DEPARTMENT OF MANAGEMENT STUDIES
In partial fulfillment of the requirements for the award of the degree of
MASTER OF BUSINESS ADMINISTRATION
Under the guidance of
Ms. Saumi Roy
Senior Assistant Professor
SOCIETAL PROJECT REPORT
On
GREEN MARKETING
BY
VIKAS C M
1NH23BA177
Submitted to
DEPARTMENT OF MANAGEMENT STUDIES
NEW HORIZON COLLEGE OF ENGINEERING
OUTER RING ROAD, MARATHALLI,
BENGALURU
2023-25
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DEPARTMENT OF MANAGEMENT STUDIES
CERTIFICATE
This is to certify that VIKAS C M bearing USN 1NH23BA177 , is a bonafide student
of Master of Business Administration course of the Institute 2023-25, autonomous
program, affiliated to Visvesvaraya Technological University, Belgaum. The Societal
Project report on “GREEN MARKETING ”is prepared by him under the guidance of
SAUMI ROY , in partial fulfilment of requirements for the award of the degree of
Master of Business Administration of Visvesvaraya Technological University,
Belgaum, Karnataka.
Signature of Internal Guide Signature of HOD
DECLARATION
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I, VIKAS C M, hereby declare that the Societal Project report entitled “GREEN
MARKETING ” is prepared by me under the guidance of
SAUMI ROY , faculty of M.B.A Department, New Horizon College of Engineering.
I also declare that this Societal Project report is towards the partial fulfillment of the
university regulations for the award of the degree of Master of Business Administration
by Visvesvaraya Technological University, Belgaum.
I further declare that this report is based on the original study undertaken by me and has
not been submitted for the award of a degree/diploma from any other University /
Institution.
Signature of Student
Place:
Date:
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TABLE OF CONTENTS
Sl. No CONTENTS PAGE
NUMBERS
1 Executive summary 5-6
2 Introduction 7-10
3 Problem Identified for the study 11
4 Objectives of the study 12
5 Discussion 14-15
6 Conclusion 16-17
7 Learning outcomes 18
8 Bibliography 20
EXCETIEVE SUMMARY
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According to the American Marketing Association, Green Marketing is the marketing of products
that are presumed to be environmentally safe. Thus, green marketing incorporates a broad range
of activities, including
Product modification,
Changes to the production process,
Packaging changes, as well as
Modifying advertising.
Green Marketing refers to the process of selling products and/or services based on their
environmental benefits. Such a product or service may be environmentally friendly in it or
produced and/or packaged in an environmentally friendly way.
As per Mr. J. Polonsky, Green Marketing can be defined as, "All activities designed to generate
and facilitate any exchange intended to satisfy human needs or wants such that satisfying of these
needs and wants occur with minimal detrimental input on the national environment."
INTRODUCTION
Green Marketing involves developing and promoting products and services that satisfy
customers want and need for Quality, Performance, Affordable Pricing and Convenience without
having a detrimental input on the environment.
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.
Yet defining green marketing is not a simple task where several meanings intersect and contradict
each other; an example of this will be the existence of varying social, environmental and retail
definitions attached to this term. Other similar terms used are Environmental Marketing and
Ecological Marketing. The legal implications of marketing claims call for caution. Misleading or
overstated claims can lead to regulatory or civil challenges. In the USA, the Federal Trade
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Commission provides some guidance on environmental marketing claims. So, in simple terms
green marketing refers to the process of selling products and/or services based on their
environmental benefits. Such a product or service may be environmentally friendly in itself or
produced and/or packaged in an environmentally friendly way.
PROBLEM IDENTIFIED IN THE STUDY
The obvious assumption of green marketing is that potential consumers will view a product or
service's "greenness" as a benefit and base their buying decision accordingly. Green marketers
though argue that it is a way to use the environmental benefits of a product or service to promote
sales. Many consumers will choose products that do not damage the environment over less
environmentally friendly products, even if they cost more. With green marketing, advertisers
focus on environmental benefits to sell products such as biodegradable diapers, energy-efficient
light bulbs, and environmentally safe detergents. People buy billions of dollars’ worth of goods
and services every year—many which harm the environment in how they are harvested, made, or
used. Environmentalists support green marketing to encourage people to use environmentally
preferable alternatives, and to offer incentives to manufacturers that develop more
environmentally beneficial products.
NEED OF GREEN MARKETING
Most of the companies are venturing into green marketing because of the following reasons:
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Issues like Global warming and depletion of ozone umbrella are important for the healthy
survival. Every person rich or poor would be interested in quality life with full of health and
vigour and so would the corporate class. Financial gain and economic profit are 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.
Green marketing has been widely adopted by the firms worldwide and the following are the
possible reasons cited for this wide adoption. There are basically five reasons for which a
marketer should go for the adoption of green marketing.
They are:
Opportunities or competitive advantage
Corporate social responsibilities (CSR)
Government pressure
Competitive pressure Cost
or profit issues
1) OPPORTUNITIES - As demands change, many firms see these changes as an opportunity to
be exploited and have a competitive advantage over firms marketing non- environmentally
responsible alternatives.
2)CORPORATE 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. There are examples of firms adopting both strategies. Organizations like
the Body Shop heavily promote the fact that they are environmentally responsible.
3)GOVERNMENT PRESSURE – As with all marketing related activities, governments want to
"protect" consumers and society; this protection has significant green marketing implications.
Governmental regulations relating to environmental marketing are designed to protect consumers
in several ways.
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4)COMPETITIVE PRESSURE – Another major force in the environmental marketing area has
been firms' desire to maintain their competitive position. In many cases firms observe
competitors promoting their environmental behaviours and attempt to emulate this behaviour. In
some instances, this competitive pressure has caused an entire industry to modify and thus reduce
its detrimental environmental behaviour.
5)COST OR PROFIT ISSUES – Reduction of harmful waste may lead to substantial cost
savings. Sometimes, many firms develop symbiotic relationship whereby the waste generated by
one company is used by another as a cost-effective raw material.
DISCUSSION
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Today’s consumers are becoming more and more conscious about the environment and are also
becoming socially responsible. Therefore, more companies are responsible to consumers’
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.
Companies that develop new and improved products and services with environment inputs
in mind give themselves access to new markets,
It also increases their profit sustainability, and
Enjoy a competitive advantage over the companies which are not concerned for the
environment.
With the proliferation of environmental stories in the press and broadcast media, individuals
(whether as a consumer or acting for a company), are more aware of their personal responsibility
to try to make a difference. Appealing to this need can increase response rates to marketing
executions and build brand loyalty.
Green marketing is very low on the agenda of most businesses and therefore it’s still an
underleveraged USP (Unique Selling Proposition). Effective green marketing targeted at the right
audience will make a difference.
As resources are limited and human wants are unlimited, it is important for the marketers to
utilize the resources efficiently without waste as well as to achieve the organization's objective.
So green marketing is inevitable.
There is growing interest among the consumers all over the world regarding protection of
environment. Worldwide evidence indicates people are concerned about the environment and are
changing their behaviour. As a result of this, green marketing has emerged which speaks for
growing market for sustainable and socially responsible products and services.
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Man has 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:
a) Organizations perceive environmental marketing to be an opportunity that can be used to
achieve its objectives
b) Organizations believe they have a moral obligation to be more socially responsible
c) Governmental bodies are forcing firms to become more responsible
d) Competitors' environmental activities pressure firms to change their environmental marketing
activities
e) Cost factors associated with waste disposal, or reductions in material usage forces firms to
modify their behaviour.
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PRESENT TREND: GREEN MARKETING IN INDIA
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.
• 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.
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• 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 Behaviour:
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.
THE FUTURE OF GREEN MARKETING
There are many lessons to be learned 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:
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• CONSUMER VALUE POSITIONING:
Design environmental products to perform as well as (or better than) alternatives.
Promote and deliver the consumer desired value of environmental products and target relevant
consumer market segments.
Broaden mainstream appeal by bundling consumer desired value into environmental products.
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OBJECTIEVES
Green marketing is still in its infancy and a lot of research is to be done on green
marketing to fully explore its potential. There are some suggestions that an organization should
implement for catering challenges of green marketing and successful exploitation of green
marketing. Those are:
Consumer needs to be made more aware about the merits of green products. It is still a new
concept for the masses. The consumer needs to be educated and made aware of the
environmental threats.
It should be made sure that the consumer is aware of and concerned about the issues that your
product attempts to address. Green Marketing campaign and green advertising is good step
toward it.
Consumers must be motivated to switch brands or even pay a premium for the greener
alternative. Make sure that consumer feel that they can make a difference. Make sure that
consumer feel that they can make a difference. This is called “empowerment” and due to this
main reason consumers will buy greener products.
Further steps should be taken to control false promise and claim by the marketer to maintain
legitimacy and trustworthiness of green products. Consumers must be made to believe that the
product performs the job it’s supposed to do-they won’t forego product quality in the name of the
environment. For effective and efficient implementation of this concept of Green Marketing the
factor that plays a major role is the Government. Unless the government creates specific and
stringent laws and utilizes its authority to implement them the concept cannot be conceptualized.
If the Consumer, the Organization and the Government work in unison towards the common goal
of minimizing the detrimental environmental impact of their activities, then they can surely save
this environment and make this world a better place to live in.
Thus, leading brands should recognize that consumer expectations have changed. It is not enough
for a company to green its products; consumers expect the products that they purchase pocket
friendly and also to help reduce the environmental impact in their own lives too.
Today’s consumers are becoming more and more conscious about the environment and are also
becoming socially responsible. Therefore, more companies should become responsible to
consumers’ aspirations. Many companies want to have an early mover advantage as they have to
eventually move towards becoming green. Green marketing is very low on the agenda of most
businesses and therefore it’s still an under-leveraged USP (Unique Selling Proposition).
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STRATEGIES TO BE IMPLEMENTED IN GREEN MARKETING
I. PRODUCT DIFFERENTIATION
Organizations are putting continuous efforts to differentiate their products and services using
green marketing practice. In a wide range of markets including retailing etc companies have used
eco performance to differentiate and to compete. Products with poor eco performance can
become targets for new substitution, as a result of this many organizations are coming up with
greener ideas to differentiate their products from competitors.
CONSUMER VALUE POSITIONING- organizations can design environmental products to
perform as well as provide alternatives. In addition to this promoting and delivering the
consumer desired value of environmental products and target relevant consumer market
segments can help the organization to differentiate.
CALIBERATION OF CONSUMER KNOWLEDGE-Educates customers with marketing
messages that connect environmental product attributes with desired consumer value.
II. DESIGNING BIO-DEGRADABLE PACKAGING
It is seen that promotion of green products strongly influences the consumers buying decisions. It
is one of the most important factors of product attractiveness. Thus, it has been indicated that
bio-degradable packaging will affect in a strong and moderate way respectively on their buying
decisions.
As a marketing strategy the companies should modify the product packaging by using only the
recycle as well as handmade paper in packaging. Instead of being more mechanized the
companies must find creative ways reusing the waste products which are harmful to the
environment. Manufacturing companies which are using plastic for packaging should meet
certain standardization. For example, Bisleri plastic bottles or the water bottles can last only for
15 days and after that it generates certain chemicals which are harmful and there is no reusability
of this kind of plastic. Companies should modify these kinds of packaging styles and find out
some innovative ways to recycle it.
III. PRODUCT STRATEGY
In this strategy marketers can identify customer’s environmental needs and develop products to
address this issue, produce more environmentally responsible packages and ensure that products
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meet or exceed the quality expectation of customers. In addition to that marketer can charge
higher price with highlighting eco-friendliness of the products.
IV. DISTRIBUTION STRATEGY
In case of this strategy obtaining dealer support to green marketing practice is essential. The
location must differentiate from competitors and it can be achieved by in-store promotions and
displays by using recycle materials to emphasize the environmental and other benefits.
Even though distribution has no big involvement in green marketing, few consumers are willing
to get the services from places and distribution channels which are not cause to environmental
pollution.
V. LIFE-CYCLE ANALYSIS
Brands which aspire to be sustainable must “get their house in order” before they start planning
any green marketing initiatives. The best brands are performing life cycle analysis- complex
assessments which provide critical data on social, environmental and economic impact of
products through the supply chain production process and after the purchase. Life cycle analysis
tells a brand just how far it needs to go before it claims to be sustainable.
VI. INCENTIVES AND STRUCTURAL FACTORS
Commercialization programs and incentives help get new technologies introduced examples
include fleet programs to cultivate strategic niche markets and by providing financial incentives
such as the advanced vehicle tax credit proposal in case of green vehicle purchase. Consumers
can be motivated by incentives and awards to:
Curtail – Reduce the impact on the environment by modifying extant living
patterns.
Maintain – Keep equipment in good working order.
Be efficient – Undertake structural changes such as buying environmentally friendly
equipment.
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Conclusion:
Green marketing should not neglect the economic aspect of marketing. Marketers need to
understand the implications of green marketing. Green marketing to some extent strengthens
company’s image in the mind of respondents that is very much clear from trustworthiness of
green claims and certainly it does have positive image of the organization in the minds of the
respondents. It was observed that the respondents who were more proactive with the
environmental behaviour have positive attitude towards green advertisements. It is evident that
green marketing has positive impact on only those who are already practicing it. Rest of the
respondents who were passive had very less impact on their buying behaviour.
Green marketing covers more than a firm's marketing claims. While firms must bear much of the
responsibility for environmental degradation, the responsibility should not be theirs alone.
Ultimately green marketing requires that consumers want a cleaner environment and are willing
to "pay" for it, possibly through higher priced goods, modified individual lifestyles, or even
governmental intervention. Until this occurs it will be difficult for firms alone to lead the green
marketing revolution. We need to come out through green myopia.
Having said this, it must not be forgotten that the industrial buyer also has the ability to pressure
suppliers to modify their activities. Thus, an environmental committed organization may not only
produce goods that have reduced their detrimental impact on the environment, they may also be
able to pressure their suppliers to behave in a more environmentally responsible fashion. Final
consumers and industrial buyers also have the ability to pressure organizations to integrate the
environment into their corporate culture and thus ensure all organizations minimize the
detrimental environmental impact of their activities.
Thus, green marketing should look at minimizing environmental harm, not necessarily
eliminating it. Green marketing covers more than a firm's marketing claims. While firms must
bear much of the responsibility for environmental degradation, ultimately it is consumers who
demand goods, and thus create environmental problems. One example of this is where
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 disposes of their waste in an inappropriate fashion. While firms can have a great
impact on the natural environment, the responsibility should not be theirs alone. It appears that
consumers are not overly committed to improving their environment and may be looking to lay
too much responsibility on industry and government.
Thus, we can say that there are sufficient opportunities for green marketing in Gurgaon but it
may also face lot of challenges as considerable percentage of population are not aware and also
willing to know the affairs of green marketing initiatives. We need to educate them through
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proper campaigns. Green marketer must find an opportunity to enhance your product's
performance and strengthen your customer's loyalty.
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BIBLIOGRAPHY.
BOOKS:
I. Kothari C.R. (2004), “Research Methodology Methods and Techniques”, N.
Delhi, New Age International Publication ii. Green, Paul, Tull (2002)
“Research for Marketing Decisions”, N. Delhi, Prentice-Hall of India
iii. Sharma D.D. (2008), “Marketing Research: Principal Application & Cases” N. Delhi, Sultan
Chand & Sons iv. Kotler P. (1999), “Marketing Management”, N. Delhi, Prentice-Hall of India.
v. Rajagopalan R. (2003), “Environment Studies”, N. Delhi, Himalayan Publishing House.
vi. Certo, S.C. (1997), Modern Management, Englewood Cliffs, Prentice-Hall
WEBSITES:
a. http://www.businessworld.in
b. http://www.outlookindia.com
c. http://en.wikipedia.org
d. http://www.business-standard.com
e. http://www.encyclopedia.com
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