Introduction
There are trends that have appeared and faded like a flash, there are situational ones — as long as the event lives, they live too. And there are life-long trends, and we are sure that the trend for environmental friendliness is just one of them.
Why green marketing is vital for companies, how to implement it, and what to expect – look for in this article.
Not being eco–friendly means no respect from your target audience
A lot has been said about global warming, tons of plastic inside marine animals, and packages pretending to be turtles on the coast of the oceans – social videos about such heartbreaking situations motivate you to think about green production.
But what else will brands get from becoming eco-friendly, besides beautiful karma and a living planet? Of course, buyers.
We bet millennials with Zoomers make up the lion’s share of your target audience.
And they actively follow eco-bloggers, participate in Greenpeace volunteer programs and try to reduce their ecological footprint, so when buying any products, their focus is on the company and its position on ecology – what packaging it uses,
what advertising it makes and what it does, in general, to reduce CO2 emissions into the atmosphere.
If you need financial resources, working out the “green” points in your business plan is very important, since 63% of investors will be looking for them.
Buyers, investors, and even government agencies closely monitor your position on the environment. What is not an argument to take up the development of an environmental marketing strategy?
Environmental marketing tools or how to win the love of customers
The first tool is the modernization of packaging
The world is learning to sort garbage. All those who sell their goods in packages that cannot be recycled lose a significant number of buyers, because 26% will definitely not buy this product, and of the remaining 74%, 9 out of 10 will refuse such
packaging in the future, when garbage sorting becomes more easily accessible.
Therefore, to include the modernization of packaging in the marketing strategy is a winning decision.
Choosing the packaging, you need to be careful, because some popular opinions are not always true. For example, many companies replace plastic packaging with paper and proudly declare that they are envoys of environmental friendliness.
Yes, it decomposes faster and it is not difficult to recycle it, but how much damage is done to nature when it is made – both the felling of trees, and a huge waste of electricity (91% more than when making plastic), and water consumption
(20 times more than that of a plastic alternative). Think about it.
The ideal scenario is creating recyclable packaging, organizing special places for its collection, and partnering with companies that are engaged in recycling.
The second tool is carbon neutrality
Here it’s necessary to analyze the entire production process, even the shelf in the store, and find out which stages can be optimized, where it is possible to reduce carbon emissions into the atmosphere, and at the expense of which technologies.
You are doing it not only for the planet and customers, but, first of all, for yourself, because “green technologies” cause a reduction in costs and, accordingly, an increase in profits.
To make it more clear and understandable, use the Life Cycle Assessment. LCA analyzes how each of the five stages of production affects the environment and helps to find out which activities are really environmental, and which only seem so.
There is no need to change everything at once, you can start with packaging and move to the entire production with slow but sure steps.
The third tool is educational cases
You can also show your environmental position with the help of educational content.
Shoot a video about the importance of conscious actions when buying goods or release a long read about how to properly sort garbage – anything, turn creativity on the most powerful mode.
There are plenty of such cases for 2023, but if you submit information with your unique vision, it will be remembered and attract the attention of not only buyers but also the media.
In addition, by involving the target audience in the eco theme, your marketing strategy becomes even more effective.
Spend resources on small meaningful actions, not on big deception
You don’t have to seem, you have to be. There is a dangerous facet of mindless following trends – to descend to illegal and immoral actions, followed by an eternal stain on the company’s image.
Unfortunately, such cases are not uncommon in environmental marketing, and they even have their own special name – greenwashing. Be afraid of this word and do not allow it to be used next to your brand name.
So, what is it? Greenwashing is when a brand says that it is eco–friendly, but its actions raise questions from environmentalists. For example, the inscription on the packaging “eco”, when it cannot be recycled, is the most greenwashing.
And the paradox is that companies spend millions on deception when they could also be spent on recycling or buying green technologies.
Heroes, or rather antiheroes, caught in a lie, are also found among world-famous companies. Ryanair told the media that it has the lowest amount of CO2 emissions in Europe, but in fact, there was no evidence of this.
And Volkswagen pleased its customers with the wording “clean diesel” and the statement that CO2 emissions from their cars are 93% lower than in other brands.
But the US Environmental Protection Agency did not agree with them, conducted an investigation, and found out that the company had built special software into its machines that underestimated emissions.
Brands shout that they are ready to change and be eco–friendly, but in reality, they continue to pollute the planet as well. Not our way, do you agree?
Conclusion
Companies that implement green marketing in their strategies win over competitors. Buyers, investors, and partners are attracted to them.
It should be understood that the implementation of an environmental marketing campaign requires transparency, regularity, and multi-channel.
You don’t need to use all the tools at once and become Apple in one day – this way you will only drown your business. Move in the eco direction with small but constant steps and be sure to broadcast your successes to the world.
