Robert Connor Cortese: Sustainable Business Development with the Green Marketing Strategy

What is green marketing?

What are the benefits of green marketing?

How is green marketing helpful in sustainable business development?

Green is purity.

Green marketing concerns with the protection of the environment. Green is the color of quality and purity; meaning matured and neutral facts, free from any exaggeration and ambiguity.

Connor Cortese Says:   Modern marketing practices have created many problems; leading to rapid economic growth, comfortable and luxurious lifestyle, severe competition, mass production with the help of advanced technology, use of unhealthy marketing strategies and techniques to lure customers, retailing and distribution by giant MNCs, creation of multinational companies, liberalization and globalization, etc, resulting in severe problems.

Green Marketing

Need for Green Marketing

· Exploitation of human beings
· Opportunities and competitive advantage
· Global warming
· Government rules and regulations
· Need for conservation of Mother Nature
· Competition with other socially responsible businesses
· Exploitation of resources and its depletion
· Pollution levels are high (air, water and soil)

· Adverse environmental conditions
· Goodwill of the companies
· Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR)
· Natural calamities triggered by Humans

    What is Green Marketing?

It refers to the practice of selling products and services based only on their environmental benefits. Such products or services may be environmentally friendly or are produced in an eco-friendly manner, including the following:

• Shall not contain toxic materials or ozone-depleting substances 
• Are recyclable or are produced from recycled materials 
• Manufactured in a sustainable manner 
• No use of excessive packaging 
• Are manufactured from renewable materials 
• Are designed to be repairable and not "throwaway (s)"

Green Marketing and Sustainable Development

It is typically practiced by businesses that are committed to sustainable development and CSR. Sustainable business practices make the products more attractive to consumers and also reduce unwanted expenses i.e. packaging, energy/water usage and transportation etc.

Are there any problems with consumers not willing to pay more for Green Products?

Green products are manufactured with a positive assumption that potential consumers will buy such products as their responsibility towards saving the environment. With this assumption, it is also believed that they will be willing to pay a premium for such services; though they need to be made aware of the benefits first and the business needs to be credible enough for them to trust.

Here, green marketing enters the scene. It can be used for awareness and encouragement towards green products.

The public tends to be skeptical of green claims because of so many businesses having false green claims, just to lure the consumers to purchase their products.

Marketing a good or a service as green when it's not is called green washing.

Advantages of Green Products

1. Costs more in the start; saves money afterwards

2. Encourages corporate social responsibility (CSR)

3. Ensures sustainable profits and long-term growth

4. Marketing strategies include Eco-friendly aspects

5. Good for awareness about the socially responsible brands and products

6. The manpower of the business feels proud and responsible for the company

7. Promotes access to newer markets and inspires positive competitive advantages

Challenges with Green Products

1. Lack of awareness among the population

2. Faces problems of false claims and deceptive advertising

3. Consumers refrain to pay a premium

4. Requires costly renewable and recyclable material

5. Educating customers about the advantages is costly and difficult.

6. Require expensive technologies for research & development departments and implementation & assembly processes

Conclusion

Many companies follow green marketing around the world to maintain a positive image in the minds of their consumers and also to utilize the concept of CSR to their advantage.

Many agencies like Robert Connor Cortese work towards every business’ goals with the help of green marketing to encourage CSR and attract more customers.