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GREEN MARKETING IN INDIA: CHALLENGES AND OPPORTUNITIES

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GREEN MARKETING IN INDIA: CHALLENGES AND OPPORTUNITIES

Garima Hooda Research Scholar, Institute of Management Studies and Research, Maharshi Dayanand
University, Rohtak, India.

Dr. Shiv Jaggarwal Assistant Professor, School of Management & Commerce, Desh Bhagat University,
Patiala, Punjab, India.

Abstract: Green marketing is a significant trend in today's industry. The concept has already begun re-
marketing and packaging existing products that follow such guidelines. Furthermore, green marketing
development businesses have made it possible for enterprises to co-brand their products on a particular line,
but some people have praised environmental friendliness while ignoring others. Furthermore, green
marketing development businesses have made it possible for enterprises to co-brand their products on a
particular line, but some people have praised environmental friendliness while disregarding others. The
current paper explores the concept of green marketing and the challenges and opportunities of businesses
with green marketing. The paper also explains why companies adopt it and concludes that green marketing
continues to grow in practice and demand.
Keywords: Green product, Eco-friendly, Environmental Safe, Recycle.

Introduction
The phrase "green marketing" became popular in the late 1980s and early 1990s. Environmental marketing
and environmental marketing are two more phrases that are used interchangeably. In 1975, the American
Marketing Association (AMA) hosted the first "Ecological Marketing" workshop. The workshop's contents
were published as "Ecological Marketing," one of the earliest publications on green marketing. Therefore,
Green Marketing involves various activities such as product modification, production process changes,
packaging changes, and editing advertising. Green marketing, on the other hand, is a difficult concept to
define since various meanings merge and are conflicting. First, environmental and environmental issues are
some reasons for the emergence of green marketing. Green marketing, according to the American Marketing
Association, is the promotion of ecologically friendly products. Green marketing covers various activities,
including product editing, production process changes, packaging changes, and editing advertising. Green
marketing refers to the practice of disposing of objects, products, and services in a way that is less
detrimental to the environment, global warming, non-biodegradable solid waste, and pollution
consequences. With the growing awareness of things like that, marketers and consumers are becoming more
sensitive to switching to green products and services. Many believe that green marketing refers to promoting
and advertising products with environmental characteristics. Generally phosphate-free, recyclable,
refillable, ozone-friendly, and eco-friendly are often associated with green marketing.
Pride & Farrell (1993) Green marketing, also known as alternative marketing and sustainable marketing,
refers to the company's efforts to design, promote, price, and distribute products that are not harmful to the
environment.
Polonsky (1994) defined green marketing as all activities designed to create and facilitate any conversion
to satisfy human needs or needs, requirements, and desires with minimal harmful impact on the natural
environment.
Hence the concept of "green marketing" is realistic. It includes activities that assist in implementing and
adopting policies, programs, and activities conducive to environmental protection. It also refers to the
overall marketing concept of producing, selling, consuming, and disposing of products and services less
harmful to the environment concerning global warming, non-biodegradable solid waste, and the harmful
effects of pollutants. With the growing awareness, in the beginning, marketers and consumers are becoming
aware of the need to switch to green products and services. Switching to "green" can seem costly in the
short term, proving profitable and economical in the long run.

Review of Literature
Kilbourne, W.E. (1998) discussed the failure of green marketing to overcome the limitations of the existing
model. The author identifies areas to be considered for their impact on marketing/environment and the

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economic, political, and technical dimensions of the cultural framework of the context.
Protero, A. (1998) presented several papers discussed in the July 1998 issue of the Journal of Marketing
Management focusing on green marketing. It includes the need to review the existing literature on green
marketing, an empirical study of the United States and Australian marketing managers, describing what the
Green Alliance looks like in practice in Great Britain, and definitions of green marketing.
Protero, A. and Fitchett, J.A. (2000) argued that more excellent environmental knowledge could be
achieved through capitalism using the features of commodity culture to advance environmental goals.
Marketing can contribute to the establishment of more sustainable forms of society. It has a vital role as a
principled agent in the conduct and dissemination of commodity discourse.
Oyewole, P. (2001) in their paper, presented the conceptual relationship between green marketing,
environmental justice, and industrial ecology. It argues for a greater understanding of environmental justice
in green marketing practice. The research agenda is ultimate to ensure consumer awareness of
environmental justice and their willingness to bear its costs.
Their study of the environment by Sanjay K. Jain and Gurmeet Kaur (2004) quickly emerged as a global
phenomenon that has become a topic of discussion, with businesses also reaching out to the context and
addressing environmental challenges through the practice of green marketing strategies. Based on the data
collected through the field survey, the paper assesses the range of environmental awareness, attitudes, and
behaviors prevalent among consumers in India.
Donaldson (2005) noted in his study that consumer environmental attitudes in Great Britain, in general,
have changed positively. The study reported that consumers' strong belief in known brand brands and weak
behavior indicating "green" claims were the main reasons consumers failed to explain their concerns beyond
the environment in their behavior.
Alasmadi (2007) revealed a high level of environmental awareness by examining the environmental
behavior of Jordanian consumers. Although unfortunately, this positive trend and preference for "green"
products did not impact the final decision because these consumers strongly believe in traditional products
and have little faith in green advertising. The above restrictions have been further strengthened by the lack
of environmental prudence by many organizations and the presence of hefty prices for a single product,
many of which also include a quick assessment of environmental responsibility. A similar phenomenon has
been demonstrated in other studies (Ottman, 2004; Donaldson, 2005; Cleveland et al., 2005).
Brahma, M., and Dande, R. (2008), an article in The Economic Times, Mumbai, claiming that Green
Ventures India is a New York-based asset management company affiliate of Green Ventures internationally.
The latter recently announced a $ 300 million India-centric fund supporting trade in renewable energy
products and carbon credits.
In the case of developing countries, green consumption is widely known, and there is awareness and
knowledge on green products in various aspects of green consumption, eco-labels and product dependence,
consumer awareness in dealing with environmental degradation. Consumers can also be seen as socially
and environmentally friendly with concern and their selfless quality. Good for green products (Mosafa,
2009; Rahbar & Wahid, 2011 and Zuwahir et al., 2012). Unlike the following developing countries (Khare,
2014), India has been tested as a relatively new additional research on green exports.

Objectives of the Study:

The present research is guided by the following objectives:
a) To explore the concept of green marketing.
b) To explore the challenges and opportunities of green marketing.

Research Methodology:
Research is exploratory; it focuses on literature reviews, newspapers, magazines, websites, and other trusted
sources.

Concept of Green Marketing:

Green marketing is about marketing products that are more environmentally friendly than others. In addition
to these approaches, Green Marketing incorporates a wide range of practice and product changes, product
process changes, viable packaging, and familiar promotions.

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The term green marketing was first discussed at the 'Ecological Marketing' seminar organized by the
American Marketing Association (AMA) in 1975 and found its place in the literature. The term green
marketing became popular in the late 1980s and early 1990s. The clear milestone for the first wave of green
marketing came in published books, both of which are called Green Marketing. They were performed by
Ken Petty (1992) in the United Kingdom and Jacqueline Otman (1993) in the United States. According to
Petty (2001), there are three stages in the development of green marketing:
a) The first phase is called "ecological" green marketing, and all marketing activities during this period help
environmental issues and provide solutions to environmental problems.
b) The second phase focuses on "environmental" green marketing and clean technology, including the
design of innovative new products that address pollution and waste issues.
c) The third step is "sustainable" green marketing. It relates to the development of high-quality products in
the late 1990s and early 2000s that consumers' requirements by concentrating on quality, performance,
price, and convenience in an environmentally friendly manner.
The bottom line is that green marketing provides opportunities for promotion and business growth.
Modifications to business or production processes can have initial costs, saving money in the long run. For
example, the cost of installing solar power is an investment in future energy cost savings. Businesses that
create new and better products and services that focus on environmental impacts give themselves access to
new markets, significantly increase profits, and gain a competitive advantage over the marketing of non-
environmentally responsible alternatives. There are several suggested reasons for companies' increasing use
of green marketing when looking at the literature. Five possible reasons are as follows:
▪ Environmental marketing is considered an opportunity for companies to achieve their goals.
▪ Organizations believe they have a moral obligation to be more socially responsible.
▪ Government agencies are forcing companies to change more.
▪ The environmental activities of competitors put pressure on companies to change their environmental
marketing activities.
▪ Companies may need to modify their behavior as cost factors associated with waste disposal or reduction
in material consumption.
P’s of Green Marketing:
The Green Marketing-Mix model must include all four Ps:

Green
Marketing
MIx

Product Price Place Promotion

➢ Products: The environmental goal in product planning is to reduce resource utilization and pollution and
improve the conservation of scarce resources.
➢ Price: The prices of such products may be slightly higher than other products due to the high quality of
the material.
➢ Place: The choice of where and when the product will be available has a significant impact on consumers.
Very few customers go ahead to buy green products.
➢ Promotion: Green advertising may be divided into three categories: -
i. Statements indicating the relationship between product or service and the biophysical environment.
ii. Promote a green lifestyle by highlighting a product or service.
iii. Advertising that displays the corporate image towards environmental responsibility.
Some other P’s in green marketing are:
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Green
Marketing
MIx

Public Partnership Policy Purse String

➢ Public: Public is a group of external and internal people subject to its preview. The external public
includes the target audience, the secondary audience, policymakers, and gatekeepers, while the internal
public is those who are in some way involved with the approval or implementation of the Green Marketing
Program.
➢ Partnership: Managing a person who carries out "green" programmes is challenging. Connecting with
other groups and teams strengthens potential.
➢ Policy: Social marketing programs work well in inducing a change in personal behavior, but it is difficult
to manage unless the change is made over a long time. Often, policy changes are required, and media support
programs effectively complement the green marketing program.
➢ Purse Strings: How Much Does This Strategic Effort Cost? Who is funding the effort?

Leading Examples of Green Marketing in India:

With India making rapid progress in industrialization, environmentalists from various walks of life have
also expressed concerns regarding the impacts on the environment. Companies are now more aware of how
their factories often affect the ecosystem and have taken the green path to success. Some top companies:
➢ LG: LG India is a leader in manufacturing eco-friendly electronic gadgets. It has recently launched the
LED E60 and E90 series monitors for the Indian market. Its uniqueness is that it consumes 40% less power
than traditional LED monitors. In addition, they rarely use halogens or mercury, trying to reduce the use of
hazardous substances in their products.
➢ HCL: HCL is another brand trying to introduce eco-friendly products in the market and has recently
released the HCL ME 40 notebooks. These notebooks do not use any polyvinyl chloride (PVC) material or
other harmful chemicals and have already been given a five-star rating by the Bureau of Energy Efficiency.
➢ Haier: Eco branding is part of Haier's new Green Initiative, and they launched the Eco Life series. They
include semi-automatic and automatic refrigerators and washing machines, split and window air
conditioners, and more.
➢ Samsung: LED TV screens in Samsung India have always had a roaring range, and now they come with
eco-friendly LED backlight. They use 40% less electricity and do not contain harmful chemicals such as
mercury and lead.
➢ Tata Consultancy Services: TCS has a globally recognized sustainability practice and already tops
Newsweek's World Green Company title. It has a global green score of 80.4%, and the main reason for this
is its initiatives to make technology for the benefit of agriculture and society.

Golden Rules of Green Marketing:

❖ Get to know your customer: Make sure the customer is aware and concerned about the issues your product
is trying to solve.
❖ Educating your customers: It is critical to inform people about what you are doing to protect the
environment and why it is so important.
❖ Being realistic and transparent:
• You are doing what you say you are doing in your green marketing campaign and
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• The rest of your business policies are tailored to be environmentally friendly.
❖ Assure the buyer: Consumers should be assured that the product will do what it is supposed to do - they
will not give up the quality of the product in the name of the environment.
❖ Consider your prices: If you are charging a premium for your product and the high price for many eco-
friendly products, be sure to use economies of scale and high-quality materials. Those customers can afford
the premium and consider it worth it.
❖ You are enabling your customers to participate: Personalizing the benefits of your eco-friendly
activities, generally enabling the customer to participate in positive environmental action.

Challenges in Green Marketing:

• New Concept: Indian literate and urban consumers are learning more about the merits of green products.
However, for the masses, it is a new concept. New green movements need to reach people and take time
and effort.
• Cost Factors: Green marketing includes green products or services, green technology, green energy, or
energy marketing, which requires spending much money on Research and Development programmes and
subsequent promotions, eventually leading to cost overruns.
• Persuading Customers: Customers may not trust the organization's strategy of green marketing, so make
sure the company takes all possible steps to convince the customer about their green product.
• Sustainability: Renewable and renewable products and green technologies are expensive, so minimal
initial gains. Green marketing can only be successful in the long run. Therefore, businesses should plan and
prepare for the long term rather than a short-term strategy and not succumb to the temptation of unethical
methods to make short-term profits. Companies that engage in non-cooperation green marketing must work
extremely hard to persuade shareholders and often fail to persuade them of the long-term benefits of green
marketing vs. the short-term expenses.
• Preventing Green Myopia: Green marketing should have two goals: improved environmental quality
and customer satisfaction. Making the wrong decision at the next price or over-emphasizing the previous
ones can be termed green marketing myopia.

Why are Organizations using Green Marketing?

Companies around the world widely accept green marketing, and the following reasons for its widespread
adoption are:
❖ Opportunities: When demand changes, many companies see these changes as opportunities to use and
gain a competitive advantage over companies that market environmentally responsible alternatives. Some
examples of companies trying to become more environmentally responsible in trying to satisfy better the
needs of their customers are:
• McDonald's waxes its clamshell packaging due to consumer concern over polystyrene production and
ozone depletion.
• Growing concern over driftnet fishing and resulting dolphin deaths has prompted tuna growers to modify
their fishing practices.
❖ Government pressure: As with all marketing activities, governments seek to "protect" consumers and
society; this protection has significant green marketing implications. Government regulations relating to
environmental marketing are designed to protect consumers in many ways,
• Reducing the production of harmful goods or by-products, modifying consumer and industry
consumption and consumption of harmful products
• All types of consumers can assess the environmental composition of goods. The government establishes
rules designed to control hazardous waste generated by companies.
❖ Competitive pressure: Another major strength of environmental marketing companies is their desire to
maintain competitiveness.
❖ a) In many cases, companies see competitors promoting their environmental behavior and emulate it.
❖ b) In some cases, this competitive pressure has modified the entire industry and reduced its harmful
environmental behavior. For example, others followed suit when one biomass drift stopped using Driftnet.
❖ Social Responsibility: Many organizations are beginning to recognize that they are members of a wider
community and therefore need to behave environmentally responsibly. It translates into organizations that
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believe in achieving environmental goals and profit goals. As a result, environmental issues have become
ingrained in the company's corporate culture.
❖ Profit-Cost Issues: Companies can also use green marketing to address cost or profit-related issues.
Disposal of environmentally harmful by-products such as polychlorinated biphenyl (PCB) contaminated
soils are becoming more expensive and, in some cases, more complex. Therefore companies that can reduce
hazardous waste will have to save high costs. Companies often have to reconsider their production processes
when trying to reduce waste. Companies try to find pipe solutions instead of reducing waste in other cases.
In these situations, firms try to find markets or use for their waste materials, where one company's waste
becomes another company's output. An Australian example of this is a company that produces acidic
wastewater as a by-product of production and sells it to a company that neutralizes raw materials.

Suggestions:
Green marketing is still in its infancy, and much research needs to be done on green marketing to explore
its potential fully. Here are some ideas on how to hunt for green marketing opportunities or schedule an
appointment to address the challenges of green marketing. Make sure the customer is aware and concerned
about the issues your product is trying to solve. Green marketing campaigns and green advertising are a
good step in this direction. Consumers should be motivated to change brands or pay a premium for green
alternatives. Make sure customers feel they can make a difference. This is called 'empowerment .' It is the
primary reason consumers buy green products. To maintain the legitimacy and credibility of green products,
the seller must take further steps to control false promises and claims. Government plays a crucial role in
implementing this concept of green marketing effectively and efficiently. The concept cannot be conceived
unless the government enacts specific and stringent laws and uses its power to enforce them. Suppose
consumers, organizations, and governments work together for the common goal of minimizing the harmful
environmental impact of their activities. In that case, they can undoubtedly protect this environment and
transform this world into a better place to live. It is not enough for one. To make its products green,
consumers hope that their products will be pocket-friendly and help reduce the environmental impact on
their own lives. Green marketing is shallow on most business agendas, and hence it is still USP (Unique
Selling Proposition) with less leverage. Therefore, effective green marketing targeting the right audience
can make a difference.

Conclusion:
Green marketing is a tool to save the environment for future generations. It is not an easy concept. The
organization should plan and then research how far this is possible. Green marketing needs to be developed
as it is still in its infancy. Adopting green marketing may not be accessible in the short term, but it will have
a positive impact on the organization in the long run. Green marketing in Indian companies is still in its
infancy. So many opportunities are available. It is the perfect time to choose Green Marketing around the
world. Green marketing is essential to protect the world from pollution, so if all countries formulate strict
rules, it will come with a considerable change in the business world. From a business perspective, an
intelligent marketer assures the consumer and engages the consumer in marketing his product. Green
marketing should not be considered merely another marketing tactic; it should be followed with zeal since
it has an environmental and social component. Because the threat of global warming is so significant, it is
essential that green marketing becomes the norm rather than the norm. Recycling paper, metals, plastics,
etc., in a safe and environmentally friendly manner, need to be more systematic and universal. The use of
energy-efficient lamps and other electrical appliances have become the norm. Customers in the Indian
market are also willing to pay a premium price for green products. One point that should be emphasized is
that present consumption levels are quite high and volatile. Hence the need for green marketing and the
need for change in consumer behavior and attitudes towards eco-friendly lifestyles. Ultimately , consumers
want a cleaner environment for green marketing and should be willing to pay for it, perhaps even through
high-priced goods, a modified personal lifestyle, or government intervention. It will be difficult for single
companies to lead the green marketing revolution until this happens. An environmentally committed
company can produce products that reduce their harmful effects on the environment and force their suppliers
to behave more environmentally responsible. End users and industrial buyers also can force the integration
of the environment into their corporate culture and thereby ensure that all organizations minimize the

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harmful environmental impact of their operations.

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