Green

Marketing

The Why
and the How
 fresh ideas.
Dr. Joachim Scholz ; Queen’s School of Business
jscholz@business.queensu.ca joachim-scholz.com joachimscholz n
@
The environmental crisis
poses one of the biggest
threats to humankind.
Marketing is part
of the problem.
MARKETING’S IMPACT
ON THE ENVIRONMENT

✤ Stimulating (over-) consumption

contributes to environmental
degradation
✤ Marketing replaces more
environmental goods to increase
profit margins
✤ Unnecessary packaging
contributes to environmental
degradation
✤ Long supply chains increase
carbon-dioxide footprint of
products
 Marketing can be
part of the solution.
MARKETING PHILOSOPHIES

✤ Sustainable marketing concept: Sustainable marketing

is the process of creating, communicating, and
delivering value to customers and companies in such
a way that both natural and human capital are
preserved or enhanced throughout
✤ Environmental sustainability: Ongoing preservation

Bottom Line
of essential ecosystems and their functions

Triple
✤ Social sustainability: Ongoing ability of communities
to provide for the well-fare of their members
✤ Economic sustainability: Ongoing ability of an
economic system to provide for all human needs
Sustainable Marketing

Societal Marketing

Marketing
MARKETING PHILOSOPHIES

✤ Sustainable marketing concept

expands marketing concept by
making the need for sustainability
more explicit
✤ Sustainable marketing is still based on
creating a competitive advantage
through superior performance in the
meeting of consumers’ needs
✤ Social, political and environmental
changes make sustainability a way to
achieve a competitive advantage
SUSTAINABILITY AS A
COMPETITIVE ADVANTAGE
✤ Integrating sustainability into marketing
strategies
✤ allows a company to realize cost savings
✤ reduces a company’s exposure to
regulatory and resource based risks
✤ spurs innovation to stay ahead of
competition
✤ can reduce conflicts with retailers and
business partners
✤ can improve a company’s reputation and
positioning
✤ improves a company’s chances to recruit
talented employees
✤ ➛ Sustainable marketing improves a
company’s chances for long-term survival
WHY “DOING GOOD” BECOMES
MORE IMPORTANT
✤ Changing value systems
✤ young people are “global, socially
conscious consumers”
✤ Look for value instead of price
✤ Consumer empowerment
✤ Social web makes allows
consumers to expose
unethical practices
✤ Mobile technologies allow
consumers to shop
according to their values at
point-of-purchase
GREENWASHING
✤ Making unsubstantiated or partial
sustainability claims
✤ Dawn: helping to save wildlife?
✤ Dawn donates soap to clean
animals after oil spill and gives
money to rescue groups
✤ But contains an antibacterial agent,
called triclosan, that is toxic to
aquatic life
Goodguide
✤ Greenwashing widespread, but on the retreat
✤ 2009: 2% of “green products” without click here
or scan

youtu.be/rlT6kqHFjvU
greenwashing
✤ 2010: 4.5% of “green products” without
greenwashing
SUSTAINABLE
MARKETING
✤ Integrate a sense of mission into the core
of the business
✤ Window-dressing is not rewarded by
consumers
✤ Integrating social and environmental
causes into products leads to long-term
loyalty
✤ Financial gains by companies
that integrated sustainability into Green Walmart
their core businesses (e.g., Hain
Celestial up 40% in 2013 due click here
to rising consumer demand) or scan tiny.cc/greenwalmart

✤ Greening from the top, not only

from the bottom
What is the problem with many green
alternatives to conventional products?
 Green marketing must
satisfy consumers’ needs.
we are...
when it comes down to it, we’re here to make products that work, for you and for the planet, ones that are as easy on the
eyes as they are on the nose. it’s a tall order but we wouldn’t want to do anything else.
At method, we’re happy about
what we do. Sometimes we’re
even a little giddy. But when it
comes to the effectiveness of
our products, we’re dead
serious. They work. How could
we be happy if they didn’t? Our
cleaners use powerful formulas
made with naturally derived
surfactants that work by
dissolving and removing dirt.
Our team of green chefs (aka
formulation chemists +
product designers), ensure that
our products are not only
highly innovative, but also
highly effective.
Cleaning can be a chore.
Stinging eyes, burning lungs
and headaches aren’t just
unfortunate side effects of a
well-kept home. They’re
warning signs. That’s your
body telling you, “Don’t use
this. This is bad for you.” Our
greenskeeping team rigorously
assesses every ingredient we
use, so we can be completely
sure of its safety. That’s why
method’s entire product line is
both people- and pet-friendly,
specially formulated to put the
hurt on dirt without harming a
hair on you or your loved ones’
heads.
We’re in business to change Most companies treat product Some companies might think
business. At method, we see design like it ain’t no thang. At that ammonia or bleach is the
our work as an amazing method, we believe product fragrance of clean. At method,
opportunity to redesign how design is a thang. It’s very we’re for flowers. Also fruit.
cleaning products are made and much a thang. So when we Maybe an herb here or there.
used, and how businesses can were figuring out how to We’ve noticed that some home
integrate sustainability. Our package our products, we products lead to rapid breath-
challenge is to make sure that enlisted world-renowned holding and window-opening.
every product we send out into designer Joshua Handy to But no one holds their breath
the world is a little agent of sculpt some of the finest pieces while slicing a grapefruit. So
environmental change, using of recyclable plastic art this we’ll stick with that.
sustainable materials and side of MoMA. Form, meet
manufactured responsibly. Little function. Function, form. You
green soldiers in the battle of two play nice.
doing-well-by-doing-good, if
you will. This is why we make
our bottles from 100% recycled
plastic, why we reduce and
offset the carbon emitted by our
business, why we never test on
animals, why we design
innovative products using
natural, renewable ingredients,
and why we’re transparent
about the ingredients we use,
how we make our products, and
what our track record is as a
green business.
 Green+

SUSTAINABLE+ MARKETING click here

youtu.be/mzUE59RI8K8
or scan

✤ Don’t sacrifice immediate

satisfaction for long-term benefits
✤ Salutary products: long-term
beneficial, but not successful
because of low immediate appeal
✤ Don’t focus on the “absence of
negatives”, but on “green+design”,
“green+technology” or “better
designed products”
✤ Create desirable products that
combine immediate satisfaction
with long-term benefits
 Collaborate
✤ Product: packaged with ocean Greening
recycled plastic click here

youtu.be/08qmB-ysqAQ
or scan
✤ Communication: Focus on
community building and changing
people’s minds (collecting plastic
event, blog, youtube, donation to
collaborating environmental
organizations)
CONCLUSION

✤ Non-sustainable marketing hurts a company’s

relationships with consumers and its long-term survival
✤ Changing value systems and the empowerment of
consumers will continue to increase the importance of
sustainable marketing
✤ Combine short-term satisfaction with long-term
benefits to be successful in marketing environmentally
responsible products
✤ Marketing can be a part of the solution: You can
contribute to sustainable marketing as an empowered
consumer and an enlightened marketer / entrepreneur
 chat me ￪

￬ scan ￬
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thank you.
Dr. Joachim Scholz ; Queen’s School of Business
jscholz@business.queensu.ca joachim-scholz.com joachimscholz n
@