Although environmental issues influence all human activities, few academic disciplines have integrated green issues into their literature. This is especially true of marketing. As society becomes more concerned with the natural environment, businesses have begun to modify their behavior in an attempt to address society’s “new” concerns.
Green Marketing
Some businesses have been quick to accept concepts like environmental management systems and waste minimization, and have integrated environmental issues into all organizational activities. Some evidence of this is the development of journals such as “Business Strategy and the Environment” and “Greener Management International,” which are specifically designed to disseminate research relating to business’ environmental behavior.
One business area where environmental issues have received a great deal of discussion in the popular and professional press is marketing. Terms like “Green Marketing” and “Environmental Marketing” appear frequently in the popular press. Many governments around the world have become so concerned about green marketing activities that they have attempted to regulate them. For example, in the United States (US) the Federal Trade Commission and the National Association of Attorneys-General have developed extensive documents examining green marketing issues. One of the biggest problems with the green marketing area is that there has been little attempt to academically examine environmental or green marketing.
This paper will attempt 1) to introduce the terms and concepts of green marketing; 2) briefly discuss why going green is important; 3) examine some of the reason that organizations are adopting a green marketing philosophy; and 4) mention some of the problems with green marketing.
Author: Michael Jay Polonsky
Source: University of Newcastle