GREEN MARKETING

“If sustainability is to become a persuasive vision, it needs a persuasive language.”
Futerra Sustainability Communications 2007

Nowadays, companies are under continuous pressure to achieve sustainable competitive advantage.

A sustainable organisation with high aspirations to minimize environmental impact should incorporate sustainability marketing communications within its communication strategy. However, the organisation must pay special attention to filtering the content and channels, to not be perceived as aggressive in communication or even worse, as greenwashing. 

What should the organisation do when the planned change is about implementation of a new environmental management system (EMS) and the employees don’t know too much about it? Because, this implies changes in their behaviour, they have to know what EMS means, how it benefits them directly, for the organisation they work for, and the society they live in.

In today’s competitive business environment, it has become a must for companies to be more sustainable. Some organisations truly believe in sustainability, others may try to keep up with their competitors and others may be pushed by their customers. In all these situations, marketing the company’s sustainability, has become a crucial issue.

In order to succeed, when approaching green marketing, the company must take into consideration some rules such as: knowing the customer, empowering the customer to feel their purchasing decisions can make a difference, being transparent, reassuring the customers that functional and environmental are complementary aspects, and help customers understand why they are paying extra costs.

As in any other marketing field, communication is a critical factor, when green marketing is approached. The company should have a holistic approach and act green in any decision the organisation makes. Engaging customers and other stakeholders to be part of the process will improve the relationship and will build brand equity. Companies should aim for zero environmental impact, which through a good communication program, would motivate the stakeholders to be more responsible in their own purchasing decisions. Being unrealistic must be avoided, in order to not be accused of greenwashing. 




Greenwashing represents the false environmental claims the companies may use in their marketing campaigns. Terra Choice (2010) has defined it as: …the act of misleading consumers regarding the environmental practices of a company or the environmental benefits of a product or service.

Unlike the company reputation, built over a long period of time, greenwashing can be a tag attributed overnight, which can create permanent damage to the organisation’s image and reputation.

To a certain extent, we are all engaged in green marketing. Any decision we take (e.g. to recycle paper, to buy an electric car or to cycle to work), which can create an impact on the environment, is an action with a green approach to marketing. Green marketing is all about helping people to evaluate different alternatives in order to make decisions with less impact on the environment. 

Green marketing is defined as: …the development and marketing of product design to minimize negative effects on the physical environment. …the study of all efforts to consume, produce, distribute, promote, package, and reclaim products in a manner that is sensitive or responsive to ecological concerns.

The actions taken by organisations are influenced by all stakeholders, but employees are playing a strategic role in implementing the green marketing strategy. They can generate new ideas and find the most reliable solutions to make the green strategy become reality. 

Employees are more than just simply workers for the company, they are representing many stakeholder’s segments. They can also be customers, shareholders and part of a community the organisation operates in, having a great impact on the company’s reputation and success. Nobody is proud to work for a company with severe social and environmental issues. Employees can be part of building a greener workplace, if they are involved and allowed to present their ideas to improve the company’s sustainability strategy and as a result the company’s image. They are the link between the organisation and the community in which they live, able to build trust and create good relations. 



To create impact and credibility, the organisations can show their employees that environmental concerns are a priority, creating continuous awareness and celebrating each success on this matter. Setting attainable goals can motivate employees to take part of the environmental programs. The goals can relate to their personal health, wellbeing or the impact they can make for their community. This will create benefits for both parties: the employee will be healthier, satisfied and proud with his workplace and the company will have more productive workers, decreased costs with sick leaves and better reputation. 

The company can create a strategy to empower the employees to make improvements on their own lives, their families and their community. Creating awareness among employees about the organisational commitments and engaging them to reduce their own environmental impact, will offer them the opportunity to learn how to live more sustainable lives overall. Being proactive and exceeding employees’ expectations to solve environmental problems, will improve their commitment for the organisation’s strategy. This can create a strong emotional bond, engaging and motivating them to be part of the big positive change. 


Sources:

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Futerra Sustainability Communications 2005. Communicating Sustainability. How to pro-duce effective public campaigns. URL: http://www.unep.fr/shared/publica-tions/pdf/DTIx0679xPA-CommunicatingEN.pdf.

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Terrachoice 2010. Sins of greenwashing study. International journal. URL: http://sinsofgreenwashing.com/index5349.pdf.
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