ISM AND ISEG MBA - Développement durable

The most responsive age group tends to be young adults, many of whom are influenced by their
children. Moreover, companies have to pay particular attention to women who are a key target for
greener products, and often make purchases on behalf of men.
The best Green Customers are people with money to spend. As a result, the most promising
products for greening tend to be at the higher end of the market. The most promising outlets for
green products are retail stores frequented by better-off shoppers.
In general, Green Consumers have the education and intellectual orientation to appreciate values
and they will understand evidence that is presented in support of environmental claims.
In the US, children and teenagers are generally more concerned than adults about the
environment, and are more willing to learn about green alternatives. To an increasing degree,
they influence their parents' purchasing decisions. It is also important to notice that millions of
them will reach adulthood in the next decade, and gain purchasing power of their own.
At the opposite end of the age spectrum, US consumers born before the 1950s are the least Green
Consumers. As their numbers diminish, their share of consumer purchases will dwindle. In
Canada, children and parents alike tend to have strong environmental concerns. Older people,
too, tend to be active green purchasers.
b. The companies
Companies also play a very important role in the protection of the environment, by external
constraint or by their own choice.
When a company provides information as to the way it contributes to the protection of the
environment, it must do so in strict accordance with its published politic. The consumer is not
only better informed and his involvement sought, but he has an increasing degree of control and
can turn to an ever growing number of organizations for help. The lever that he can exert on a
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