nayar Posted: Thu Jun 05, 2008 7:04 am 

   Post subject:   Green Marketing - New Hopes and

Challenges

Joined: Green Marketing - New Hopes and Challenges 

11 Aug
2006
Posts:
6832
Introduction 

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. 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. Thus "Green Marketing" refers to holistic marketing
concept wherein the production, marketing consumption an disposal of products and
services happen in a manner that is less detrimental to the environment with growing
awareness about the implications of global warming, non-biodegradable solid waste,
harmful impact of pollutants etc., both marketers and consumers are becoming
increasingly sensitive to the need for switch in to green products and services. While the
shift to "green" may appear to be expensive in the short term, it will definitely prove to be
indispensable and advantageous, cost-wise too, in the long run. 

Why Green Marketing? 

It is really scary to read these pieces of information as reported in the Times recently: "Air
pollution damage to people, crops and wildlife in he US totals tens of billions of dollars
each year". "More than 12 other studies in the US, Brazil Europe , Mexico , South Korea
and Taiwan have established links between air pollutants and low birth weight premature
birth still birth and infant death". 

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 behavior. As a result of this, green marketing has emerged which
speaks for growing market for sustainable and socially responsible products and services. 

Thus the growing awareness among the consumers all over the world regarding protection
of the environment in which they live, People do want to bequeath a clean earth to their
offspring. Various studies by environmentalists indicate that people are concerned about
the environment and are changing their behavior pattern so as to be less hostile towards
it. Now we see that most of the consumers, both individual and industrial, are becoming
more concerned about environment-friendly products. Most of them feel that
environment-friendly products are safe to use. As a result, green marketing has emerged,
which aims at marketing sustainable and socially-responsible products and services. Now
is the era of recyclable, non-toxic and environment-friendly goods. This has become the
new mantra for marketers to satisfy the needs of consumers and earn better profits. 

Green marketing is the process of developing products and services and promoting them
to satisfy the customers who prefer products of good quality, performance and
convenience at affordable cost, which at the same time do not have a detrimental impact
on the environment. It includes a broad range of activities like product modification,
changing the production process, modified advertising, change in packaging, etc., aimed
at reducing the detrimental impact of products and their consumption and disposal on the
environment. Companies all over the world are striving to reduce the impact of products
and services on the climate and other environmental parameters. Marketers are taking the
cue and are going green. 
Green marketing was given prominence in the late 1980s and 1990s after the proceedings
of the first workshop on Ecological marketing held in Austin, Texas (US), in 1975. Several
books on green marketing began to be published thereafter. According to the Joel
makeover (a writer, speaker and strategist on clean technology and green marketing),
green marketing faces a lot of challenges because of lack of standards and public
consensus to what constitutes "Green". 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. 

Green marketing is a vital constituent of the holistic marketing concept. It is particularly

applicable to businesses that are directly dependent on the physical environment; for
example, industries like fishing, processed foods, tourism and adventure sports. Changes
in the physical environment may pose a threat to such industries. Many global players in
diverse businesses are now successfully implementing green marketing practices. 

MARKETING MIX OF GREEN MARKETING 

When companies come up with new innovations like eco friendly products, they can access
new markets, enhance their market shares, and increase profits. Just as we have 4Ps
product prices, place and promotion in marketing, we have 4ps in green marketing too,
but they are a bit different. They are buttressed by three additional Ps, namely people,
planet and profits. 

A. PRODUCT: 

The products have to be developed depending on the needs of the customers who prefer
environment friendly products. Products can be made from recycled materials or from
used goods. Efficient products not only save water, energy and money, but also reduce
harmful effects on the environment. Green chemistry forms the growing focus of product
development. The marketer's role in product management includes providing product
designers with market-driven trends and customer requests for green product attributes
such as energy saving, organic, green chemicals, local sourcing, etc., For example, Nike is
the first among the shoe companies to market itself as green. It is marketing its Air
Jordan shoes as environment-friendly, as it has significantly reduced the usage of harmful
glue adhesives. It has designed this variety of shoes to emphasize that it has reduced
wastage and used environment-friendly materials. 

B. PRICE 

Green pricing takes into consideration the people, planet and profit in a way that takes
care of the health of employees and communities and ensures efficient productivity. Value
can be added to it by changing its appearance, functionality and through customization,
etc. Wal Mart unveiled its first recyclable cloth shopping bag. IKEA started charging
consumers when they opted for plastic bags and encouraged people to shop using its "Big
Blue Bag". 

C. PLACE 

Green place is about managing logistics to cut down on transportation emissions, thereby
in effect aiming at reducing the carbon footprint. For example, instead of marketing an
imported mango juice in India it can be licensed for local production. This avoids shipping
of the product from far away, thus reducing shipping cost and more importantly, the
consequent carbon emission by the ships and other modes of transport. 

D. PROMOTION 

Green promotion involves configuring the tools of promotion, such as advertising,

marketing materials, signage, white papers, web sites, videos and presentations by
keeping people, planet and profits in mind. British petroleum (BP) displays gas station
which its sunflower motif and boasts of putting money into solar power. Indian Tobacco
Company has introduced environmental-friendly papers and boards, which are free of
elemental chlorine. Toyota is trying to push gas/electric hybrid technology into much of its
product line. It is also making the single largest R&D investment in the every-elusive
hydrogen car and promoting itself as the first eco-friendly car company. International
business machines Corporation (IBM) has revealed a portfolio of green retail store
technologies and services to help retailers improve energy efficiency in their IT operations.
The center piece of this portfolio is the IBM SurePOS 700, a point-of-sale system that,
according to IBM, reduces power consumption by 36% or more. We even see the names
of retail outlets like "Reliance Fresh", Fresh@Namdhari Fresh and Desi, which while selling
fresh vegetables and fruits, transmit an innate communication of green marketing. 

Green marketer can attract customers on the basis of performance, money savings, health
and convenience, or just plain environmental friendliness, so as to target a wide range of
green consumers. 

Consumer awareness can be created by spreading the message among consumers about
the benefits of environmental-friendly products. Positing of profiles related to green
marketing on social networks creates awareness within and across online peer groups.
Marketing can also directly target the consumers through advertisements for product such
as energy saving compact fluorescent lamps, the battery –powered Reva car, etc. 

WHY IS GREEN MARKETING CHOSEN BY MOST MARKETERS? 

Most of the companies are venturing into green marketing because of the following
reasons: 

a. Opportunity 

In India, around 25% of the consumers prefer environmental-friendly products, and

around 28% may be considered healthy conscious. There fore, green marketers have
diverse and fairly sizeable segments to cater to. The Surf Excel detergent which saves
water (advertised with the message—"do bucket paani roz bachana") and the energy-
saving LG consumers durables are examples of green marketing. We also have green
buildings which are efficient in their use of energy, water and construction materials, and
which reduce the impact on human health and the environment through better design,
construction, operation, maintenance and waste disposal. In India, the green building
movement, spearheaded by the Confederation of Indian industry (CII) - Godrej Green
business Center, has gained tremendous impetus over the last few years. From 20,000 sq
ft in 2003, India's green building footprint is now over 25 million sq ft. 

b. Social Responsibility 

Many companies have started realizing that they must behave in an environment-friendly
fashion. They believe both in achieving environmental objectives as well as profit related
objectives. The HSBC became the world's first bank to go carbon-neutral last year. Other
examples include Coca-Cola, which has invested in various recycling activities. Walt
Disney World in Florida, US, has an extensive waste management program and
infrastructure in place. 

c. Governmental Pressure 

Various regulations rare framed by the government to protect consumers and the society
at large. The Indian government too has developed a framework of legislations to reduce
the production of harmful goods and by products. These reduce the industry's production
and consumers' consumption of harmful goods, including those detrimental to the
environment; for example, the ban of plastic bags in Mumbai, prohibition of smoking in
public areas, etc. 

d. Competitive Pressure 
Many companies take up green marketing to maintain their competitive edge. The green
marketing initiatives by niche companies such as Body Shop and Green & Black have
prompted many mainline competitors to follow suit. 

e. Cost Reduction 

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. For example, the fly ash generated by thermal
power plants, which would otherwise contributed to a gigantic quantum of solid waste, is
used to manufacture fly ash bricks for construction purposes. 

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
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, thought initially the cost is more. 
* It helps companies market their products and services keeping the environment aspects
in mind. It helps in accessing the new markets and enjoying competitive advantage. 
* Most of the employees also feel proud and responsible to be working for an
environmentally responsible company. 

PROBLEMS OF GREEN MARKETING 

Many organizations want to turn green, as an increasing number of consumers' ant to

associate themselves with environmental-friendly products. Alongside, one also witnesses
confusion among the consumers regarding the products. In particular, one often finds
distrust regarding the credibility of green products. Therefore, to ensure consumer
confidence, marketers of green products need to be much more transparent, and refrain
from breaching any law or standards relating to products or business practices. 

PATHS TO GREENNESS 

Green marketing involves focusing on promoting the consumption of green products.

Therefore, it becomes the responsibility of the companies to adopt creativity and insight,
and be committed to the development of environment-friendly products. This will help the
society in the long run. Companies which embark on green marketing should adopt the
following principles in their path towards "greenness." 

* Adopt new technology/process or modify existing technology/process so as to reduce

environmental impact. 
* Establish a management and control system that will lead to the adherence of stringent
environmental safety norms. 
* Using more environment-friendly raw materials at the production stage itself. 
* Explore possibilities of recycling of the used products so that it can be used to offer
similar or other benefits with less wastage. 

Marketing Strategies 

The marketing strategies for green marketing include: - 

* Marketing Audit (including internal and external situation analysis) 

* Develop a marketing plan outlining strategies with regard to 4 P's 
* Implement marketing strategies 
* Plan results evaluation 

CONCLUSION 
 A clever marketer is one who not only convinces the consumer, but also involves the
consumer in marketing his product. Green marketing should not be considered as just one
more approach to marketing, but has to be pursued with much greater vigor, as it has an
environmental and social dimension to it. With the threat of global warming looming large,
it is extremely important that green marketing becomes the norm rather than an
exception or just a fad. Recycling of paper, metals, plastics, etc., in a safe and
environmentally harmless manner should become much more systematized and universal.
It has to become the general norm to use energy-efficient lamps and other electrical
goods. 

Marketers also have the responsibility to make the consumers understand the need for
and benefits of green products as compared to non-green ones. In green marketing,
consumers are willing to pay more to maintain a cleaner and greener environment. Finally,
consumers, industrial buyers and suppliers need to pressurize effects on minimize the
negative effects on the environment-friendly. Green marketing assumes even more
importance and relevance in developing countries like India.

Back
to top  

Re: Green marketing and the Trade Practices Act[ - June 8th, 2010
Quote:

Originally Posted by sardana 

hi can i get more matther on this topic my mail id is 

hey friend, here is something more on GREEN MARKETING and THE TRADE PRACTICES ACT .

Green marketing is the promotion of products or services that are safe for the environment. Green
marketing can vary from product to product and even from company to company. Some examples
include modifying ingredients or production processes of a product to make it safer for the environment.
It can also involve changing the packaging of a product, such as using less packaging or switching from
a plastic wrapper to a recycled paper wrapper. One of the biggest items that changes under green
marketing is how the product or service is advertised or promoted.

The fact that the product is environmentally friendly is touted in all the marketing materials for the
product. A good example of green marketing involves the energy efficiency of a kitchen appliance. The
marketing efforts that surround these energy-efficient products focuses on the fact that it's friendly to
the environment and its operation saves the buyer money. In essence, it makes buyers feel like they are
saving money but they are also saving the environment by using less energy at the same time.

Trade Practices Act

The Trade Practices Act governs the use of green marketing. It helps to protect consumers from being
duped into buying products or services that they think are environmentally friendly but they really
aren't. And it prohibits companies from claiming products offer a benefit if they don't.
Deceptive or Misleading Conduct
There are two main provisions to the Trade Practices Act. The first part of the law prohibits companies
from presenting information to consumers in a misleading or deceptive way. This means that advertising
of a product or service that is stated to be "green" cannot be embellished or inaccurate in an effort to
mislead consumers. For example, if a company's name is Clean & Green Energy Company, but it
produces energy from an unclean or environmentally unsafe source, it could be seen as misleading and
therefore breaking the law.

False or Misleading Representations

The second part of the law prohibits companies from describing products or services in non-compliant
ways. So if you say a product is made of recyclable material, then it has to be made of recyclable
material. If a company advertises its products as being manufactured using clean and renewable energy,
such as wind power, but it is then discovered that they use gas powered machinery, this qualifies as
being misleading and non-compliant.

Penalties for Breaking the Law

Under the act, if a company breaks the law by misleading consumers, it can be penalized. Punishment
varies by the degree the law was broken, but monetary penalties have been imposed for up to $1.1
million Australian for companies and up to $220,000 Australian for individuals. It can also lead to
injunctions, additional advertising with corrections and community service.

To view links or images in signatures your post count must be 0 or greater. You currently have 0 posts.

Help Others > Network > Grow

Green Marketing - New Oppertunities and Challenges

Posted in:  Academics Tuesday 29th, June 2010
 

Views(21)  
Comments(0)
Print
Forward

Nayan Ranjan Sinha 

Lecturer
"Green Marketing" refers to holistic marketing concept wherein the production, marketing
consumption an disposal of products and services happen in a manner that is less detrimental to
the environment with growing awareness about the implications of global warming, non-
biodegradable solid waste, harmful impact of pollutants etc., both marketers and consumers are
becoming increasingly sensitive to the need for switch in to green products and services. While the
shift to "green" may appear to be expensive in the short term, it will definitely prove to be
indispensable and advantageous, cost-wise too, in the long run Green marketing was given
prominence in the late 1980s and 1990s after the proceedings of the first workshop on Ecological
marketing held in Austin, Texas (US), in 1975. Many organizations want to turn green, as an
increasing number of consumers' ant to associate themselves with environmental-friendly
products. 

It is really scary to read these pieces of information as reported in the Times recently: "Air
pollution damage to people, crops and wildlife in he US totals tens of billions of dollars each year".
"More than 12 other studies in the US, Brazil Europe , Mexico , South Korea and Taiwan have
established links between air pollutants and low birth weight premature birth still birth and infant
death".
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 behavior. As a result of this, green marketing has emerged which speaks for
growing market for sustainable and socially responsible products and services.

Thus the growing awareness among the consumers all over the world regarding protection of the
environment in which they live, People do want to bequeath a clean earth to their offspring.
Various studies by environmentalists indicate that people are concerned about the environment
and are changing their behavior pattern so as to be less hostile towards it. Now we see that most
of the consumers, both individual and industrial, are becoming more concerned about
environment-friendly products. Most of them feel that environment-friendly products are safe to
use. As a result, green marketing has emerged, which aims at marketing sustainable and socially-
responsible products and services. Now is the era of recyclable, non-toxic and environment-
friendly goods. This has become the new mantra for marketers to satisfy the needs of consumers
and earn better profits.

Green marketing is the process of developing products and services and promoting them to satisfy
the customers who prefer products of good quality, performance and convenience at affordable
cost, which at the same time do not have a detrimental impact on the environment. It includes a
broad range of activities like product modification, changing the production process, modified
advertising, change in packaging, etc., aimed at reducing the detrimental impact of products and
their consumption and disposal on the environment. Companies all over the world are striving to
reduce the impact of products and services on the climate and other environmental parameters.
Marketers are taking the cue and are going green.

Green marketing was given prominence in the late 1980s and 1990s after the proceedings of the
first workshop on Ecological marketing held in Austin, Texas (US), in 1975. Several books on
green marketing began to be published thereafter. According to the Joel makeover (a writer,
speaker and strategist on clean technology and green marketing), green marketing faces a lot of
challenges because of lack of standards and public consensus to what constitutes "Green".  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.

 Green marketing is a vital constituent of the holistic marketing concept. It is particularly

applicable to businesses that are directly dependent on the physical environment; for example,
industries like fishing, processed foods, tourism and adventure sports. Changes in the physical
environment may pose a threat to such industries. Many global players in diverse businesses are
now successfully implementing green marketing practices.

http://blogs.siliconindia.com/nayan/Green_Marketing__New_Oppertunities_and_Challenges-bid-
uQo5nC9M35974297.html

NEW DELHI, India — Greenpeace today complimented HCL for its recent commitments to move further
towards offering clean products and taking back those that have reached the end of their life. Greenpeace
activists visited HCL headquarters in Noida with a banner that read 'Bravo HCL!' Keep going green’. The
Indian IT major recently announced a series of measures that are in line with Greenpeace demands.

HCL has committed to a phase out of PVC and all BFRs from all its products by 2009 and 2010 respectively, even as it
called for a Restriction on Hazardous Substances (RoHS) legislation in India. The company has also made it clear that
it would proactively promote and push for a legislation based on the principle of Extended/Individual Producer
Responsibility.

“HCL’s public commitments to playing a lead role in solving the e-waste problem has given much needed impetus to
the Indian IT sector.” said Pranav Sinha, Greenpeace toxics campaigner. “It is now for other players, industry
associations and the government to come forward and proactively work towards making the Indian IT sector clean and
competitive in a global market. This can be achieved through a combination of legislation and industry initiatives to
design clean products and take back and safely recycle end-of-life products,” Sinha said.

Apart from western countries such as those in the EU, eastern manufacturers such as China, Taiwan and Thailand,
have also created progressive regulatory frameworks to foster the greener growth of the electronics sector. In
contrast, India does not even have a basic legislation like RoHS. Greenpeace believes that this ironically presents India
with the opportunity to draft a state-of-the-art legal framework based on the EPR principle, which would address the
e-waste crisis. As the biggest Indian computer manufacturer, HCL’s commitment to play a proactive role on this issue
is a good beginning. 

http://www.greenpeace.org/india/press/releases/greenpeace-commends-hcl-s-gree

Green Marketing Initiatives by Indian Corporate Sector - A Study 

INTRODUCTION 

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. 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 termOther similar terms used
are Environmental Marketing and 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. 

* Two tangible milestones for wave of green marketing came in the form of published books, both
of which were called Green Marketing. They were by Ken Peattie (1992) in the United Kingdom and
by Jacquelyn Ottman (1993) in the United States of America. 

In the years after 2000 a second wave of Green marketing emerged. By now CSR and the Triple
Bottom Line (TBL) were widespread. Such publications as a 2005 United Nations Report, then in
2006 a book by Al Gore and the UK Stern Report brought scientific-environmental arguments to a
wide public in an easy to understand way. 
OBJECTIVE: The objective of this paper is to examine the need and significance of green marketing
and also to evaluate the initiatives taken by the Indian companies and concern for green
marketing in their core business values. 

Benefits of Green Marketing 

Companies that develop new and improved products and services with environment inputs in mind
give themselves access to new markets, increase their profit sustainability, and enjoy a
competitive advantage over the companies which are not concerned for the environment. 

Adoption of Green Marketing 

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 

Green Marketing Mix 

Every company has its own favorite marketing mix. Some have 4 P's and some have 7 P's of
marketing mix. The 4 P's of green marketing are that of a conventional marketing but the
challenge before marketers is to use 4 P's in an innovative manner. 

Product 

The ecological objectives in planning products are to reduce resource consumption and pollution
and to increase conservation of scarce resources (Keller man, 1978). 

Price 

Price is a critical and important factor of green marketing mix. Most consumers will only be
prepared to pay additional value if there is a perception of extra product value. This value may be
improved performance, function, design, visual appeal, or taste. Green marketing should take all
these facts into consideration while charging a premium price. 

Promotion 

There are three types of green advertising: - 

* Ads that address a relationship between a product/service and the biophysical environment 
* Those that promote a green lifestyle by highlighting a product or service 
* Ads that present a corporate image of environmental responsibility 

Place 

The choice of where and when to make a product available will have significant impact on the
customers. Very few customers will go out of their way to buy green products. 

Challenges Ahead 
* 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 

Green marketing of MNCs 

* Philips Light's CFL 

Philips Lighting's first shot at marketing a standalone compact fluorescent light (CFL) bulb was
Earth Light, at $15 each versus 75 cents for incandescent bulbs.[17] The product had difficulty
climbing out of its deep green niche.[17]The company re-launched the product as "Marathon,"
underscoring its new "super long life" positioning and promise of saving $26 in energy costs over
its five-year lifetime.[18] Finally, with the U.S. EPA's Energy Star label to add credibility as well as
new sensitivity to rising utility costs and electricity shortages, sales climbed 12 percent in an
otherwise flat market.[18] 

* Electronics sector 

The consumer electronics sector provides room for using green marketing to attract new
customers. One example of this is HP's promise to cut its global energy use 20 percent by the year
2010.[21] To accomplish this reduction below 2005 levels, The Hewlett-Packard Company
announced plans to deliver energy-efficient products and services and institute energy-efficient
operating practices in its facilities worldwide. 

* Introduction of CNG in Delhi 

New Delhi, capital of India, was being polluted at a very fast pace until Supreme Court of India
forced a change to alternative fuels. In 2002, a directive was issued to completely adopt CNG in all
public transport systems to curb pollution 

* ITC 

* ITC has been 'Carbon Positive' three years in a row (sequestering/storing twice the amount of
CO2 than the Company emits). 

* 'Water Positive' six years in a row (creating three times more Rainwater Harvesting potential
than ITC's net consumption). 

* Close to 100% solid waste recycling. 

* All Environment, Health and Safety Management Systems in ITC conform to the best
international standards. 

* ITC's businesses generate livelihoods for over 5 million people. 

* ITC's globally recognised e-Choupal initiative is the world's largest rural digital infrastructure
benefiting over 4 million farming families. 

* ITC's Social and Farm Forestry initiative has greened over 80,000 hectares creating an estimated
35 million person days of employment among the disadvantaged. 

* ITC's Watershed Development Initiative brings precious water to nearly 35,000 hectares of
drylands and moisture-stressed areas. 
* ITC's Sustainable Community Development initiatives include women empowerment,
supplementary education, integrated animal husbandry programmes. 

* Maruthi:Greening of Supply Chain 

The company has remained ahead of regulatory requirements in pursuit of environment protection
and energy conservation at its manufacturing facilities, and in development of products that use
fewer natural resources and are environment friendly. 

The company credited the 'Just-in-Time' philosophy adopted and internalized by the employees as
the prime reason that helped to excel in this direction. 

The company has been promoting 3R since its inception. As a result the company has not only
been able to recycle 100% of treated waste water but also reduced fresh water consumption. The
company has implemented rain water harvesting to recharge the aquifers. Also, recyclable packing
for bought out components is being actively promoted. 

The company has been facilitating implementation of Environment Management System (EMS) at
its suppliers' end. Regular training programs are conducted for all the suppliers on EMS. Surveys
are conducted to assess the vendors who need more guidance. The systems and the
environmental performance of suppliers are audited. 

The green co-efficient of this system is much better than the conventional system 

* HCL's Environment Management Policy under HCL ecoSafe 

In building a system to identify, develop and sustain the maintenance of an environment

management system at corporate level we have formulated a program that we proudly refer as
HCL's ecosafe. 

The aim is to encapsulate knowledge, awareness, and key developments on all environmental
issues faced by today's world and to incorporate these in HCL's operations assuring our
commitment in delivering quality products, solutions and services 

The key objective under HCL ecoSafe is targeted at integrating environmental management
procedures into its business processes thereby protecting the environment, health, and safety of
all its stakeholders. HCL commits to manufacture products that are environment friendly in all
respects and are free from hazardous chemicals. 

HCL ecoSafe focuses on product lifecycle management to ensure that our products right from
when they are manufactured, bought by customers, recovered at their end-of-life and recycled
after useful life are done in an environmentally responsible manner Key initiatives undertaken
through HCL ecoSafe program are: 
Some more Examples: 

* McDonald's restaurant's napkins, bags are made of recycled paper. 

* Coca-Cola pumped syrup directly from tank instead of plastic which saved 68 million
pound/year. 
* Badarpur Thermal Power station of NTPC in Delhi is devising ways to utilize coal-ash that has
been a major source of air and water pollution. 

* Barauni refinery of IOC is taken steps for restricting air and water pollutants. 

Public Opinion on Green Marketing: 

* Shoppers are thinking green, but not always buying that way, according to a new study released
by the Grocery Manufacturers Association (GMA) and Deloitte. The study found that while 54
percent of shoppers indicate that environmental sustainability in a factor in their purchasing
decisions, they actually bought green products on just 22 percent of their shopping trips. The
survey is the basis of the GMA-Deloitte report titled Finding the Green in Today's Shoppers:
Sustainability Trends and New Shopper Insights and was based on interviews with over 6,400
shoppers. 

* Now eco packaging is poised to become the next low-hanging fruit of the clean tech world.
Investors and entrepreneurs this week at Europe's most important annual clean tech conference
reported unprecedented interest in reducing the use of raw materials while finding superior
protection for food and other products. 

* Consumers are increasingly putting plastic shopping bags and non-green wrapping items on their
naughty list, according to Deloitte's 2008 Annual Holiday Survey. Nearly half of the 13,000
consumers polled said they'd be willing to pay more for green gifts. This was up from 17 percent
last year. 

* Consumers perceive themselves as being environmentally responsible. Successful green

marketing requires matching a company's brand attributes with its customers' identity as "green."
An article suggested examining green marketing from the perspective of the 4 P's of marketing --
product, price, placement and promotion -- plus a 5th P, "prove it." 

* Americans are quick to identify polluting companies as "socially irresponsible" and make their
purchasing decisions accordingly, says a new survey. The poll also found that American consumers
between the ages of 18-29 are more likely to spend more on organic, environmentally preferable
or fair trade products than other age groups. 

* The survey, by the research firm Global Market Insite, quizzed more than 15,000 online
consumers in the U.S. and 16 other countries about their socially conscious business practices. 

* Americans placed the highest value on corporate community involvement; when asked what
factor was the most important in determining if a business is socially responsible, "contributing to
the community" (e.g. sponsorship, grants, employee volunteer programs) came in highest with
47%. On the other hand, all of the other countries surveyed (India, Canada, Australia, Germany,
China, and Japan) selected environmentally preferable practices (recycling, using biodegradable
products) as the top factor. 

* "In the high-tech era where employees are expected to work 24/7, it's significant that Americans
rate giving back to the community as their top priority in recognizing socially responsible
companies," said Marjorie Thompson, co-author of Brand Spirit: How Cause Related Marketing
Builds Brands. "It shows that people want to feel connected to each other and that they are willing
to reward businesses who tap into this sense of mutual support and belonging. Companies will
need to start thinking of their community programs as core to their businesses and brands, and
central to how they market themselves." 

* Not surprising, the U.S., along with other countries such as India and China, which have
experienced environmental disasters caused by corporations (e.g. Love Canal, Bhobal, Exxon
Valdez) or have had to deal with major polluting issues (e.g. coal plants, manufacturing), believe
that damaging the environment is associated with acting socially irresponsible. Other countries,
including France (60%), Denmark (52%) and Italy (45%) selected the use of child labor as the
main factor in making them think a corporation is socially irresponsible. 

* Juxtaposing Americans' negative opinions on damaging the environment, the GMIPoll found that
only 42% of all Americans are willing to spend more for products branded as organic,
environmentally friendly, or fair trade, except for the Y Generation. While only 14% of 18-29 year
olds label themselves as socially responsible consumers, half of this age group (50%) responded
that they will spend more on these types of products (organic, environmentally friendly or fair
trade) compared to their older and wealthier counterparts, with only 37% of 45-64 years olds
saying they would spend more on green products. 

* Thompson adds: "Based on the findings, Generation Y is obviously more environmentally

conscious and socially savvy, which is expected given that many are aware of the issues
surrounding globalization and trade and how this can negatively affect the environment, labor pool
and the local communities." 

* Surprisingly, a large majority of online consumers in the less developed countries of China and
India, 91% and 71% respectively, will pay more for socially responsible products, while almost half
(47%) of the U.K. respondents indicated they would spend more for these types of goods. 

Conclusion 

Green marketing should not neglect the economic aspect of marketing. Marketers need to
understand the implications of green marketing. If we think customers are not concerned about
environmental issues or will not pay a premium for products that are more eco-responsible, think
again. We must find an opportunity to enhance our product's performance and strengthen yur
customer's loyalty and command a higher price. 

Green marketing is still in its infancy and a lot of research is to be done on green marketing to
fully explore its potential.Think of a refrigerator for example. While we may have had to be
convinced in the 1950s to buy a refrigerator, we would have wanted the great white box to look
cool in the 1970s, but in today's uncertain world, we might ask ourselves about the impact of the
chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs) that our refrigerator is emitting and demand a more environmentally
friendly refrigerator. 

So, if today's successful marketing is about appealing to personal values and delivering consumer
empowerment, then surely the time is right to inject sustainable development into the marketing
mix to help address some of the gritty issues currently facing our planet.Green marketing methods
produce highly effective results. They apply all of the steps you need to cut costs, raise response
rates and increase growth in the most important marketing metric we are all held accountable for
—the bottom line.

http://www.123eng.com/forum/viewtopic.php?p=109881

Green practices (an Indian

Hotels initiative)
Taj Hotels Resorts and Palaces has
launched EARTH (Environment
Awareness and Renewal at Taj Hotels), a
movement that works to minimise the
impact of its businesses on the
environment
Taj Hotels Resorts and Palaces follows green practices
that conform with Green Globe Standards and is a
responsive partner in ensuring a brighter tomorrow for
future generations. The organisation has launched
EARTH (Environment Awareness and Renewal at Taj
Hotels), a movement that works to minimise the impact of
its businesses on the environment. The initiatives under
this umbrella include environmental training for all
employees, energy audits every three years, and a
phased reduction of freshwater consumption.

Waste management: In hotels where land is available,

kitchen waste and dry leaves are converted into compost;
waste paper from printing is reused as writing pads; pipe
steel waste is used as safety railings or in barricades; and
old bed sheets are used to make linen bags and cotton
napkins.

Conserving energy: Taj hotels use CFL lights, which

consume 78 per cent less energy; Taj Coromandel,
Chennai, generates energy from windmills; solar water
heating systems at the Taj West End, Bangalore, have
saved over 51,000 litres of fuel over the last three years;
a biogas plant at Rambagh Palace, Jaipur, helps in
cutting energy cost.

Ecosensitivity: Located in a sensitive ecological zone,

the Taj Exotica, Maldives, focuses on waste
management. The use of plastic bags is restricted and
hazardous substances such as lead acid batteries are
sent to Thilafushi Island, a landfill area allocated for
refuse. The Taj Coral Reef, located on a tropical atoll,
takes great care to protect the delicate ecosystem of the
coral reefs. Trees are planted near the beach and
extraction of sand from the beach is not permitted.
Organic wastes are processed and converted to fish food.
Non bio-degradable waste products are either incinerated
or routed to Thilafushi Island.

At Lake Palace, Udaipur, which stands in the middle of

the famous Pichola Lake, the Taj takes care to avoid
spoiling the lake water and harming its marine life. The
hotel uses battery-operated boats instead of those
powered by gasoline, and wastewater is recycled and
used for irrigation.

The Taj Garden Retreat at Kumarakom, is located near

the Vembanad Lake and the Kumarakom Bird Sanctuary
 that is a favourite haunt of several species of migratory
birds. The hotel uses special lighting to reduce the glare
so as not to disturb animal life, and wastewater is treated
before being discharged.

Green Technology -Patni Responds to Green Initiatives with IT-

BPO Center in Noida

 By Rajani Baburajan
TMCnet Contributing Editor

Patni Computer Systems (News - Alert), a global IT and BPO service provider, announced the launch of a new IT-
BPO knowledge center in Noida, India. The Patni Knowledge Center is an environment-friendly facility spread
over five acres of land and has a seating capacity of 3,500 or more, said the company.
 
The new facility is designed and constructed as per the guidelines of Leadership in Energy and Environmental
Design (LEED) India Green Building Rating System for New Construction, said Patni.
 
“Patni Knowledge Center complements the organization’s green initiatives around efficient utilization and
conservation of energy, water and natural resources,” said the announcement.
 
The facility aims to minimize adverse environmental impact; use less energy, water and natural resources and
produce less waste materials.
 
The certification process of the center is on, said the company. The audit is being conducted jointly by Indian
Green Building Council (IGBC) and U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC).
 
The important features of the green architecture of Patni Knowledge Center include: climate responsive
architecture, more than 50 percent of green area, drip water irrigation, zero discharge with 100 percent recycling
of sewage, solar water heating, and maximum utility of eco (News - Alert)-friendly recyclable materials.
 
The building is constructed in such a manner that 75 percent of the area receives natural daylight and 95 percent
of the occupants get access to outside views. Additionally, the interior of the building is made of materials with
low volatile organic compound (VOC) emissions. The air is constantly purified with the help of CO2 sensors,
which add fresh air on demand.
 
“We are delighted that a leading IT and BPO organization like Patni is one of the front runners in the green
architecture brigade,” said P. C. Jain, chairman of the IGBC.
 
“The concept of green buildings is still at a nascent stage in India, with only 26 certified green buildings and very
few Platinum certified green buildings. We are confident that Patni’s initiative will inspire other companies to
wake up to the benefits of going green and pledge their commitment towards environment conservation,” added
Jain.
 
Narendra Patni, chairman and CEO, Patni, said, “We recognize our responsibility to protect the environment. The
launch of our first Green center is a significant step in demonstrating the company’s commitment to environment
conservation.”
 
The eco-friendly Patni Knowledge Center is set up at an investment of Rs.175crores ($40 million), according to
Patni. Patni currently serves 2000 clients globally and has got more than 15,000 employees.
 
Rajani Baburajan is a contributing editor for TMCnet. To read more of Rajani’s articles, please visit
hercolumnist page.
 
http://green.tmcnet.com/topics/green/articles/35684-patni-responds-green-initiatives-with-it-bpo-
center.htm

Best Marketing Practice : Take- Back Campaign by Nokia

Nokia recently announced a green marketing initiative in India. From January 1, the
company is taking back used mobiles and chargers from the customers for recycling. The
campaign titled as Take-Back campaign is a unique social responsibility initiative by this
market leader.

Under this campaign, the company is encouraging the mobile users to give their old, unused,
broken mobiles and chargers for recycling. The campaign is initially launched in Bangalore,
Delhi, Gurgaon and Ludhiana and will be expanded to national level in coming months.

Nokia has installed 1300 recycled bins at the Nokia Priority dealers across these pilot
markets. Nokia also promises to plant one tree for every mobiles dumped. Another
interesting fact is that the company accepts mobiles of any make.

This is a best practice because the brand is addressing an issue proactively. E-waste is going
to be one of the worst environmental hazards in years to come. Mobiles contribute heavily
towards this waste. India being the fastest growing mobile market in the world, this issue is
going to be of mammoth size in the future.

The Take-Back campaign is aimed at educating people on the necessity of reducing e-waste
through recycling. The concept of recycling is not popular in India and Nokia wants to set an
example.

The campaign is also proactive because Nokia is the indisputable market leader in India with
a share of 70 % in the mobile phone market. So the brand is responsible for contributing to
the piling e-waste with regard to mobile phones.
Although Nokia says that the recycling will help the company in acquiring fresh raw
materials, the new campaign is more of a social responsibility initiative rather than a
business one.

By launching such an initiative, the brand is also giving an important lesson to other
marketers. The lesson is about long term investment on brands. This take-back campaign is
not going to generate any short -term benefits for the brand. Ofcourse it had given some
positive PR for the brand but nothing more and nothing less. Indian consumers are not very
thrilled by green marketing initiatives because of lack of awareness/concern. Second this
campaign is also expensive because Nokia has to built an infrastructure to support this take-
back. The benefits will come may be in future when consumers realize that the brand have
foreseen such an environmental crisis and took proactive measures to reduce that . Now,
How many brands will ever think of such an investment ?

In future companies will be made responsible for such accumulation of wastes . In developed
countries, strict rules are now in force to check the proliferation of such wastes. India too will
move to such a regulated regime in near future.

Hence it makes sense for a market leader to initiate such a campaign. It increases the brand
equity ( in future) and also prepares a robust green logistics infrastructure for the future.
Green logistics is denotes the logistical infrastructure to collect back the products from the
customers for recycling or repair.

Labels: Best Marketing Practice, Nokia

http://marketingpractice.blogspot.com/2009/01/best-marketing-practice-take-back.html
Eco-friendly batteries (a Tata
AutoComp GY Batteries initiative)
Tata AutoComp’s Tata Green Batteries
replace traditionally used hazardous
chemical elements like antimony with an
environmentally-friendly calcium-calcium
(C-C) alloy
Guided by the strong eco-friendly and corporate
sustainability policies of Tata and GS Yuasa,
environment friendliness has become a way of life at
Tata AutoComp’s Tata Green Batteries. The
technology with which the batteries are made is based
on the unique composition of calcium-calcium (C-C)
alloy.

C-C technology replaces traditionally used hazardous

chemical elements like antimony with harmless calcium
alloy, which is environmentally clean. This technology
requires that Tata Green Batteries uses lead that is of
99.99 per cent purity. Lead of such purity, besides
imparting very high performance characteristics to the
battery, is also recyclable, ensuring judicious
consumption of this precious natural resource.

C-C technology also minimises water loss and cuts

down battery water evaporation, thereby ensuring
hassle-free run for 1 lakh km. Also, by preventing
corrosion, the unique composition of C-C technology
imparts longer life to the batteries, and ensures longer
use of batteries and less frequent replacement, thereby
conserving natural resources. This technology also
minimises the evaporation of other hazardous fumes
and gases.

The plant, built using stringent GS Yuasa safety health

and environment guidelines, ensures that the air within
the plant is refreshed every hour. All waste and residue
are recycled to ensure no environmental damage.

Tata Green Batteries is also working very closely with

the regulatory authorities of the Government of India
and the BMHR team (Battery Management and
Handling Rules 2001) to ensure that all the used
batteries are collected and properly disposed. Used
batteries are a big hazard to the environment; lead and
acid can damage the environment, if not handled
properly. The company has set up a mechanism to
collect and dispose of used batteries through
 authorised smelters in an ecofriendly manner.

The Tata Nano features a specially designed Tata

Green battery, made with the same technology. In line
with Nano’s development objective of packing the
vehicle with lighter and economical components, the
special battery uses 14 per cent less lead, is 24 per
cent smaller than the smallest battery and yet delivers
the same power and higher life cycles (greater number
of cranks). This makes the special battery for the Nano
an icon of eco-friendliness.
http://www.tata.com/company/Articles/inside.aspx?artid=Rl5dTE7kgFM=

Green technologies (a Jaguar

Land Rover initiative)
JLR aims to minimise the environmental
impact of its products and operations by
introducing change and new ideas,
improving efficiency and investing in
innovative technology
Sustainability is a core element of Jaguar Land Rover’s
(JLR) business philosophy. JLR believes
‘environmental innovation’ will help to minimise the
environmental impact of its products and operations by
introducing change and new ideas, improving efficiency
and investing in innovative technology. With a strategic
goal of reducing its business impact on climate change
by 25 per cent by 2012, JLR is at the forefront of UK
research and development (R&D) into low carbon
technologies.

The company is investing £800m in technologies to

reduce CO2 emissions from its vehicles. These
technologies include hybrids, flywheels, lightweight and
recycled materials. JLR spends £400m a year on R&D
and has an aggressive target of achieving a 120 g/km
vehicle fleet average by 2020.

Jaguar Land Rover has reduced emissions and

improved fuel economy with successive models.
Jaguar has pioneered the use of lightweight aluminium
which, coupled with a clean, efficient, modern diesel
engine, has enabled the XJ to achieve a fuel economy
comparable or better than that of a petrol hybrid. The
XJ has been voted the UK’s greenest luxury saloon for
two consecutive years.

The new Jaguar Land Rover Training Academy is

 housed in a completely refurbished building that
incorporates a host of energy-efficient solutions.
Instead of using conventional air conditioning, the
design team chose innovative new plasterboard which
incorporates microscopically small polymer spheres
containing a wax storage medium. This ensures a
more uniform room temperature without the carbon
emissions and costs associated with conventional air
conditioning. Other sustainable solutions implemented
in this renovation include rainwater harvesting tanks,
solar water heating, high efficiency lighting and spray
foam insulation. It is estimated that the improvements
will save over 275 tonnes of CO2 per annum.

JLR is working with partners in the supply chain and

academic institutions to develop future technologies
that could be applied to a range of vehicles. Included in
this work are projects supported by the Technology
Strategy Board and the Department for Transport,
through the low carbon vehicles innovation platform. It
is also involved in a project to deliver a global premium
vehicle demonstrating a 25-30 per cent reduction in
carbon dioxide emissions with no loss of performance.
http://www.tata.com/company/Articles/inside.aspx?artid=7o/VSoh6wZY=