS
CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION .................................................................................................15

WHAT IS GREEN MARKETING? .........................................................................................15

BIRTH OF GREEN MARKETING ..........................................................................................17

EVOLUTION OF GREEN MARKETING ................................................................................18

IMPORTANCE OF GREEN MARKETING .............................................................................19

GOALS OF GREEN MARKETING ........................................................................................20

NEED OF GREEN MARKETING ..........................................................................................20

WHAT ARE “GREEN PRODUCTS” OR “ENVIRONMENTAL PRODUCTS” ..........................20

THE SEVEN P’s OF GREEN MARKETING ..........................................................................21

PRODUCT ........................................................................................................................21

PRICE ...............................................................................................................................22

PLACE ..............................................................................................................................22

PROMOTION ....................................................................................................................22

PEOPLE............................................................................................................................23

PROCESS.........................................................................................................................23

PHYSICAL EVIDENCE .....................................................................................................23

WHY IS GREEN MARKETING IMPORTANT? ......................................................................24

BENEFITS OF GREEN MARKETING: ..................................................................................25

WHY ARE FIRMS USING GREEN MARKETING? ................................................................25

OPPORTUNITIES .............................................................................................................25

SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITY ...............................................................................................26

GOVERNMENTAL PRESSURE ........................................................................................27

COMPETITIVE PRESSURE .............................................................................................28

COST / PROFIT ISSUES ..................................................................................................28

COMPANIES INVOLVED IN GREEN MARKETING ..............................................................29

HSBC ................................................................................................................................29

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 ROYAL DUTCH SHELL ....................................................................................................29

HERO HONDA ..................................................................................................................30

JK TYRES .........................................................................................................................30

REVA ELECTRIC CAR COMPANY ..................................................................................30

COCA-COLA .....................................................................................................................30

STATE BANK OF INDIA....................................................................................................31

SUZLON ENERGY............................................................................................................31

KANSAI NEROLAC ...........................................................................................................32

INDIAN OIL .......................................................................................................................32

ITC LIMITED .....................................................................................................................33

WIPRO TECHNOLOGIES .................................................................................................33

TATA METALINKS LIMITED (TML)...................................................................................33

HCL TECHNOLOGIES ......................................................................................................33

PANASONIC INDIA...........................................................................................................33

CHALLENGES IN GREEN MARKETING ..............................................................................34

CONSUMER BUYING DECISION OF GREEN PRODUCTS ................................................35

MOTIVATIONS .................................................................................................................35

BARRIERS ........................................................................................................................36

GREEN MARKETING: SWOT ANALYSIS ............................................................................37

STRENGTHS ....................................................................................................................37

WEAKNESS ......................................................................................................................38

OPPORTUNITIES .............................................................................................................38

THREATS .........................................................................................................................38

BENEFITS OF GREEN MARKETING ...................................................................................39

GOLDEN RULES OF GREEN MARKETING .........................................................................39

GREEN MARKETING STRATEGIES ....................................................................................40

GREEN BASED PRODUCT STRATEGIES.......................................................................40

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 GREEN LOGISTICS STRATEGIES ..................................................................................41

GREEN PRICING STRATEGIES ......................................................................................42

GREEN PROMOTION STRATEGIES ...............................................................................42

GENERAL STRATEGIES..................................................................................................43

GOVERNMENT INTERVENTION STRATEGIES ..............................................................44

UNDERTAKE LIFECYCLE INVENTORY ANALYSIS/ASSESSMENT (LCA) .....................44

TEAMING UP WITH ALL STAKEHOLDERS FOR SUCCESS...........................................45

NATIONAL AND INTERNATIONAL SCENARIO ...................................................................45

THE NEW “GREEN” REVOLUTION......................................................................................46

GREEN WARMING – PROPOSED SOLUTION ....................................................................47

SUPPLY CHAIN ................................................................................................................47

PACKAGING .....................................................................................................................48

RAW MATERIAL ...............................................................................................................48

PRODUCT INNOVATIONS ...............................................................................................49

SERVICES ........................................................................................................................49

PRESENT TREND IN GREEN MARKETING ........................................................................50

GREEN CODE ..................................................................................................................50

INITIATIVES TAKEN BY GOVERNMENT .............................................................................52

DEVELOPMENT OF ISO 14000 SERIES OF STANDARDS. ............................................52

ECO-LABELING INITIATIVES...........................................................................................52

ECO-LABELING SCHEMES IN INDIA ..............................................................................52

ECO-MARK IN INDIA ........................................................................................................53

FUTURE GROWTH OF GREEN MARKETING .....................................................................53

CONSUMER VALUE POSITIONING:................................................................................53

CALIBRATION OF CONSUMER KNOWLEDGE: ..............................................................54

CREDIBILITY OF PRODUCT CLAIMS: .............................................................................54

CHAPTER 3: RESEARCH METHODOLOGY ...........................................................................55

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 BENEFITS OF MARKET RESEARCH ..................................................................................55

PROCESS ............................................................................................................................56

DEFINING THE PROBLEM ...............................................................................................56

DEVELOPING THE RESEARCH PLAN ............................................................................56

COLLECTION OF DATA ...................................................................................................56

ANALYSIS AND INTERPRETATION OF DATA ................................................................56

RESEARCH DESIGN............................................................................................................57

OBJECTIVES OF RESEARCH .............................................................................................57

NEED OF THE PROJECT ....................................................................................................57

RESEARCH METHODOLOGY ADOPTED ...........................................................................59

DATA ANALYSIS ..................................................................................................................59

LIMITATIONS OF THE STUDY.............................................................................................59

CHAPTER 4: DATA ANALYSIS & INTERPRETATION .............................................................61

CHAPTER 5: FINDINGS, SUGGESTIONS & CONCLUSION ...................................................71

FINDINGS .............................................................................................................................71

RECOMMENDATIONS .........................................................................................................72

CONCLUSION ......................................................................................................................73

BIBLIOGRAPHY ...................................................................................................................73

BOOKS & JOURNALS ......................................................................................................73

WEBSITES........................................................................................................................74

9
 PREFACE

Although environmental issues influence all human activities, few academic disciplines
have integrated green issues into their literature. This is especially true of marketing. As
society becomes more concerned with the natural environment, businesses have begun
to modify their behavior in an attempt to address society's "new" concerns. Some
businesses have been quick to accept concepts like environmental management
systems and waste minimization, and have integrated environmental issues into all
organizational activities. Some evidence of this is the development of journals such as
"Business Strategy and the Environment" and "Greener Management International,"
which are specifically designed to disseminate research relating to business'
environmental behavior.

One business area where environmental issues have received a great deal of
discussion in the popular and professional press is marketing. Terms like "Green
Marketing" and "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. For example, in the United States
(US) the Federal Trade Commission and the National Association of Attorneys-General
have developed extensive documents examining green marketing issues. One of the
biggest problems with the green marketing area is that there has been little attempt to
academically examine environmental or green marketing. While some literature does
exist, it comes from divergent perspectives.

This report will attempt to:

 Introduce the terms and concepts of green marketing;

 Briefly discuss why going green is important;
 Examine some of the reason that organizations are adopting a green marketing
philosophy; and
 Mention some of the problems with green marketing
 Find out ways to improve consumer appeal for environmentally preferable
products through different marketing strategies

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 Effect on Consumers

11
 EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

Terms like "Green 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, it 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.

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 LITERATURE REVIEW

The concept of green marketing has evolved over the years. There are basically three
stages in which it has evolved.

1. The decade of the late 1980s marked the first stage of green marketing, when
the concept of “green marketing” was newly introduced and discussed in industry
(Peattie and Crane, 2005). Owing to the upsurge of this new concept many
marketers tried to involve in green marketing in order to generate positive
consumer response which would be converted into goodwill, market share and
sales. However, in spite of reports stating that the environmental problems
constituted one of the uppermost public concerns, market growth of these
products fell short of expectations.
2. The second stage started off as a consumer backlash. Many organizations
“green washed” the consumers. In order to improve their sales, thus creating
cynical attitude of the consumers towards the green concept. Some of the
marketing practices which lead to the failure of green marketing during this
period are (Peattie and Crane 2005):
a) Green spinning -> Taking a reactive stance of “green”, if accused of malpractice
b) Green Selling -> taking an opportunistic approach by adding some green claims
to existing products with an intention to boosts profits.
c) Green harvesting -> Becoming enthusiastic about the environment only when
greening would result in cost savings.
d) Entrepreneur marketing -> Developing innovative green products without actually
considering consumer needs.
e) Compliance marketing -> Just following the environmental standards as an
opportunity to promote the company’s green credentials rather than actually
being involved
3. The evolution of the third stage is just a response to the anomalies occurring in
the second stage.

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With the implementation of advanced technology, stricter state enforcement on
deceptive claims, govt. regulations and incentives and closer scrutiny from various
environmental organizations and media many green products have regained confidence
in the 2000’s (Gurau and Ranchhod, 2005; Ottoman, 2007).

With green and sustainable development as the theme of 21st century development,
two trends have been predicted as inevitable in the near future of green marketing.
They are:

a) First the concept of an eco-friendly approach of doing business will be pushed

into mainstream (Hanas 2007)
b) Second, corporations from developed countries will initiate international green
marketing in order to expand their market, increase their sales and take
advantage of the positive image of their green brands established in their
domestic markets (Gura˘u and Ranchhod, 2005; Johri and Sahasakmontri, 1998;
Pugh and Fletcher, 2002).

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CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION

WHAT IS GREEN MARKETING?

In the last decade, consumers have become more enlightened on environmental issues.
Green marketing refers to selling product or rendering services based on environmental
benefit. It came into existence in late 1980s and early 1990s.

Green marketing, also alternatively known as environmental marketing and sustainable

marketing, refers to an organization’s efforts at designing, promoting, pricing and
distributing products that will not harm the environment. (Pride and Ferrell 1993)

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
minimum detrimental impact on the environment is called Green Marketing. Polonsky
(1994)

There has been little analysis of the impact of this new market on the consumers and
the environment so far.

Green marketing affects all areas of our economy, it does not just lead to environmental
protection but it also creates new market and job opportunities. Companies that are
environmental stewards stand a chance of gaining many satisfied and loyal customers.

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 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 have taken green-marketing 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.

15
Clearly green marketing is part and parcel of overall corporate strategy; along with
manipulating the traditional marketing mix (product, price, promotion and place), it
requires an understanding of public policy process. So, we can say green marketing
covers a broad range of activities.

A company which follows green marketing should have the following goals as innate to
its system:

 Eradicate the concept of waste

 Re-invent and re-innovate the concept of a product
 Make prices reflect actual and environmental costs
 Make environmentalism profitable

FIRMS CAN ‘GREEN’ THEMSELVES IN THREE WAYS:

 Value-addition processes
 Management systems
 Products

Greening the value-addition processes could involve redesigning them, eradicating

some of them, modifying technology and/or introducing new technology – all with the
objective of reducing the environmental impact.

Management systems’ efficacy for greening value-addition processes is really difficult to

quantify if they are not accompanied by performance measures. Thus, by having
measurable (therefore, easily monitored and understood) performance indicators, firms
can surely make verifiable claims about the environmental impact of their management
systems.

The third greening strategy involves the products. This is especially evident in the
packaging of the product. This could take place in the following ways:

 Reuse – design a product so that it can be used many times

 Recycle – products can be reprocessed and converted into raw material to be
used in different or the same product

16
  Reduce – the product can use lesser raw materials or generate few disposable
wastes but ensure that it delivers benefits comparable to its former version or to
competing products

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.

The many meaning of GREEN:

Ecological

Fair Trade Conservation

GREEN
CSR Non-Profit

Political Sustainability

BIRTH OF GREEN MARKETING

The concept of green marketing has been around at least since the first Earth Day in
1970. But the idea did not catch on until the 1980s, when rising public interest in the
environment led to a demand for more green products and services. Manufacturers
responded to public interest by labeling hundreds of new products "environmentally
friendly"—making claims that products were biodegradable, compostable, energy
efficient, or the like. The term Green Marketing came into prominence in the late 1980s
and early 1990s.

17
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". The first wave of Green Marketing
occurred in the 1980s. Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) Reports started with the
ice cream seller Ben & Jerry's where the financial report was supplemented by a greater
view on the company's environmental impact. In 1987 a document prepared by the
World Commission on Environment and Development defined sustainable development
as meeting “the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future
generations to meet their own need”, this became known as the Brundtland Report and
was another step towards widespread thinking on sustainability in everyday activity.

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 "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 “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 “Sustainable" green marketing. It came into prominence in the
late 1990s and early 2000.

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 "Ecological" green marketing, and during this period
all marketing activities were concerned to help environment problems and
provide remedies for environmental problems

18
  Second phase was "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 "Sustainable" green marketing. It came into prominence in the
late 1990s and early 2000

IMPORTANCE OF 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 "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 that 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 responsible
 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

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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

NEED OF GREEN MARKETING

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 vigor and so would the corporate class. Financial gain and economic profit is the
main aim of any corporate business. But harm to environment 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.

WHAT ARE “GREEN PRODUCTS” OR “ENVIRONMENTAL

PRODUCTS”

Although no consumer product has a zero impact on the environment, in business, the
terms “green product” and “environmental product” are used commonly to describe
those that strive to protect or enhance the natural environment by conserving energy
and/or resources and reducing or eliminating use of toxic agents, pollution, and waste.

20
Greener, more sustainable products need to dramatically increase the productivity of
natural resources, follow biological/ cyclical production models, encourage
dematerialization, and reinvest in and contribute to the planet’s “natural” capital.
Escalating energy prices, concerns over foreign oil dependency, and calls for energy
conservation are creating business opportunities for energy-efficient products, clean
energy, and other environmentally sensitive innovations and products.

THE SEVEN P’s OF GREEN MARKETING

Like conventional marketers, green marketers must address the ‘four Ps’ in innovative
ways.

PRODUCT
Entrepreneurs who want to exploit emerging green markets either:

 Identify customers environmental needs and develop products and services to

satisfy the needs of these customers.
 Develop environmentally responsible products and services to have few impacts
than their own competitors.

The increasingly wide range of products and services on the market that are good for
the customer and support sustainable development include:

 Products that can be either reused or recycled.

 Efficient products, which save water, gasoline or energy, money and reduce
environmental impact. The waterless printer, Print point, which is the only water
paper in Queensland is able to pass the savings on to customers as it reduces
operating costs by using less water than conventional printers
 Products with environmentally responsible packaging. McDonalds, for instance,
changed their packaging from polystyrene clamshells to paper.
 Products with green labels on them.
 Organic products — many consumers are willing to pay a premium for organic
products, which offer promise of quality. Organic butchers, for example, promote
the added qualities such as tenderness and taste.

21
  A service that loans or rents products – such as toy libraries.
 Certified products, which exceed or meet environmentally responsible criteria.

Whatever the product or service, it is important to ensure that products meet or exceed
the quality expectations of customers and are tested.

PRICE
Pricing is an important element of the marketing mix. Most customers are prepared to
pay a premium if there is a perception of a better product value.

This value may be improved performance, design, function, taste or visual appeal.
Environmental benefits are an added bonus but will often be the deciding factor
between products of both equal quality as well as the value of the product.

Environmentally responsible products, are often cheap when product life cycle and its
costs are taken into consideration. For example: water-efficient printing, fuel-efficient
vehicles and non-hazardous products.

PLACE
The choice of where and when to make a product available has a significant impact on
the customers being attracted.

Less customers go out of their way to buy green products only for the sake of it.
Marketers looking to successfully introduce new green products should, position them
broadly in the market place so that they are not just attracting to a small green niche
market.

The location must also be consistent with the image which a firm wants to project. The
location must differentiate a firm from its competitors. This can be achieved by in-store
promotions and visually attracting displays and using recycled materials to motivate the
environmental and other benefits.

PROMOTION
Promoting products and services to target markets includes, public relations, sales
promotions, paid advertising, on-site promotions and direct marketing

22
Smart and intelligent green marketers will be able to force environmental credibility by
using sustainable marketing and communications tools and practices. For instance,
many companies in the financial industry are providing electronic statements by email,
e-marketing is substituting more traditional marketing methods, and printed materials
can be produced using recycled materials and effective processes, such as waterless
printing.

Retailers, for example, are now identifying the value of relationships with other firms,
environmental groups and research firms when marketing their environmental duty. To
oppose the use of plastic bags and promote their green duty, many retailers sell
shopping bags.

The key to successful green marketing is credibility. Never overstate environmental

claims or build expectations that aren’t realistic, and communicate simply & through
sources that people trust.

PEOPLE
People are our biggest asset and brand ambassadors at every point. Some of our
clients have teams who really value sustainability and this comes across in bucket loads
when you meet them. The rewards for getting it right can be substantial – engaged
employees are more productive and reduce costs and losses to the organization
associated to staff churn. Don’t reprioritize the communications intended to get your
employees on board. Integrate with your wider platforms to give the same creativity that
you would take to your external stakeholders.

PROCESS
Processes that you offer within the green program must reflect your overall commitment
to, and understanding of, the implementation of green.

PHYSICAL EVIDENCE
The Physical evidence is not simply how clean the building is, but a holistic validation of
the impact of the green strategies that the contractor puts in place in the building. This P
is one which is driven by, and drives innovation, and innovation with measurable
outcomes, is a key point of difference from a competitor.

23
WHY IS GREEN MARKETING IMPORTANT?

The question of why green marketing has increased in importance is quite simple and
relies on the basic definition of Economics:

“Economics is the study of how people use their limited resources to try to satisfy
unlimited wants.”

Thus, mankind has limited resources on the earth, with which she/he must attempt to
provide for the worlds' unlimited wants. In market societies where there is "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.

Symbol used to denote recycle item:

24
BENEFITS OF GREEN MARKETING:

Healthier

Saves Saves
Time
Benefits Money

Reduces
Wastes

WHY ARE FIRMS USING GREEN MARKETING?

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 that 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 responsible;
 Competitors' environmental activities pressure firms to change their
environmental marketing activities; and
 Cost factors associated with waste disposal, or reductions in material usage
forces firms to modify their behavior.

OPPORTUNITIES
It appears that all types of consumers, both individual and corporate are becoming more
concerned about the natural environment. Today, firms marketing goods with
environmental image have realized a competitive advantage over firms marketing non-

25
environmentally responsible substitutes. There are many examples of firms who have
strived to become more environmentally responsible, in an attempt to better satisfy their
consumer needs.

 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 "high quality" recycled photocopier paper in an attempt to
satisfy the demands of firms for less environmentally harmful products.

This does not mean that all firms who have undertaken environmental marketing
activities actually improve their behavior. In some cases, firms have misled consumers
in an attempt to gain market share. In many other cases firms have jumped on the
green bandwagon without considering the accuracy of their behavior, their claims, or the
effectiveness of their products. This lack of consideration of the true "greenness" of
activities may result in firms making false or misleading green marketing claims.

SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITY
Many firms are beginning to realize that 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. Firms in this situation can take two perspectives:

 They can use the fact that they are environmentally responsible as a marketing
tool
 They can become responsible without promoting this fact.

There are examples of firms adopting both strategies. Companies 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
26
philosophy directly ties itself 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 environmental 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.

GOVERNMENTAL PRESSURE
Governmental regulations relating to environmental marketing are designed to protect
consumers in several ways:

 Reduce production of harmful goods or by-products

 Modify consumer and industry's use and/or consumption of harmful good
 Ensure that all types of consumers have the ability to evaluate the environmental
composition of goods

These governmental regulations are designed to control the amount of hazardous

wastes produced by firms. Many by-products of production are controlled through the
issuing of various environmental licenses, thus modifying organizational behavior. In
some cases governments try to "induce" final consumers to become more responsible.
For example, some governments have introduced voluntary curb-side recycling
programs, making it easier for consumers to act responsibly. In other cases
governments tax individuals who act in an irresponsible fashion. For example in
Australia there is a higher gas tax associated with leaded petrol.

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One of the recent publicized environmental regulations undertaken by governments has
been the establishment of guidelines designed to "control" green marketing claims.
These regulations include the Australian Trade Practices Commission's (TPC)
"Environmental Claims in Marketing - A Guideline, the US Federal Trade Commission's
(FTC) "Guides for the Use of Environmental Marketing Claims" and the regulations
suggested by the National Association of Attorneys-General.

All these regulations were designed to ensure appropriate information to consumers so

that they could evaluate firm's environmental claims. Thus, governmental attempts to
protect consumers from false or misleading claims theoretically provide consumers with
the ability to make more informed decisions.

COMPETITIVE PRESSURE
Another major force in the environmental marketing area has been a firm’s desire to
maintain its competitive position. In many cases, firms observe competitors promoting
their environmental behaviors and attempt to emulate this behavior. It is only in some
instances that this competitive pressure causes an entire industry to modify and thus
reduce its detrimental environmental behavior.

For example, it could be argued that Xerox's "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 manufacture
stopped using driftnets, the others followed suit.

COST / PROFIT ISSUES

Certain firms use green marketing to address cost/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, when attempting to minimize waste, firms are often forced to re-examine
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.

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In many other cases, it has been found that firms find end-of-pipe solutions, instead of
minimizing waste. In these situations, firms try to find markets or uses for their waste
materials, where one firm's waste becomes another firm's input of production.

COMPANIES INVOLVED IN GREEN MARKETING

HSBC
HSBC (Hong Kong and Shanghai Bank Corporation) has decided to completely change
itself to carbon neutral.

The company has decided a threefold carbon management plan which includes:

 To manage and reduce direct and indirect emissions.

 Buying green electricity wherever feasible to reduce the carbon intensity of
electricity.
 To offset the remaining emissions to achieve carbon neutrality

In India, the organization is in the process of conducting green audits of its building
starting from the head office in Mumbai and then move to other centers like Bangalore,
Pune, etc.

The bank is also planning to make the commercial loans, transactions, etc in an eco-
friendly manner.

ROYAL DUTCH SHELL

Shell which operates its LNG Plant in Hazira, is one of the company’s largest ventures
in India to completely change into a green business.

The LNG plant has incorporated double-vault tanks, flexible pipe points and sensors in
between spaces, so that there is no leakage.

Rainwater harvesting is also put into the plant. The water is captured on a concrete
ground and then drained in a separate system that filters any lubricant. Than the filtered
water is put through a bio-treater.

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The company also is setting targets to reduce carbon emissions. The group also gets its
dealers and suppliers sign an environment agreement before entering into any contract
and violation of which may lead to the annulment of the contract.

HERO HONDA
Hero Honda is one organization which while displaying its concern for the environment
considers it fashionable to do so. It has been consistently been working towards the
elimination of harmful substances such as asbestos and hexavalent chromium from its
products.

Rainwater harvesting is another area in which Hero Honda has invested setting up 16
rainwater harvesting catchments at both its plants in Dharuhera and Gurgaon in
Haryana.

JK TYRES
JK Tyres developed eco-friendly tyres and launched them on the world environment day
on June 5, 2002

The high performance tyres claims to be having low carbon black, reduced rolling
resistance and other green features.

REVA ELECTRIC CAR COMPANY

RECC is engaged in the manufacturing of innovative zero-pollution and cost-effective
electric cars for city mobility.

Zero emission vehicles are almost noiseless and can be charged at home or work,
saving commuters endless queues at petrol stations. Charging at night when
consumption is low, allows for efficient use of electricity.

COCA-COLA
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 environmental 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.

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STATE BANK OF INDIA
By using eco and power friendly equipment in its 10,000 new ATMs, the banking giant
has not only saved power costs and earned carbon credits, but also set the right
example for others to follow.

SBI is also entered into green service known as “Green Channel Counter”. SBI is
providing many services like; paper less banking, no deposit slip, no withdrawal form,
no checks, no money transactions form all these transactions are done through SBI
shopping & ATM cards. State Bank of India turns to wind energy to reduce emissions:
The State Bank of India became the first Indian bank to harness wind energy through a
15-megawatt wind farm developed by Suzlon Energy.

The wind project is the first step in the State Bank of India's green banking program
dedicated to the reduction of its carbon footprint and promotion of energy efficient
processes, especially among the bank's clients.

SUZLON ENERGY
The world’s fourth largest wind-turbine maker is among the greenest and best Indian
Companies in India. Tulsi Tanti, the visionary behind Suzlon, convinced the world that
wind is the energy of the future and built his factory in Pondicherry to run entirely on
wind power. Suzlon’s corporate building is the most energy-efficient building ever built in
India.

The company’s global spread extends across Asia, Australia, Europe, Africa and North
and South America has over 21,500 MW of wind energy capacity installed in 30
countries, operations across 33 countries and a workforce of over 13,000.

The Group offers one of the most comprehensive product portfolios – ranging from sub-
megawatt on-shore turbines at 600 Kilowatts (KW), to the world’s largest commercial
6.15 MW offshore turbine – with a vertically integrated, low-cost, manufacturing base.
The Group – headquartered at Suzlon One Earth in Pune, India – comprises Suzlon
Energy Limited and its subsidiaries, including REpower Systems SE.

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KANSAI NEROLAC
Kansai Nerolac Paints Ltd. has always been committed to the welfare of society and
environment and as a responsible corporate has always taken initiatives in the areas of
health, education, community development and environment preservation.

Kansai Nerolac has worked on removing hazardous heavy metals from their paints. The
hazardous heavy metals like lead, mercury, chromium, arsenic and antimony can have
adverse effects on humans. Lead in paints especially poses danger to human health
where it can cause damage to Central Nervous System, kidney and reproductive
system. Children are more prone to lead poisoning leading to lower intelligence levels
and memory loss.

INDIAN OIL
Following are some initiatives taken up by Indian Oil:

 Indian Oil is fully geared to meet the target of reaching EURO-III compliant fuels
to all parts of the country by the year 2010; major cities will upgrade to Euro-IV
compliant fuels by that time.
 Indian Oil has invested about Rs. 7,000 crores so far in green fuel projects at its
refineries; ongoing projects account for a further Rs. 5,000 crores.
 Motor Spirit Quality Improvement Unit commissioned at Mathura Refinery; similar
units are coming up at three more refineries.
 Diesel quality improvement facilities in place at all seven Indian Oil refineries,
several greener fuel projects are under implementation or on the anvil.
 The R&D Centre of Indian Oil is engaged in the formulations of eco-friendly
biodegradable lube formulations.
 The Centre has been certified under ISO-14000:1996 for environment
management systems.

In the country's pursuit of alternative sources of energy, Indian Oil is also focusing on
CNG (compressed natural gas), Auto gas (LPG), ethanol blended petrol, bio-diesel, and
Hydrogen energy.

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ITC LIMITED

ITC strengthened their commitment to green technologies by introducing ‘ozone-

treated elemental chlorine free’ bleaching technology for the first time in India. The
result is an entire new range of top green products and solutions: the environmentally
friendly multi-purpose paper that is less polluting than its traditional counterpart.

WIPRO TECHNOLOGIES
The list of top 10 green Indian companies is never complete without Wipro which
climbed to the top five brand league in Greenpeace's 'Guide to Greener Electronics'
ranking. Despite the global financial crisis, Wipro held fast to its commitment towards
energy efficiency and was lauded for launching energy star compliant products in the
market.

TATA METALINKS LIMITED (TML)

Every day is Environment Day at TML, one of the top green firms in India. A practical
example that made everyone sit up and take notice is the company’s policy to
discourage working on Saturdays at the corporate office. Lights are also switched off
during the day with the entire office depending on sunlight.

HCL TECHNOLOGIES
This IT major may be considered as the icon of Indian green initiatives, thanks to the
“go green” steps taken in solving the problem of toxics and e-waste in the electronics
industry. HCL is committed to phasing out the hazardous vinyl plastic and Brominated
Flame Retardants from its products and has called for a Restriction on Hazardous
Substances (RoHS) legislation in India.

PANASONIC INDIA
The mission of Panasonic is to become the No. 1 Green Innovation Company in the
Electronics Industry by year 2018 making the “environment” central to all its business
activities and bring forth innovation by way of green life innovation and green business
innovation.

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Panasonic goes one step ahead of the requirements of E-Waste (Management and
Handling) Rules, 2011, notified by the MoEF. It not only channelizes electronic waste to
authorized recyclers but also ensures its environmentally sound recycling.

Replacing Panasonic India’s currently existing ‘Voluntary End-of-Life Recycling

Program’, the ‘I Recycle’ Program has come into place from May 1, 2012. The program
reinforces Panasonic’s commitment to protect the environment and makes it very easy
for consumers to recycle their electronic waste.

CHALLENGES IN GREEN MARKETING

 NEED FOR STANDARDIZATION: It is found that only 5% of the marketing

messages from “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: The investors and corporate need to view
the environment as a major long-term investment opportunity, the marketers
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.

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  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.

Some Other Challenges Ahead in Green Marketing Are:

 Green products require renewable and recyclable material, which is costly

 Requires a technology, which requires huge investment in R & D
 Water treatment technology, which is too costly
 Majority of the people are not aware of green products and their uses
 Majority of the consumers are not willing to pay a premium for green products.

CONSUMER BUYING DECISION OF GREEN PRODUCTS

MOTIVATIONS
The factors below are seen to contribute to consumers’ willingness to buy green.

 Perceived Consumer Effectiveness

An environmental opinion poll and a phone survey of some consumers both resulted in
the same conclusion: the more that people believe that the efforts of an individual can
make a difference in the solution to environmental problems, the greater their possibility
of buying green.

 Perceived Knowledge

Perceived knowledge appears to contribute to perceived consumer effectiveness. Not

surprisingly then, the greater people perceive their knowledge to be about buying
recycled content and source reduced products, the more likely they are to do so.

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  Environmental Concern

Predictably, people’s level of environmental concern is linked to their interest in and

willingness to purchase green products. Furthermore, a survey of 201 households in
western Los Angeles found that respondents’ specific attitudes towards environmental
consumerism predicted their likelihood of (a) buying products because of their
environmental claims, (b) considering safety to the environment more strongly when
making a purchase, and (c) switching products for environmental reasons or purchasing
brands packaged in recyclable or reusable containers.i Respondents’ attitudes towards
environmental consumerism were measured by the strength of their agreement with
statements such as: “We have a responsibility to avoid purchasing or using products
that are known to be damaging to the environment” or “I believe that being
environmentally conscious when buying does not directly benefit the environment.”

BARRIERS
The factors below have been identified as barriers to buying green.

 Perceptions of Inferior Product Quality

Some consumers believe that because recycled products are manufactured with used
materials, they might be of lower quality. In fact, “…proprietary research conducted by
Rubbermaid, a manufacturer of recycled products, concludes that purchase behavior is
at least partially determined by beliefs about product quality.” Furthermore, when
product performance is an issue, other factors, such as a pro-environmental label, have
a diminished impact on people’s inclination to buy green.

 Skepticism about “Green” Marketing Claims

A variety of polls and surveys indicate that Americans distrust advertising and labeling
clams pertaining to the environment. In an Advertising Age poll, more than half of the
respondents indicated that they paid less attention to environmental advertising claims
because of overkill, and most respondents reported that environmental claims were not
particularly believable.ii

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  Difficulty in Identifying Green Products

In Giessen, Germany, a survey of 120 adult shoppers led to the conclusion that people
were more likely to follow through on their intention to purchase an environmentally
preferable product when the environmentally relevant aspect of the product was more
visible. Residents of King County, Washington indicated that the inherent difficulty of
locating products with recycled content was a barrier to purchasing them.iii
Furthermore, a study conducted in Atlanta, GA assessed people’s knowledge of
phrases, logos and symbols used on packaging and in advertisements to convey
information about the environmental impact of the products or packaging. Accurate
knowledge was relatively low among a group of environmentally concerned individuals.

 Price Sensitivity

Marketers have found that even when consumers profess strong support for
environmental protection, they are still extremely price sensitive when it comes to
buying green. Indeed, a perception among King County, Washington residents that
recycled-content products are more expensive was a barrier for them in purchasing
these products.

GREEN MARKETING: SWOT ANALYSIS

As in formulation of green strategy, a firm may evolve it from a SWOT analysis

Environmental Audit.

STRENGTHS
 Marketers get access to new markets and gain an advantage over competitors
that are not focusing on “greenness.”
 Marketers can charge a premium on products that are seen as more eco-
responsible.
 Organizations that adopt green marketing are perceived to be more socially
responsible.

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  Green marketing builds brand equity and wins brand loyalty among customers.
E.g. research and development capabilities for clean processes and green
products and human resources committed to environmental protection.

WEAKNESS
 Most customers choose to satisfy their personal needs before caring for
environment.
 Overemphasizing greenness rather than customer needs can prove devastating
for a product.
 Many customers keep away from products labeled “Green” because they see
such labeling as a marketing gimmick, and they may lose trust in an organization
that suddenly claims to be green. E.g. products cannot be recycled, and
hazardous wastes) of a company.

OPPORTUNITIES
 Marketing to segment which are becoming more environmentally aware and
concerned. These consumers are demanding products that conform to these
new attitudes.
 Organizations perceive green marketing to be a competitive advantage, relative
to the competitors. Firms, therefore, strive to improve upon their societal
awareness. This complements the increase in consumers’ socially conscious
behavior and will therefore give them an advantage over competitors who do not
address these issues. E.g. offering an environmentally friendly product and
saving resources, and relating them to internal strengths.

THREATS
 Uncertainty as to the environmental impact of present activities, including that is
perceived to be less environmentally harmful.
 Uncertainty as to which green marketing activities are acceptable from a
government perspective.
 The possibility of a backlash from consumers or government based on existing
green marketing claims, threat one and two above may cause backlash to arise.

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 E.g. competitors gain market shares with green products and increased
environmental regulations.

BENEFITS OF GREEN MARKETING

Today’s consumers are becoming more and more conscious about the environment and
are also becoming socially responsible. Therefore, more 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

GOLDEN RULES OF GREEN MARKETING

 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 way
that consumers wouldn’t pay a premium for a CFC-free refrigerator because
consumers didn’t know what CFCs were!).
 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 “empowerment” and it’s the main reason why consumers buy
greener products.

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  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 “go-go” era of green
marketing that occurred during the late 80s–early90s — one brand of household
cleaner claimed to have been “environmentally friendly since 1884”!
 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.)
 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.

GREEN MARKETING STRATEGIES

Green marketing mix strategies include developing green-based products, green

logistics, green promotion, green pricing and green consumption. The general strategies
are not limited to marketing discipline but may be used by marketing as well as other
functional areas of organization in dealing with problem of sustainability. They include;
adoption of eco-marketing orientation as a business philosophy, government
intervention, undertaking life-cycle analysis and teaming up for success.

GREEN BASED PRODUCT STRATEGIES

The activities associated with sustainable development may be construed by business
either as a potential threat or as an opportunity. Green products represent a substantial
product opportunity, the opening of a provocative strategic window. Green products are
typically durable, non-toxic, made from recycled materials, or minimally packaged.
Green based product strategies comprise any or a combination of recycling, reduction
of packaging materials, re consumption, dematerializing the products; using sustainable

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source of raw materials, making more durable products; designing products that are
repairable, making products that are safe for disposal, making products and packaging
that are compostable, and making products that are safer or more pleasant to use.

GREEN LOGISTICS STRATEGIES

The most common form of greening logistics is reverse channel system. Reverse
channel systems deal with the issue of post-consumer recycling. The term recycle
means to extract and reuse useful substances found in waste while the traditional
approach to product disposal can be described as linear in which waste materials are
indiscriminately dumped. The definition of recycle clearly demonstrates that the goal is
to reverse this result by achieving a circular flow that effects a reintegration of materials
with markets.

The reverse channel systems possess the following characteristics. Firstly, the
consumer becomes the seller and manufacturer the buyer. Secondly, they emphasize
on the function of sorting and accumulation. Thirdly, the recyclable materials can flow
backwards through reverse channels to any of three generalized industrial markets:

1. Original manufacturer,
2. Firms in the raw materials producing industry
3. Other industries that can use recyclables as virgin material substitutes, and
finally the consumers (sellers) tend to play a more passive role rather than
proactive role of the typical seller in conventional channel. The modified reverse
channel system proposes that consumer waste sources are individual consumers
and households. The remaining recyclable materials after individual
consumers/household own consumption moves through Jua kali* artisans or
micro enterprises, manufacturer own system, local authorities,
agents/wholesalers and street “children” to industrial user markets: original
manufacturers, firm in raw materials industries and micro enterprises.
4. Other components of green logistics strategies include reduction of packaging
material to directly or indirectly lower distribution costs, use of integrated
transportation systems and the Internet. However, more emphasis has been
given to reverse channel systems.

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GREEN PRICING STRATEGIES
Many consumers assume that green products are often priced higher than conventional
products. While their assumption may be true, some products are not unusually
expensive, but the conventional products are unrealistically cheap because they
exclude socio-environmental costs of production, product use and disposal.

The one way to deal with the high price controversy is to ask the consumer “whether
they want to continue buying inexpensive products that damage the environment?” The
implication of the above is that consumers need more information on benefits of green
products in order to judge their value more objectively.

GREEN PROMOTION STRATEGIES

Green promotion is an activity of promoting products as having characteristics that do
not harm the natural environment. It should meet one or more of the following criteria:

 Explicitly or implicitly addresses the relation between a product/service and the

biophysical environment.
 Promotes a green lifestyle with or without highlighting a product/service.
 Presents a corporate image of environmental responsibility.

Green promotion helps consumers to overcome the “greatest environmental hazard”,

that is, the lack of environmental information. To lessen the gap on environmental
information through promotion, the green companies should:

 Educate consumers on the environmental problems that a green product solves.

 Empower consumers with solutions by demonstrating to consumers how
environmentally sound products and services can help consumers protect health,
preserve the environment for future generations.
 Provide performance reassurance of green-based products, as many consumers
perceive them to be inferior to conventional products.
 Consider a suitable mix of media. For instance, environmental consumers are
more receptive to messages conveyed through direct marketing, community
programs, public relations, and packaging and

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  Appeal to consumer self-interest by bringing out the benefits of green products to
both actual consumers and potential consumers.
 Change of consumer behavior from consumption culture to ecologically
concerned consumers or encourage green consumption.

It is the task of the marketer to redirect the needs of the consumer towards consumption
that is ecologically least harmful. This redirection can be achieved through market
research, and promotion. According to a publication of World Commission for
Environment and Development (WCED) (1987), sustainable development requires the
promotion of values that encourage consumption standards that are within the bounds
of the ecological environment. The fact that marketing during the past few decades has
been so successful in increasing societal consumption and in meeting human needs,
makes the companies confident that it will also be successful in redirecting
consumption.

GENERAL STRATEGIES
As mentioned earlier the general strategies are not limited to marketing discipline but
they cut across the entire organization. However, they are very necessary in facilitating
adoption or success of green marketing mix strategies.

 Adoption of eco-marketing orientation as a business philosophy

The success of organizations in green marketing or sustainable marketing lies on

reorganization, restructuring and redesigning of many processes and systems within the
organization. In fact those who think that marketing people alone will be able to develop
green marketing orientation for the firm are mistaken. Like total quality management,
sustainable marketing requires the involvement of employees from all functional areas,
including marketing, production, procurement, accounting and information systems.

Various strategies that may help the companies to make reasonable progress toward
environmental oriented business philosophy may include:

 Undertaking environmental audit to assess current performance and establishing

a benchmark upon which to measure progress

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  Government and other stakeholders expect being proactive by going
 Being a visible CEO who demonstrates commitment to environmental issues
 Empowering employees through thought – provoking educational programs on
ecological issues
 Constantly integrating, learning and refining products and processes
 Regularly reporting on environmental performance through annual reports and
special advertising and public relation efforts

GOVERNMENT INTERVENTION STRATEGIES

The support for government intervention in dealing with environmental degradation is
widespread. The visible hand of government must guide the market toward
environmentally sound production and consumption practices.

There are four government intervention strategies:

 Formulation and adoption of regulation policies that promote the balancing of

ecological and economic activities
 Reforming the production and consumption practices through mandate and
incentives
 Government participation in procurement, R&D and international cooperation;
and
 Actively promoting environmental issues by partnering with the industry
 These government related strategies are recommended when free markets
process does not sufficiently promote sustainable development

UNDERTAKE LIFECYCLE INVENTORY ANALYSIS/ASSESSMENT (LCA)

Lifecycle analysis, which was initially developed in 1970, is an approach, which involves
listing the various positive and negative environmental aspects of a specific product
throughout its life cycle. This analysis accounts for the environmental impact of raw
materials procurement, packaging, distribution, use and disposal. The information
gathered from the analysis can help marketers change the way the products are made,
packaged, transported, sold, used, re-used, recycled and disposed of or develop

44
entirely new products. Despite the above benefits of life cycle analysis, it can be both
expensive and difficult.

TEAMING UP WITH ALL STAKEHOLDERS FOR SUCCESS

Complex environmental problems cannot be solved by organizations alone; instead
there is a need of various societal stakeholders to pool together their collective skills,
capabilities and resources. The stakeholders/marketers should form strategic
partnerships or coalitions with general public, employees, retailers, suppliers,
environmental groups, educators and government.

NATIONAL AND INTERNATIONAL SCENARIO

In 1989, 67 percent of Americans stated that they were willing to pay 5-10 percent more
for ecologically compatible products. By 1991, environmentally conscious individuals
were willing to pay between 15-20 percent more for green products. Today, more than
one-third of Americans say they would pay a little extra for green products.

An important challenge facing marketers is to identify which consumers are willing to

pay more for environmentally friendly products. It is apparent that an enhanced
knowledge of the profile of this segment of consumers would be extremely useful.

Everett Rogers, communication scholar and author of “Diffusion of Innovations”, claims

that the following five factors can help determine whether a new idea will be adopted or
not, including the idealism of the shift towards “green”:

 Relative advantage: is the degree to which the new behavior is believed to

accrue more beneficial outcomes than current practice.
 Observability: is how easy it is to witness the outcomes of the new behavior.
 Trial ability: is the ease with which the new behavior can be tested by an
individual without making a full commitment.
 Compatibility: is the degree to which the new behavior is consistent with current
practice.
 Complexity: is how difficult the new behavior is to implement.

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GPNI is an evolving network of professionals interested and active in the general area
of sustainable consumption and production- more specifically: Green Purchasing and
Public Procurement. It is currently a loose informal network of professionals primarily
operating as an internet based electronic forum.

The objectives of the GPNI are:

 To create awareness amongst Indian industry and other stakeholders about

Green Purchasing and Procurement (GPP).
 To encourage and facilitate implementation of GPP and Greening Supply Chains
(GSC) projects to enhance the competitiveness of the Indian industries.

THE NEW “GREEN” REVOLUTION

Global Warming is the phenomenon of increase in Earth’s temperature caused by

burning of fossil fuels and other pollutants in the air. As per the predictions by IPCC
(Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change) it is predicted that the global temperature
is likely to increase by 1.1 to 6.4 degrees Celsius “between” 1990 to 2100.

The key causes of global warming are summarized below:

 Carbon dioxide emitted from the Power Plants, Cars, airplanes and other
industries.
 Methane emitted from landfill, petrochemical factories and steel and fertilizer
plants.
 Nitrogen dioxide emitted from waste combustion, agriculture water pollution and
sewage.
 Other harmful gases emitted by industries, and manufacturing units, which are
causing depletion of Earth’s ozone, layer
 Deforestation is another major contributor towards global warming. The
destruction of tropical forests is throwing millions of tons of carbon dioxide into
the atmosphere. These forests are the main source of absorption of carbon
dioxide, which we are losing at a great speed each year with increased
deforestation.
46
For a long time now the effect of man’s industrialization and technological progress ha s
quietly yet continuously eked away at the delicate balance of the planet’s atmosphere
and ecosystem, but within the last 30 or so years the place of this damage has
markedly accelerated.

It is presently estimated that 700 tons of carbon dioxide are pumped into the earth’s
atmosphere every second of the day. Carbon dioxide is the chief contributor to the
greenhouse gases. It is these greenhouse gases, which cause global warming.

GREEN WARMING – PROPOSED SOLUTION

The solution to this problem lies in “Going Green” in our thoughts, behavior and actions.
The consumers and corporations need to focus on clean and environment friendly
products and services.

To elaborate on the “Green” terminology:

1. “Green Product” is non-toxic and is made from recycled material. There is no

absolute green product. However, the products, which consume less energy,
cause less pollution and are biodegradable, belong to this category. Thus
“Green” is a relative term.
2. “Green Service” fulfills the philosophy of sustainable development, improving and
maintain the quality of life for people without compromising the environment.
3. “Green washing” is the process of making products and services “Green” in all
respects.

To make products and services green the businesses need to focus on bringing the
green in various aspects such as:

SUPPLY CHAIN: Example: McDonald’s is often blamed for polluting the environment
because much of their packaging finishes up as roadside waste. It must be remembered
that it is the uncaring consumer who chooses to dispose of their waste in an
inappropriate fashion. With the intent to cut costs and work on eco-friendly image and

47
practices McDonald’s tried to reduce the amount of material disposed by its stores.
McDonalds asked the supplier to do away with the cartons for napkins. The supplier
suggested a better way and came up with dimpling pattern on napkins, which enabled
the supplier to pack 25% more napkins in one box and reduction in shipping cost
accordingly. McDonalds also allied with Environment Defense Fund (EDF) and created
a waste reduction plan. It also made a Paper Task Force to focus on paper waste
reduction and better solid waste management. Some food chain retailers are working on
Green Procurement program to help purchasing officers to buy products and services
that have a lower environmental impact than comparable products and services

PACKAGING: Packaging is a key element of marketing mix for promoting “Green

washing”. It can also be an effective tool to display the “Green” component of the
product.

Natural Package for a Natural Product, when creating product materials, markets
need to remember that a “Green” product is appealing to consumers for its benefits to
the environment and for its roots in natural resources.

There should be a consistent look for the product package, or materials that appear
natural, not glossy or extravagant. “Green” consumers tend to appreciate consistence in
package and product. They will appreciate the usage of recycled paper and other
environment friendly materials. That will help manufacturers/suppliers gain customer
loyalty and product credibility.

RAW MATERIAL: This refers to using recycled material or using material, which does
not have a negative impact on natural resources like resulting in problems such as
deforestation and pollution.

Example: Gridcore Systems International – demonstrated the use of Recycled

Building Material. The company was looking for an alternative building material in-order
to reduce the impact on environment. While researching they discovered space board, a
new type of building panel developed by the Forest Products laboratory. Space board
can be manufactured from various recycled or agricultural fibers, and due to a

48
honeycomb, the interior design is just as strong as and several times lighter than
conventional fiberboard.

PRODUCT INNOVATIONS: This refers to either environment friendly or environment

efficient products as demonstrated by the following examples.

Example: Kodak’s Recyclable Camera- When Kodak created its first disposable
camera it also solved the waste disposal problem by initiating a ‘camera take back’
scheme during picture processing. This not only reduced the waste disposable problem,
it also saved Kodak the manufacturing costs for new cameras. This made it completely
recycled camera.

Example: Philips Earthlight Compact Fluorescent Light Bulbs With relentless efforts
on research and development the company was successful in producing compact
fluorescent light bulbs, which are the most energy efficient bulbs.

SERVICES: With increased demand for value-based marketing, there is also growing
demand of “Green” services. Global customers are not only interested in cost cutting
through outsourcing but are also looking for energy efficient IT operations.

Example: ITC Infotech is a good example to understand how to package the services
“Green” ITC Infotech is a Bangalore based independent Subsidiary of ITC Ltd. At
corporate level ITC is working to establish itself as a carbon free company. The
company is working on “Triple Bottom Line” i.e. social, economic and environmental
capital. The company is involved in many community driven initiatives. It is one of the 10
companies globally and first one from India to start publishing sustainability report in
compliance with G3 guidelines of Global Reporting Initiative. The company is investing
in large-scale plantations to wash away its carbon positive image. It is also focusing on
water harvesting and working towards zero solid waste by recycling.

36 Cigarette warehouses were converted to make ITC Infotech’s global development

campus in the heart of Bangalore. The company has used recycled material and
virtualization tools for optimizing energy usage in its data centers. It is also working on
digital infrastructure to connect the rural farmers to the Internet using solar panels for

49
power, so that the Indian farmers can get information on crop research and monitor
weather trends. The company is using these as a service differentiator and positioning
itself as Green service Provide. The corporate image of ITC Ltd. is further enhancing
the True Green Image.

PRESENT TREND IN GREEN MARKETING

GREEN CODE
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.

Remembers, 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.

Organizations Perceive Environmental Marketing to Be An Opportunity That Can Be

Used To Achieve Its Objectives:

Firms have realized that consumers prefer products that do not harm the natural
environment as also the human health. Firms marketing such green products are
preferred over the others not doing so and thus develop a competitive advantage,
simultaneously meeting their business objectives.

50
Organizations Believe They Have A Moral Obligation to Be More Socially Responsible:

This is in keeping with the philosophy of CSR which has been successfully adopted by
many business houses to improve their corporate image. Firms in this situation can take
two approaches:

 Use the fact that they are environmentally responsible as a marketing tool.
 Become responsible without prompting this fact.

Governmental Bodies Are Forcing Firms to Become More Responsible:

In most cases the government forces the firm to adopt policy which protects the
interests of the consumers. It does so in following ways:

 Reduce production of harmful goods or by –products

 Modify consumer and industry’s use and /or consumption of harmful goods;
 Ensure that all types of consumers have the ability to evaluate the environmental
composition of goods.

Competitors’ Environmental Activities Pressure Firms to Change Their Environmental

Marketing Activities:

In order to get even with competitors, claim to being environmentally friendly, firms
change over to green marketing. Result is green marketing percolates entire industry.

Cost Factors Associated with Waste Disposal or Reductions in Material Usage Forces
Firms to Modify Their Behavior

With cost cutting becoming part of the strategy of the firms it adopts green marketing in
relation to these activities. It may pursue these as follows:

 A Firm develops a technology for reducing waste and sells it to other firms.
 A waste recycling or removal industry develops.

51
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 developing a
comprehensive approach to environmental 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 encourage 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.

52
  They are recycled and/or recyclable whereas comparable products are not.
 They contribute to a reduction on adverse environmental health consequences.
 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 the 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 EcoMark scheme signifies that the product
which carries it does least damage to the environment.

FUTURE GROWTH OF GREEN MARKETING

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
“fringe” topic, given that environmentalism’s acceptance of limits and conservation does
not mesh well with marketing’s traditional axioms of “give customer what they want” and
“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.

53
  Broaden mainstream appeal by bundling consumer desired value into
environmental products.

CALIBRATION OF CONSUMER KNOWLEDGE:

 Educate consumers with marketing messages that connect environmental
attributes with desired consumer value.
 Frame environmental product attributes as “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.

54
CHAPTER 3: RESEARCH METHODOLOGY

Research Methodology is a way to systematically solve the reach problem. It may be

understood as a science of studying how research is done scientifically. Research
means a search for knowledge or gain some new knowledge and methodology can
properly refer to the theoretical analysis of the methods appropriate to a field of study or
to the body of methods and principles particular to a branch of knowledge. A Research
methodology has a specified framework for collecting the data in an effective manner.
Research methodology means "defining a problem, defining the research objectives,
developing the research plan, collecting the information, analyzing the information and
presentation of findings." Such framework is called "Research Design".

BENEFITS OF MARKET RESEARCH

Information gained through marketing research isn't just "nice to know." It's solid
information that can guide your most important strategic business decision. Market
research is effective when the findings or conclusions you reach have a value that
exceeds the cost of the research itself

a) Market research guides your communication with current and potential

Customers- Once you have good research, you should be able to formulate
more effective and targeted marketing campaigns that speak directly to the
people you're trying to reach in a way that interests them
b) Market research helps you identify opportunities in the market place
c) Market research minimizes the risk of doing business- Instead of identifying
opportunities, the results of some market research may indicate that you should
not pursue a planned course of action
d) Market research helps you evaluate your success- Information gathered
through market research helps you to determine if you're reaching your goals. In
the above example, if your product's target market is women between the ages of
35 and 50, then you're making progress toward your goal

55
PROCESS

Market research, like other components of marketing such as advertising, can be quite
simple or very complex. You might conduct simple market research such as including a
questionnaire in your customer bills to gather demographic information about your
customers. On the more complex side, you might engage a professional market
research firm to conduct primary research to aid you in developing a marketing strategy
to launch a new product.

The research process that was followed by me consisting following steps:

DEFINING THE PROBLEM

What is the consumer perception towards the insurance products and especially for
Max life products?

DEVELOPING THE RESEARCH PLAN

The development of research plan has following steps

1. Data source
2. Research approach
3. Type of Research Design
4. Research instrument
5. Sampling plan

i) Population size

ii) Sample size

iii)Contact methods

6. Questionnaire Design

COLLECTION OF DATA

ANALYSIS AND INTERPRETATION OF DATA

56
RESEARCH DESIGN

A research design is the arrangement of condition for collection and analysis of the
data in a manner that aims to combine relevance to the research purpose with the
economy in procedure. Infact, the research design is the conceptual structure with in
which research is conducted, it constitutes the blueprint for the collection, measurement
and analysis of data.

OBJECTIVES OF RESEARCH

 To understand the consumer perception about green marketing concepts and

their products
 To understand the buying behavior of consumers related to green marketing
 To understand the attitude of consumers towards green branding

NEED OF THE PROJECT

The environment friendly status is not yet a marketing strategy in India. Green products,
services, firms are a rarity in almost all categories of products and services marketed in
India.

Eco-tourism, green buildings, environment friendly hotels, organic food, etc account for
a minuscule percentage of our economy whose rapid growth is driven by consumption
expenditure, contributing to about 64% of the GDP. Marketers in fact should have
grabbed this opportunity and developed a strong differentiating ground for their brands.
However, unfortunately marketers are approaching green marketing only half-heartedly.

While the media is often flooded with the news of the organizations highlighting their
environment friendly initiatives and achievements, these initiatives are hardly ever
leveraged to differentiate the firm and its offerings in the marketplace.

As can be seen from the examples mentioned in the previous section, many such green
initiatives relate to manufacturing plants and back-end operations, e.g. water and
energy conservation, social forestry, solid waste recycling, etc, and have largely
remained a socio-legal obligation.

57
If we consider the top 500 businesses in India, less than 40% of the websites have a
webpage on environment. Many people also believe that if the information on the
websites is the reflection of the priorities, these organizations are highly unlikely to use
green initiatives as a marketing tool in the near future.

However, this is quite surprising, when one considers the universal concerns for climate
change and global warming.

Considering the international markets, especially those in developed countries,

environmentalism is a major concern and the firms are forced to adopt environmentally
friendly market practices such as developing and marketing products that are
recyclable, more fuel efficient, less polluting or making use of packaging that is bio-
degradable, recyclable or reusable.

Consumers in these countries are eco-friendly and do pay attention to the company’s
green credentials, eco-friendly brands and green labels/marks on the products.
Pressures from all these quarters have made firms intensifying their efforts in providing
products and services that have minimal detrimental impact on the environment.

The international scenario suggests that in the international markets, there is a pull for
the green products and services rather than a push as existing in the Indian markets.

However, if the consumers in India generate a similar pull effect, the market for green
products and services is bound to evolve.

The Markets for green products will evolve through a favorable convergence of macro-
environment forces comprising of legislations, economic incentives, consumer support
and technological breakthroughs. These include multi-point fuel injection systems, low
emission engines and unleaded fuel for automobiles, pollution control devices for
cement and thermal power plants, alternatives to CFC-based refrigerants, etc.

Consumer preference will be the most critical factor to determine the growth of green
products in India. Several initiatives will be required to grow these existing niche
markets to attract the mainstream consumers.

58
Marketers will need to identify the consumers who are already green in their attitudes
and behaviors and can lay a foundation for the further evolution of the phenomena.

As is believed by most marketers that green consumerism will follow a trickledown

effect.

Marketers will have to make green products affordable. These seemingly incongruent
objectives can be achieved through technological innovations. These products have
been promoted as conspicuous consumption rather than products for mass
consumption.

RESEARCH METHODOLOGY ADOPTED

 Type of research: Descriptive research

 Element: Consumer
 Sampling size: 120- respondents
 Data source: Primary & Secondary data
 Research instrument: Questionnaire was used to extract the information from
the respondents
 Questions were: Close ended and Multiple choice
 Sampling technique: Random sampling

DATA ANALYSIS

Tools of Analysis in collecting data:

 Tables.
 Pie charts.
 Bar diagrams
 Percentage methods has been used to analyze the data

LIMITATIONS OF THE STUDY

 Demographic Constraints - will be a main issue of concern. This is due to the

reason that the data collection will be restricted from East Delhi
59
 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

60
CHAPTER 4: DATA ANALYSIS & INTERPRETATION

Q.1) Gender of respondent:

Gender Respondents Percentage

Male 48 0.60000
Female 32 0.40000
Table:4.1

60
48
50
40 32
30
20
10
0
Male Female

Gender

Fig:4.1

Interpretation: The above bar graph indicates that 60% of respondents were male and
40% were female.

Q.2) Age of the respondent:

AGE Respondents Percentage

Under-25 57 0.71
25-35 15 0.19
35-45 4 0.05
45&above 4 0.05
Table:4.2

61
 Age of Respondents
57

15
4 4

Under-25 25-35 35-45 45&above

Fig:4.2

Interpretation: The above figure shows the demographic information about the
respondents which reveals that 71% of the respondents were under the age group of
25, 19% of the respondents come under 25-35,5% of respondents were under the
group of 35-45 and 5% of respondents were above 45 years of age.

Q.3) Are you aware of the term “Green Marketing”?

Response Respondents Percentage

YES 52 0.65
NO 28 0.35
TOTAL 80 1.00
Table4.3

62
 Awareness of Green
Marketing

35% YES

65% NO

Fig4.3

Interpretation: The above bar graph indicates that 65% of respondents are familiar with
the term Green Marketing.

Q.4) Do you consider the environmental aspects of the products before buying
them?

Source Respondents Percentage

YES 22 0.28
NO 15 0.19
SOMETIMES 43 0.54
Table4.4

Frequency
43

22
15

YES NO SOMETIMES

Fig4.4

63
Interpretation: The above graph indicates that only 54% i.e. the majority of
respondents consider the environmental aspect sometimes. And, only 22% consider the
environmental aspect of the product while buying it.

Q.5) Do you think that green marketing and advertising are good sources of
information about green products and services?

Response Respondents Percentage

YES 48 0.60
NO 10 0.13
SOMETIMES 22 0.28

Table4.5

50
45
40
35
30
25 Green Marketing and
20 Advertising are good
15 sources of
10 information
5
0

Fig4.5

Interpretation: The above graph indicates that only 60% i.e. the majority of
respondents consider green marketing and advertising as good sources of information
for green products and services. And, only 13% do not consider it.

64
Q.6) Do you think that Green Marketing activities are good at addressing
environmental issues?

RESPONSE Frequency PERCENTAGE

YES 56 0.70
NO 13 0.16
MAY BE 11 0.14
Table4.6

MAY BE 11

NO 13

YES 56

0 10 20 30 40 50 60

Frequency

Fig4.6

Interpretation: The above graph indicates that 70% of the respondents feel that Green
Marketing activities are good at addressing environmental issues while 16%
respondents do not.

Q.7) If green features increase the price of the product, are you willing to pay
more?

Source Respondents Percentage

YES 38 0.475
NO 20 0.25
A
LITTLE 22 0.275

65
 Table4.7

Willing to pay more?

28% YES
47%
NO
25% A LITTLE

Fig4.7

Interpretation: The above graph indicates that 48% of the respondents were willing to
pay more for the benefit of the environment while 25% respondents do not.

If Yes,

a) What is the main reason that makes you willing to pay more for the “green”
products?

Sources Respondents Percentages

Enhance a quality of life 12 0.15
Environmental protection responsibility 26 0.33
Potential increase of product value 0 0.00
Getting high level of satisfaction 0 0.00

Table4.7a

66
 Reason for willing to pay
more
30
25
20 26
15
10
5 12
0 0
0
Enhance a Environmental Potential Getting high
quality of life protection increase of level of
responsibility product value satisfaction

Fig4.7a

If No,

b) What is the main reason that makes you not willing to pay more for the “green”
products?

Sources Respondents Percentage

Cannot see the benefit of those features 16 0.2
Product cost is too high, cannot afford them 4 0.05
Producers only claim, actually it is not 0 0
Environmental issues are gimmick for commercial
0 0
only
Table4.7b

67
 Reason for not willing to pay
more
20
15
16
10
5 4 0 0
0
Cannot see the Product cost is Producers only Environmental
benefit of those too high, cannot claim, actually it issues are
features afford them is not gimmick for
commercial only

Fig4.7b

Interpretation: The above graph indicates that 33% of the respondents were willing to
pay more for the protection of the environment while 20% respondents do not pay more
because they cannot see the benefits of those features & 27% were still willing to pay a
little.

Q.8) Do you think Green Marketing activities results in better product quality?

Source Respondents Percentage

YES 48 0.6
NO 20 0.25
MAY BE 12 0.15
Table4.8

50
40
30
20 Response
10
0
YES NO MAY
BE

Fig4.8

68
Interpretation: The above graph indicates that 60% of the respondents think that
Green Marketing activities results in better product quality.

Q.9) Why do you think green marketing is in headlines nowadays?

Sources Respondents Percentages

Consumers are being aware of green products 39 0.49
Company increasing its competitive edge 18 0.23
Company’s attempt to address society’s new concern 23 0.29
Table4.9

Reasons for Green Marketing

in Headlines
Company’s attempt to address
23
society’s new concern
Company increasing its
18
competitive edge
Consumers are being aware of
39
green products

0 10 20 30 40 50

Fig4.9

Interpretation: The above graph indicates that 49% of the respondents are aware of
the green products & 23% of the respondents think that it will increases the co’s
competitive edge.

Q.10) Do you think companies that focus on environmental concerns persuade

consumers to buy products?

Source Response Percentage

YES 45 0.5625
NO 26 0.325
MAY 9 0.1125

69
 BE
Table4.10

Frequency
50

40 45

30

20 26

10
9
0
YES NO MAY BE

Fig4.10

Interpretation: The above graph indicates that the respondents the company’s initiative
towards environment do influence the consumers to buy product, 57% of respondents
agree to it.

70
CHAPTER 5: FINDINGS, SUGGESTIONS & CONCLUSION
FINDINGS
Sources
1) No. of Male and Female
2) Awareness of the term
“Green Marketing”
3) Consider the environmental
aspects of the products before
buying them?
4) Green marketing and
advertising are a good source
of information about green
products and services?
5) Green Marketing activities
are good at addressing
environmental issues?
6) If green features increase
the price of the product, are
you willing to pay more?
7) Green Marketing activities
results in better product
quality?
Percentages Mean
60% is male & 40% is female 41.6
65% of respondents say YES 43.6
and 35% of respondents say
NO
54% consider the 32.23
environmental aspect
sometimes else 19% did not
consider the environmental
aspect before buying.
60% consider it is a good 36.1
source but 13% does not
consider it
70% feel that Green 42.825
Marketing activities are good
at addressing environmental
issues while 16% did not.
47% agreed to pay more & 29.1
25% did not willing to pay
more
60% of people think that 35.6
Green Marketing activities
results in better product
quality, whereas 25% did not
think so.
71
 8) Do you think companies 57% of the people thinks that 34.775
that focus on environmental the company’s initiative

concerns persuade consumers towards environment do

influence the consumers to
to buy products?
buy product, while 32% don’t
agreed upon.

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.

72
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 much 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

BIBLIOGRAPHY

BOOKS & JOURNALS

 The Age of Persuasion (January 8, 2010). "Season 5: It's Not Easy Being Green:
Green Marketing". CBC Radio. Retrieved 8 January 2011.
 Belz F., Peattie K. (2009): Sustainability Marketing: A Global Perspective. John
Wiley & Sons
 Sharma D.D. (2008), “Marketing Research: Principle Application & Cases” N.
Delhi,
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WEBSITES
 www.greenmarketingcorner.com
 www.greenpeace.org
 http://www.businessworld.in
 http://www.greenmarketing.com/green_marketing_book
 http://www.sustainablemarketing.com/
 http://www.onpoint-marketing.com/green-marketing.htm

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