Table of Contents

est path forward. The authors have introduced and
described three broad strategies that companies can use to
align their green goals with their capabilities:
• Accentuate: Strategy involves playing up existing
or latent green attributes in your current portfolio.
• Acquire: Strategy involves buying someone else‟s
green brand.
• Architect: Strategy involves architecting green
offerings – building them from scratch.
These strategies emerged from 10 in depth case studies of
consumer product and industrial companies that were
moving into green space; the authors discussed with dozens
of senior and midlevel sustainability executives. The
framework now plays a central role in the core executive
MBA course offerings in sustainable business strategy and
in the executive education programs at Thunderbird School
of Management.
Green Marketing Practices in India
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. Kansai Nerolac Paints has
been at the forefront of paint manufacturing for more than
88 years pioneering a wide spectrum of quality paints.
Kansai Nerolac has worked on removing hazardous heavy
metals from their paints – among this lead being the most
prominent metal. Kansai Nerolac does not add any lead or
other such heavy metals in its manufacturing process. Dell
has been one of the vendors who focus on producing green
IT products. They have a strategy called "Go green with
Dell" to sell these products in the market. It also comes in an
eco-friendly packaging with a system recycling kit bundled
along. Talking about the green commitments of the
company, Sameer Garde, Country GM, Dell India, says,
"Dell is also actively pursuing green innovations that will be
of value in 2009 from data-center efficiency to the use of
eco-friendly materials for everything from chassis design to
product packaging. Eco Hotels (Ecotels) is a certification
system promoted by Hospitality Valuation Services (HVS)
International. This system is based on 5 main criteria:
environmental commitment, solid waste management,
energy efficiency, water conservation, and employee
education/community involvement. In India we have Ecohotels
like Orchid, Rodas, Raintree etc. believing and
practicing green marketing. According to Harish Tiwari of
Infinity Infomatic Pvt Ltd, a well known distributor, who
says, "We don't find any difficulty in selling green products
because the knowledge for these products has increased in
us as well in customer. They are ready to pay higher for
these products once they convinced." In May 2007, IBM
launched Project Big Green to help clients around the world
improve the efficiency of IT and better optimize their data
center resources. IBM has software and services
technologies to help businesses reduce data center energy
consumption and cut energy costs by more than 40 percent.
New Delhi, the 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. Gas Tech Electronic Products (Pvt) Ltd. has
invented LPG Kit for motorcycles/scooters (4 stroke and 2
stroke).Can be fitted in 50 cc to 375 cc air cooled , single
cylinder 2 stroke as well 4 stroke vehicles with cent % fuel
efficiency, with clean exhaust and zero pollution.
When does the Green Marketing Cross the Green washing
Line?
This question is the province of the Federal Trade
Commission (FTC), which is currently in the process of
updating its Green Guides (Guides for the Use of
Environmental Marketing Claims, first published in 1992
and updated in 1996 and 1998). The FTC has authority to
file complaints against environmental marketing that it
considers fraudulent. The current Green Guide specifies that
a claim should be evidence-based, specific and clear in its
claim, and not exaggerated. These three requirements
address many but not all of the greenwashing approaches
discussed above so far (note 9) but the guidelines are only as
good as their enforcement. Since their inception, the FTC
has filed fewer than 50 complaints against marketing claims,
(note 10) including those against companies (Kmart, Tender,
Dyna-E) claiming biodegradability for products that are not
biodegradable and four companies claiming that bamboo
clothing is environmentally friendly when the process which
converts bamboo into usable rayon is highly polluting.
The Green Guide does not yet specify that the
environmental impact of decisions should take a lifecycle
approach. Lifecycle analysis includes “looking at how
(product) production, transport and use affect(s) greenhouse
gases, water supply, total energy use, toxicity to humans and
animals, potential for acid rain, smog and other factors”
If your company is considering implementing a green
marketing strategy, note the following:
1. Green is not just the color of money, it is the color of
social-responsibility. More and more companies and
institutions want to be socially responsible and perceived as
buying green.
2. Don’t trivialize the subject with unsubstantiated or
marginal claims. While there are no strict guidelines for
green claims, energy savings, resource conservation, and
reduced emissions are benchmarks of green B2B products.
Other valid platforms include: biodegradable and/or easily
recycled, reduced toxins, and engineering for increased
efficiency and reduced maintenance.
3. Price will always be a factor considered in purchasing
decisions. Selling green products at price points higher than
competitors can dampen sales, unless the cost of
consumables, such as energy, is predicted to dramatically
increase in the near-term. If you plan to sell an energyconsuming
green product at a higher price than less-efficient
competitors, you may want to provide customers with
information about applicable utility rebate programs, and
government incentives.
4. Present your green message proudly and boldly. Don’t
hide your green message. It deserves more than a simple
bullet point.
5. Keep your message focused and answer the question:
“Why would someone buy your product?” A focused
www.theinternationaljournal.org > RJSSM: Volume: 01, Number: 10, Feb-2012 Page 29