INTRODUCTION

Green marketing is the recent buzzword ruling the corporate world in the era of Globalization; corporate responsibility is no longer merely responsible about local Labor issues, pollution control, or energy efficiency. The consumers of today are more conscious about protecting the environment they are enlightened consumers and are known as green consumers. The success of the companies practicing green marketing has drawn the attention of the corporate, policy makers and most importantly the consumers. Green marketing is environment friendly sustainable and socially responsible marketing. Broadly green marketing involves developing the good uality products which can meet consumer needs and wants by focusing on the uality, performance, pricing and convenience in an environmental friendly way.

!eaning of green marketing"

Green marketing refers to the process of selling products and or services based on their environmental benefits. #uch a product or service may be environmentally friendly in it or produced and or packaged in an environmentally friendly way. The obvious assumption of green marketing is that potential consumers will view a product or service$s %greenness% as a benefit and base their buying decision accordingly. The not&so&obvious assumption of green marketing is that consumers will be willing to pay more for green products than they would for a less& green comparable alternative product.

'efinition of green marketing"

(ccording to the (merican !arketing (ssociation, green marketing is the marketing of products that are presumed to be environmentally safe. Thus green marketing incorporates a broad range of activities, including product modification, changes to the production process, packaging changes, as well as modifying advertising. )*ample of this will be the e*istence of varying social, environmental and retail definitions attached to this term. +ther similar terms used are )nvironmental !arketing and )cological !arketing.

IMPORTANCE OF GREEN MARKETING

( ma,or concern on ecological impact of industrial house on environment has been surfaced on marketplace also not only the relation between human, organization and natural environment being redefined, but the implication thereof are being interpreted; because of these, new perceptions are being formed or re&evaluated on issues like environmental friendly products, recycle ability, waste&reduction, the cost associated with pollution and the price value relationship of environmentalism. ( direct result can be seen in developed and developing countries where Govt. became more strict in imposing regulations to protect environment; at the same time, the consumers of those countries are being more and more outspoken regarding their needs for environmentally friendly products, even though they have to pay a higher premium for such products. The consumers were determined the fates of a company, green marketing imparts a proactive strategy for companies to cater the market by imparting nature& friendly products and services which otherwise reduce or minimize any detrimental impact on environment. ( green& marketing approach the product area which promotes the integration of environmental issues into all aspects of the corporate activities; from strategy formulation, planning, re&engineering in production process and dealing with consumers. To remain competitive with the challenge thrown by the environment protectionists the companies have to find answer through their marketing strategies, product service redesign, customer handling etc. in this endeavor the companies may go for new technologies for handling waste, sewage and air pollution; it can go for product standardization to ensure environmentally safe products; by providing truly natural products. Life cycle reassessment focuses on environmental consideration in product development and design, including energy and material inputs and out&puts in production, consumption and disposal of products.

Advantage and disadvantage of green marketing

(dvantage of green marketing"
-. ( good green marketing program is one that either adds renewables that would not already be added or supports renewable pro,ects that might not otherwise continue to operate. Green marketing programs must make a difference. .. ( sign of a good green marketing program is one that has strong links to local environmental groups and that achieves broad support among regional and national groups with an interest in promoting renewable power. /. 0or green marketing programs to be successful in the long run; they should improve both the environment and should be fair to consumers. 1rices should not be e*cessively higher than the actual cost of the resources in the portfolio. This is particularly true for green pricing programs, which are scrutinized by regulators, and in competitive markets, because in these cases, there is no real competition in the green market.

'isadvantage of green marketing"

-. +ne of the biggest disadvantages of green marketing is that it re uires a lot of recyclable and renewable materials. .. Green marketing is little more e*pensive than traditional marketing techni ues. Besides, green materials are not always easy to find, and they2re more e*pensive. (nd green materials also re uire a huge investment in technology. /. 1rograms that make false claims and do not ade uately inform consumers about the nature of their product. 3. 4ompanies 4ollecting premiums in e*change for vague promises to build renewables in the future. 4onsumers should not ask to pay for someone else$s investment when they get nothing in return, and when no tangible benefit to society results.

PROCESS OF GREEN MARKETING

( new trend for businesses is green marketing. Green marketing is simply when a business finds ways to integrate products into the company that are environmentally friendly. The products that are marketed by a company are considered to be environmentally safe and will help reduce the use of e*cess energy and other costs. Greenhouse gas reduction is one market where companies are seeking ways to help the uality of life of customers and provide environmentally&friendly benefits across the world. The international trade of greenhouse gas reductions is the leading hope many companies and consumers have at reducing energy and it works as a source of funding for several companies. There are different roles a business must follow if they decide to participate in the international trade for greenhouse gas reductions. 0irst, they must start with a small pro,ect and find ways to remove barriers. #econd, they must overcome marketing barriers that may stop them from participating in greenhouse gas efforts. Third, they need to address greenhouse gas trading and determine if they can provide a supporting role in addressing the world& wide problem. #ince green marketing efforts are continually e*panding, several marketers have taken advantage of the unknowing public by making e*aggerated claims. +nly -.5 of the current population fully understands what green marketing is and are considered %true greens%. ( true green individual will seek out energy efficient products and will regularly buy these products. They are also the individuals that practice other green efforts at home like turning off the lights e*cept when they are needed. The (merican 6ind )nergy (ssociation is leading the way in harvesting wind energy and using it as a source of power. The (6)( has -7 goals they follow with providing wind energy to consumers"

 1rovide power from emerging resources like solar, wind, geothermal, and biomass. They believe in finding ways to make a difference and only market renewable energy. 4learly e*plain the difference between renewable energy and e*isting energy. 'isclose detailed information about product contents provide new information to customers about research and new developments in wind energy. 'ocument any claim that power from other sources are not supported. !aintain fair prices. (void donation programs and the collection of advanced premiums. (dditional concerns for the company. 'isclose information on fuel mi* and emissions. #upport advance energy goals and public policies. The goal of green marketing is looking for a way to make a difference. Green marketing is e*panding its efforts to help consumers learn how to demand renewable energy over traditional energy that comes from other sources. ( green marketer is re uired by lay to have a certain amount of renewable power in their resource portfolio. ( consumer will only be asked to pay for the re uirements mandated by law and they will not need to pay for the environmental practices. +ne of the most important aspects of green marketing is setting the price for the energy. The costs must be fair and the consumers need to have good information about the energy they are using. 8nformed consumers will trust the company and will spread information via word of mouth and may have advocate for public support of the green energy source. (s with anything, a green marketer needs to be prepared for criticism from some parties. 9aving a well&planning strategy will help a green marketer overcome their critics and help them understand the energy source.

Be honest:

To rebuild public trust, companies must create the true environmental impact of their products and their attempts and many need to address historical concerns about specific products or operations and another key thing we must do in sustainable marketing is being genuine. This means we must tell the truth about the products. (nd should not tempt to use sugary words ,ust to impress the customers because a large number of them will confirm what we claim is true. 4ustomers know that there is a direct link between green products and their health as well as their surroundings. #o we should ensure that what we claim is true. 8f we are offering green services, all the facts must be at our fingertips so that we do not contradict the truth with people will want to confirm issues before they can full trust on maters to do with health.

Build better products"

Consumers will not think better of green products until the companies make them equal to or better than, their conventional alternatives. There is no surprise in it most people value performance, reliability, and durability much more than ecological soundness, making the entire business outfit a living e*ample of corporate sustainability. This means the different departments must operate under sustainability concepts so that there will be a harmony in the business. They should ensure that stake&holders in the business must know our green policy so that they too can adopt. Living green every step of the ,ourney is an indirect form of sustainable marketing.

)ducate consumers"
The consumers are largely unaware of green products; business that sells must see itself first as an educator, not a sales machine and must )ducate potential clients on the importance of green products. 1eople will not buy something until they discover the benefits of it. This is very true in green marketing. The biggest mistake can be made in green Business is that assuming everyone knows everything that is, green products are preferable to non&Green because most non&green 1roducts tend to be cheaper, which tempts people to buy them more. )ducating the buyers on the long term effects these products have, falling ill and having to spend a lot on treatment; and depleting natural resources also.

Bring products to the people"

Having decided to buy green products, many consumers encounter a problem in finding them because manufacturers don t keep up with there demand or advertise they products because wholesalers and retailers don t stock them or display them prominently. 1roducts that re uire green marketing can be categorized into two" those are environmentally&friendly and those packaged in environmentally&friendly ways. The #ustainable marketing demands that how we create awareness for different products and the positive impact that it has on the environment. )nvironmentally& friendly packaging is made up of recyclable casings, which can be remake into new products. (lternatively, they could be biodegradable and so are able to regenerate back to the soil.

+ffer more"
4ompanies must ensure that consumers understands the financial and environmental returns on their investments in green products , they are more willing to try new ones especially those that cost more when they find it easy to track they savings.

CONCE UENCES OF GREEN MARKETING

1. The firms working in the direction of green !arketing have to encounter a number of problems. 0irst of all the firms must ensure that it moves in the direction which will not create any confusion in the mind of consumers or industry and do not break any of the regulations or laws dealing with environmental&marketing. 4ompanies green marketing claims must& * Clearly state environmental benefits : explain environmental characteristics : Explain how benefits are achieved : comparative differences are justified : ensure negative factors are taken into consideration : only use meaningful terms and pictures. .. The firm may face that those companies modify there products due to 8ncrease customers concern must aware about the fact that customer2s perceptions are some time not correct. 0or e*ample" when paper pack and ,ute bag were replaced by the synthetic pack for the sake of saving the trees the result became more environmental fatal. /. hen the firms attempt to become socially responsible! they may in near future.

face the risk that the environmentally responsible action of today will be found harmful 0or e*ample some companies manufacturing refrigerators, air&conditioning machine have replaced environmentally harmful 404s ;chlorofluorocarbon< with 904s ;hydro fluorocarbon< which in later revealed is also a green&house gas. #ome firms now shifted to '!) ;diethyl ether<, which may also harm the ozone layer. #o we can see that with the limited scientific knowledge at any point in time, it may be impossible for a firm to be curtained that they have made the correct environmental decision. #ome firms like coca&cola and 6alt 'isney 6orld ;6'6<, are working as a socially responsible company without publicizing their endeavor.

3. "eacting to competitive pressure can cause all followers to make the same mistake 0or )*ample" !obil world renounced engine&oil manufacturing company, claims for it biodegradable plastic garbage bags. But the condition under which it become biodegradable is not allowed by natural processes. 0or this the !obil was sued by several =# states for using misleading advertising claims. Thus blindly following the competitors can have costly ramifications. >. Though #overnment has formulated several laws and regulations to give consumers the +pportunity to make better decisions or motivate them to be more environmentally responsible, there is always a difficulty in establishing policy that would cover all environmental issues. ?. The !enace of Green washing$ according to oxford dictionary green washing is 'efined as @disinformation disseminated by an organization so as to present an environmentally responsible public image.A The green washing inde* was announced at the .77B =C 4limate change conference held at Bali, 8ndonesia with an ob,ective to eradicate bad environmental marketing claims and at the same time shine a positive light on companies making measurable reduction in carbon emissions related to climate change. )*perts urged the consumers and the industries to be ever vigilant in preventing green washing. That they believed one of the ma,or factors that led to green washing was the absence of a central agency to certify the green credentials of a firm. This made those companies with uestionable green credentials to step forward and call themselves green. B. Lack of proper knowledge of consumers about environmental issues! some time cause 1roblem for companies to represent their products in market place as high 1ercentages of 4ustomers still feel that environmental products do not work as well as -/ conventional +ne, some time the consumers are well aware about a particular 8ssue that they are Cot willing to pay a premium price for a green product. 8t appears that consumers are not overly committed to improve their environment and may be looking to lay too much Desponsibility on industries and government

CONC!USION
Green marketing is based on the premise that businesses have a responsibility to #atisfy human needs and desires while preserving the integrity of the natural )nvironment. This latter concern has been ignored throughout most of recorded 9uman history does not mean it will be unimportant in the future. 8ndeed, that there are #ignificant indications that environmental issues will grow in importance over the 4oming years and will re uire imaginative and innovative redesign and reengineering of e*isting marketing efforts on the part of many businesses. #olutions to environmental problems can be characterized into roughly three categories" ethical, legal, and business ;economic and technological<. Long&term sustainability of the planet is likely to re uire some rather distinct changes in the ethical behavior of its human population. Barring a crisis, these changes will probably be a long time coming. Legislation is a useful tool for effecting social change; it has a tremendous advantage over moral persuasion in terms of speed and efficacy of implementation, although its results are not always as intended. 8n the short term, business solutionsE the enlightened self&interest of commercial enterprises finding new ways to incorporate technology and carry on e*changes with greater concern for heretofore unpriced environmental goods and servicesEoffer particular promise. Green marketing and the promotion of responsible consumption are part of that solution.