We are more concerned with environmental issues now than ever. Air pollution, plastic in oceans, global warming, and food waste are all major threats, making us worry and think of being kinder to the planet. In support of environmental health, millions have begun purchasing socially responsible products despite their higher cost.
Gripping this trend, companies are now turning to a green marketing strategy to address the branches of environmental, social, and governance practices in their brand targeting and create a positive impact on customers.
Incorporating green marketing with your brand via sustainability management software can be the first step towards a sustainable ray of hope within industrial businesses.
What is green marketing?
Green marketing is a sustainable and biodegradable marketing strategy that makes a brand more appealing and nature-friendly to consumers. This includes creating products through natural forms, efficient manufacturing distribution, recycling, or non-profit donations made on every sale scored by the brand. Green marketing is implemented so that brands contribute to sustainability and humanity.
The concept of green marketing emerged as an aftereffect of humans’ negative impact on our planet. Brands illustrate how they change their missions and practices from revenue-driven to environmentally aware by using business processes that have the least impact on the environment possible.
4 P’s of green marketing
The whole concept of green marketing centers around four major P’s on which a brand must devise its strategy. Being aligned with these four parameters ensures that you have checked every box of gaining the standard of a green brand,
Let’s dive a little bit into what these 4 Ps are, the brand deliverables, and where you need to implement them.
1. Green Product: This involves using environmentally friendly raw materials and practices to manufacture and assemble your product. It can also mean spearheading social awareness campaigns for organic product supplies and leaning out your entire production to highlight the importance of earthly resources. Green products are also defined as modifying existing products and incorporating sustainability and environmental friendliness into the development process.
2. Green Price: This is a humble initiative to reward the laborers and artisans who developed the product. Putting a specific price bracket could highlight the product’s environmental benefits, recycling capability, and zero wastage, which might entice the audience to purchase the product and consider the potential threats to our planet.
3. Green Place: This focuses on distributing green products through channels that emit zero fuel or carbon footprint, like manual sourcing, eco-friendly paper packaging, and electric vehicle dropshipping. The idea is to ensure that the brand doesn’t harm the environmental health in any way.
4. Green Promotion: Green promotion involves promoting the eco-friendliness of your products and highlighting the initiatives you have taken to protect and conserve natural resources through advertisements. The process is fixated on putting your brand in the spotlight and depicting the earthiness and humble objective of your product in the market. This encourages people to make environmentally responsible decisions.
Green marketing vs greenwashing
It is hard to draw a line between which brand righteously follows green marketing and which ones display a false ode to the environment and do greenwashing.
Green marketing involves genuine development, distribution, promotion, and selling of products that have been manufactured in a sustainable way. The companies building such products are often after a larger cause that will impact the planet in a positive way. Although generating profits is a crucial goal, these brands contribute to a larger spectrum of humanity by ensuring that their product benefits their product features to their customers. They often partner with environmentally friendly agencies to spread awareness among people. They spend their money and sweat on generating recyclable products, reducing their carbon footprint, and cutting down energy consumption by a considerable percentage.
Greenwashing is a malicious technique through which brands keep their target audience in the dark by luring them into believing that they follow green marketing practices. It is a deceptive way of duping customers and charging them more money by claiming false patents, board approvals, and misleading advertising. Greenwashing has become common in today’s business scenario and makes it impossible for consumers to strike a difference between real and fake brands. Greenwashing is a marketing gimmick that uses false digital campaigns and visuals to capture consumer baits and push them toward sales.
Advantages of green marketing
In this present age, green marketing is advantageous and a priority considering the fast depletion of natural resources. Switching or tweaking your business with green marketing can have the following benefits.
1. Competitive advantage: Going green would make you stand out in a market where brands itch for consumer attention. By going minimalistic, close to natural hues, and organic with green marketing, you would be able to shift consumers’ perspectives and attract a large share of the online business market.
2. Cost savings: By cutting fuel and carbon emissions, brands can save a huge fortune of money through the product generation and distribution process. Green marketing encourages brands to impart just-in-time (JIT) strategies or lean and agile manufacturing methods to save cost, optimize inventory and show fast and quality outcomes.
3. Regulatory compliance: Prioritizing the welfare of the planet and people paints a positive picture of your brand and ensures you stay compliant with environmental and legal policies. It puts you ahead of the most respectful and law-abiding brands.
4. Positive brand image: Green marketing can break the chain of old business principles and put you in the good books of your consumers. They can learn more about your vision and values, which can empower them and motivate them to change the world and purchase sustainable products.
5. Innovation and market growth: Embracing green marketing increases innovation in product design and manufacturing. Brands review customer feedback and sentiments and combine them with cutting-edge tech to grow immaculately and foster an example of “leading humanity towards a better world.”
Challenges of green marketing
Some aspects of green marketing sound too good to be true—not just to us but even to the customers who spectate these brands. Here are some challenges associated with green marketing.
1. Consumer skepticism: Because several brands follow green marketing, consumers have become suspicious of this initiative. It gets tough for them to differentiate between genuine green marketing and greenwashing. As some brands run greenwashing in the name of green marketing, consumers have been severely disappointed and loathe these brands now.
2. Higher costs: Implementing natural practices involves a lot of human labor. The artisans and craftsmen who work for these products charge more than factory machines. Even the shipping and distribution process becomes expensive as raw materials are sourced locally. This leads to inflated operating margins and low cash flow.
3. Limited customer awareness: Customers automatically gravitate towards brands that give them value for money and are affordable. By going organic, brands must justify their value proposition and create customer awareness. Without it, customers won’t be able to differentiate between your product and a similar product being offered at a low price.
4. Complex supply chains: Implementing eco-friendly manufacturing practices results in prolonged work in process inventory, which can complicate the supply chain process. These practices might be hard to monitor and regulate within the production unit of the business.
5. Regulatory uncertainty: Rapidly changing government regulations, market trends, and legal policies can make it difficult for a green marketing campaign to boost claims, make pitches, and attract consumer attention.
Five best green marketing practices
Green marketing is a revolutionary strategy that has empowered global brands to makeshift their business operations and contribute towards the betterment of the world. Here are the five best green marketing practices to join the revolution.
1. Focus on sustainable energy practices: Being on par with the latest inventions in the energy management sector and adopting them can help you be energy efficient. If your products could be reused, recycled, or repurposed instead of being discarded, your mission would be understood and accepted by the target masses.
2. Transparency and authenticity: Be upfront about your green initiatives and avoid making misleading claims. Customer trust is the epitome of a successful and impactful green marketing strategy as they need to get empowered and understand the pivot of brands.
3. Communicate impact: Use social media or your website to convey the change you have brought to the world with your green marketing initiatives. This can be done through testimonials, fundraising rounds, and press coverage of your work.
4. Embrace sustainable packaging: Learn more about different materials that are appropriate for product packaging and do not degrade the environment in any way. Eco-friendly packaging prevents littering, toxic dumping, and pollution.
5. Educate customers: Spread the word of green marketing among your brand audience and press on the value proposition you want to achieve through this initiative.
How to integrate green marketing into overall business strategy
As part of green marketing, brands often participate in recycling programs, become more scrupulous about waste disposal practices, donate to different green movements, and educate their customers about what they do to protect the environment and why it matters.
To integrate green marketing into your overall business brand marketing strategy, you can do the following:
- Communicate your green message through advertising (digital, TV, radio)
- Promote green aspects of your company through content assets at all points of customer contact (a website, blogs, e-mail, social media, mobile marketing, coupons, word-of-mouth, cold calls, retargeting, etc.)
- Initiate market research and visualize the results to educate consumers and recommend green improvements to your niche
- Partner with like-minded businesses for cross-promotion
- Support eco-friendly programs and corresponding community initiatives
- Focus on green production
In other words, twist green into a part of your brand’s identity. To make it work, commit to green marketing in your marketing plan. This includes green design, positioning, pricing, logistics, and disposal. When making environmental consciousness a number one focus of your business, you succeed with sales and consumer loyalty. In the long term, green brands get more profits and establish a trustworthy reputation.
Five real-life green marketing examples to inspire you
The examples listed below are socially responsible, considering the long-term environmental impacts of their business practices. They have launched green marketing campaigns to promote sustainable core values. They surpass traditional marketing strategies, educating conscious consumption to people. Here’s how.
Patagonia
Patagonia contributes to climate change issues and works on discovering sustainable ways to produce products. At the same time, the brand is honest with customers, admitting it’s not entirely green: The shells of coats are made of fossil fuels. But this fact doesn’t influence the brand’s positive image, as the community sees its sincere passion for helping the planet.
The company’s mission states Patagonia’s green marketing strategy and involvement in the Go Green movement. It also regularly donates millions to initiatives supporting sustainable agriculture practices, protecting endangered species, and restoring forests.
Source: Patagonia
Starbucks
Starbucks has been certified by LEED since 2005, but it has moved beyond that by planning to eliminate all plastic straws by 2020 and open 10,000 environmentally friendly stores by 2025.
Starbucks tries hard to engage its community in sustainable issues. It uses green materials for producing, packaging, and delivering its products to customers. As part of its Green Store initiative, the brand plans to reduce waste and use 30 percent less water and 25 percent less power during production processes.
The brand designs disposable coffee cups, is involved in recycling and green building, supports farmers and the environmentally sustainable community, and has been hard at communicating this message to its target audience.
Source: Starbucks
Timberland
World-known clothing manufacturer and retailer Timberland uses sustainable stories to introduce its products. As active LOHAS supporters, its clients wouldn’t choose the brand if there was no green element in it.
“We’ve done a lot of consumer research, and we know that if we put two products side-by-side – one from our brand and one from a competitor’s – and if they’re comparable in price and quality, the majority of the time, a customer will choose our product if it’s made with some sort of ‘green’ element,” said Margaret Morey-Reuner, director of Timberland’s strategic partnerships and business development.
To develop and implement the corresponding green marketing strategy, the company continues to expand partnerships and test materials for its products. It has established environmental standards (TEPS) across all product categories and 100 percent organic and renewable material in the near future.
Timberland also gained a lot of prominence due to their “nature needs heroes” campaign where they nosedived into sustainable fashion and sculpted their brand message as a retail brand that is wary of climatic conditions and greenhouse effect on the earth and wants to create one of a kind goods that embrace change and sustainability.
Read more about timberland and their sustainability marketing campaign to be more aware of how seriously are brands taking this initiative.
IKEA
This brand uses many tactics and sources to manage waste and renew energy. Ninety percent of its buildings have solar panels, it uses wind farms to generate energy, and it has planted millions of trees, while sending only 15 percent of waste to landfills.
Ikea has developed a strategy known as People & Planet Positive, encouraging consumers to be environmentally conscious. It manufactures products through eco-friendly practices, which relieves us from the necessity to choose between stylish design and sustainability.
The brand holds many rewards for its green efforts. It’s recognized by the Impact Company for showing respect for human and economic rights, as well as its contribution to the environment through regenerative efforts. And Ikea isn’t going to stop there, it is currently working toward 100 percent renewable energy and spending a fortune on its green initiatives.
Source: IKEA
The Body Shop
This brand is known for its effective green positioning. The Body Shop is approved by Leaping Bunny, the gold standard for non-animal tested products. It also supports farmers, defends human rights, initiates health treatments and training events for employees, identifies its values as to protect the planet, and – what’s more important – actually lives up to those values.
The Body Shop is known for promoting awareness of domestic violence and AIDS, and it doesn’t use demeaning-to-women images in ads. The brand’s goal is to develop cruelty free and sustainable products, use 10 percent less and 100 percent renewable energy in stores, eco friendly packaging and more.
Source: bodyshop.com
Other noteworthy green marketing campaigns:
- Coca-Cola with its PlantBottle campaign, aiming at empowering female entrepreneurs, encouraging a healthy lifestyle, and helping to conserve water worldwide.
- PepsiCo with its campaigns on reducing water and energy usage across all business operations.
- Tom’s of Maine, with its #GREENSCHOOLFUND campaign, teaching students how to contribute to a cleaner environment.
- Hershey, with its environmentally-friendly practices, aiming at reducing greenhouse gases by 50 percent by 2025.
- Seventh Generation, with #ComeClean and #GenerationGood campaigns, encouraging manufacturers to green all production processes.
The green marketing paradigm
Green marketing involves promoting products or services with environmental characteristics, brand modification, and changes in the manufacturing process.
It’s about taking a different perspective on marketing, considering the global consequences of environmental degradation. It’s about a brand’s ability to satisfy customer needs with minimum environmental harm. Given that, a new marketing paradigm emerged, with the concept that consumers have an active role in brands’ green initiatives—obtaining sustainable benefits.
Onwards and upwards to a green revolution
For those willing to join green marketing and show love for our planet, focus on brand content to let the world know about your endeavors. The most effective platforms are your website, blog, and social media pages.
Promote your eco-friendly marketing to environmentally aware consumers, build an emotional connection with them, and make green efforts a part of your brand’s story. Show the audience what’s in your business beyond money-making and marketing.
Learn more on how to water your brand to success with five impactful sustainable business practices to boost the ecosystem.
Lesley is a content creator with 9+ years of experience in web writing. Currently blogging at several educational blogs, she’s also contributing to many publications on business, marketing, and lifestyle.
