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Progetto UE Desur Corporate Green Communication and Marketing
1. Desur Staff exchange meeting
Province of Bologna
December 9th, 2013
Corporate Green Communication and Marketing
2. Green marketing: a definition
An activity that studies factors related to
product, production, commercialization,
communication, promotion in order to
reducing the environmental impact,
protecting the environment and, meantime,
consumers health (A.Foglio 2008)
3. The Green Consumer
The so-called green consumer is a variable, everchanging social actor who practices versatile and
complex consumption options
Far from being a 'target' according to the classic
marketing theories, green consumer instead
represents a consumption style, that is a set of
behaviours and practices expressing:
- a political vision of the world
- style preferences
- liking
4. Green consumption as political consumerism
Green consumers have enough information to
BOYCOTT or BUYCOTT brands
Green consumers pick up informations on enterpriese behaviour and
act consequently, rewarding or punishing a company by “economic
voting”, expressed through the daily shopping preferences
7. The Green Consumers
Main features of these ecologically aware
consumers derive basically from two
macro carachteristics:
Being a prosumer
Critically behaving towards development
models proposed by contemporary society
8. The prosumer
Prosumer reveals the active role that ever more subjects want to play in the
consumption process: they intend to set themselves free from a mere role
of consumer and demand to participate in the brand value creation process,
offering hours of free working supporting what they consider their
fascination.
Often they're very faithful to some brands and get together creating a
community brand
10. The green prosumers
Green prosumers usually have a high average level of
technological literacy, a discrete social and cultural
capital, sufficient availability of time: they are able to
engage and influence others who, like them, want to play a
leading role in the process of consumption.
They love to explore, modify, develop, customize their
purchases and typically are the early adopters of certain
goods.
11. The green prosumers
The green prosumer is quite often connected and
informed, use the (internet) and networks (mutual aid) as the
main means of transmission of information and value.
Green prosumers believe that businesses before an
economic objective should have a social function and are
therefore very careful about CSR (Corporate Social
Responsibility).
12. The green prosumers
They require fair and just products because they
believe that another development model is
possible.
They're very careful about the repercussions of
their purchases and criticize the society of
consumerism, of waste, and they love to reuse
and recycle materials.
13. Why did they become green prosumers
The main factors that have induced them over time to pay
more attention to the green consumption, besides the
obvious personal bent, are related to:
- rules and norms aiming at pushing eco productions
and purchases
- increased costs of fuel and energy
- social inequality
- economic crisis
- green is in fashion
14. Green consumers can drive market green
Background idea is as much simple as revolutionary:
inside the market consumers represent the demand,
and it's these ones to lead the supply. Consumers
spend money and choose a product and reject
others; through their "purchasing power" can orient
the market towards production more respectful of
work conditions, environment and health
15. ICT enable and empower green consumers
Technology enables individuals to increase their
own awareness of products and services.
Consumer used to be subjected by company's
communication.
Progressively situation has changed and consumer
has been aquiring new control tools of the
'prosumption' and communication process
Communication among companies and consumers
is no longer one-to-many, instead many-to-many
16. ICT enable and empower green consumers
ICT tools are ever more available and
accessible, thus enabling consumers to
communicate more easily among
themselves and with the company as well.
Companies Stakeholders range gets wider
17. Green companies for green consumers
Green, or willing to be green, companies can act on three
different levels to keep on staying tuned with green
consumers:
Technological level: a never-ending innovation process;
Core values level: these should be not change and
preserved
Communication: company'd better change codes and
language system, as well as media and channels through
which it veiculates its core values communication, in order
to make it as most effective and efficient as possible
18. Three different approaches to the green marketing
J. Grant (Green marketing manifesto), underlines how
ecological offer can be meant on three different ideal model:
Green: to establish new standards, to communicate
Company only aims at commercial objectives: products match
with green phylosophy and the differences compare to other
market offers is emphasized;
Greener: share responsabilities, collaborating.
Company is willing to reach both environmental and
commercial goals: marketing operations are aimed at
achieving environmental objectives, for instance proposing
different fruiction modalities of the product;
Greenest: supporting innovation, remodelling culture.
Company has also cultural objectives: for example it tries to
presente green phylosophy-oriented lifestyles and business
models as naturally preferable compare to others
19. Green marketing compared to the
'old-fashioned' marketing
Marketing in the past:
Finding ways to consume more
Green Marketing:
Understand how to consume less and better
Old-fashioned Marketing
4 P:
Price
Product
Promotion
Place
Green Marketing 4 S:
Safe products
Customer Satisfaction
Sociability of a product
Sustainability
20. Nine base rules of green marketing
Knowing the customer
Empowerment of the consumer
Being transparent
Greener products work better and are worth a premium price
Values guide consumer purchasing (once consumers bought solely on
price, performance and convenience)
Reputation count more than ever
The brands consumers buy and trust today educate and engage them
in meaningful conversation, especially through the Sns
Green consumers are strongly influenced by the recommendations of
friends and family, and trusted third parties
Nearly everyone is a corporate stakeholder
21. Greenwashing: how to paint business by
using some shade of green...
Greenwashing, is an attempt to provide a picture of a
company without really changing it the ecological approach
It's a typical practice of trying to disguise corporate
responsibility towards the environment by means of
advertisements in defense of ecosystem and sustainable
production which, however, are not reflected in the behavior
actually adopted.
Often enterprises spend more time and money in
communicating a fake green image, rather than thinking of an
upgrade of values and practices and take action towards
sustainability.
22. Greenwashing: how to paint business by
using some shade of green...
It is clear that the greenwash can be an obstacle to
the development of a sustainable economy. In fact,
"can slow sustainability efforts by making people
more skeptical of the environmental initiatives. The
green wash also prevents consumers understand
the impact of their buying decisions, because they
find it difficult to differentiate between valid
statements from false ones. " (J. Grant)
23. Are we willing to adopt a green marketing strategy?
Yes we are.
Our products have
valuable green features
No, we are not.
We’ve too many doubts and fears to
developing a green communication
When does my brand new communication get started?
Today
Tomorrow
Never
24. Why adopting a Green Marketing strategy
New opportunities for innovation
More opportunities to improve further on
Increasing competitiveness
Strengthening the corporate identity and image
Strengthening the relationship with the internal
stakeholders (employees, partners, managers, etc..) and
external stakeholders (local communities, supply chain,
public and private institutions, etc.)
Concern for the economic, social and environmental crisis
Convergence of objectives> Sharing corporate values
25. Green communication: a social need
Fish could die or swimming in the seas and in
the rivers could cause disease, there may
be no more oil at the petrol distributors and
the average temperature could rise or fall:
as long as this is not communicated, there
will be no social effects
(N.Luhmann)
26. Three axis of the Green Communication
Communication
(sharing>bidirectionality of the action>participation)
Information
(base unit of the communication > answers are not expected
Education
(no answers, instead information acquisition > playfully
informing on environmental issues, its values and practices
to keep it safe, raising awareness of such issues)
27. Green Communication: Who?
Green communication players can be part of:
- Public bodies and institutions
- Third sector
- Private companies
And all planet stakeholders such as you, me...
28. Green Communication: When?
It can't be communicate what hasn't been done:
Green communication represents a sort of finish line and a
starting point at the same time, it can be implemented
when the environmental performance of both products
and corporate policy reached a good level, and from that
moment on no one step back, just forward, by improving
such green performances and, meanwhile, green
communication
29. Green Communication: to Whom?
To all corporate stakeholders
Stakeholder (a brief definition) =an accountant, group,
organization, member or system who affects or can be
affected by an organization actions
In this specific case, stakeholders can be: public
institutiones, environmentalist association, consumers,
suppliers, funders, collaborators, citizens, unborn....
30. Green Communication: to Whom?
Ever more people try to live more responsibly. Of
course not too many are willing to make
sacrifices, to disrupt their habits and to bear
additional costs.
They expect companies to help them to
understand why a certain product is better for
the environment than another one and what a
difference they can make by choosing to buy it.
Informed, they would be able to make purchasing
decisions
31. Green Communication: to Whom?
There's no need to be sociologist to
understand that there's a huge gap between
being concerned about the environment and
being green consumers
Economic resource play an important role,
as well as the lack of confidence in the
company and a scarce knowledge of
environmental issues
32. Green Communication: to Whom?
Corporate green communication has to take into
consideration the context it takes place, other than:
Influencer/Opinion leader (ecologist associations,
experts in the field, politicians, public institutions)
Ground noise
Old and recent history of the area involved
Actions, tools, policies sustainability-oriented
implemented in the past
33. Green Communication: to Whom?
Consumers no longer believe in whatever the
advertisement says
They don't trust the government and the institutions
and, more likely, seek for answers on the internet
where they'll find independent information, blogs
and social networks to discuss and share their
opinions
34. Top environmental
issues of concern
2009 %
2005-09 %
change
Water quality
67
-1%
Hazardous, toxic and nuclear waste
61
-6%
Pollution from cars and trucks
54
+2%
Water conservation
53
+10%
Deforestation
52
+8%
Global warming or climate change
50
+2%
Overpopulation
50
+28%
Reliance on fossil fuel
47
+18%
Lack of open space or urban sprawl
37
+42%
35. How to communicate sustainability?
Fair and effective
Effective
but unfair
Fair but
ineffective
36. How to communicate sustainability?
You must first define the communication
objectives, the budget, the audience you will
target and the timing, and then identify
actions, tools and resources needed to
implement the plan, and finally, identify
indicators for monitoring and evaluation of
the effectiveness of communication.
37. Green communication goals
The objectives of the Sustainable communication
may change depending on the
- type of stakeholders the company intends to
communicate with
- the reference context (ground noise, what's
previously done in that field) in which they develop
communication flows
In fact in some cases it may be important to raise
awareness and/or draw the attention on green
issues, in other cases offer warranties (including
forms of certification), or informing about green
products
38. The budget for the green communication
It is important to
establish for each tool,
category, action:
The estimated
amount
The cost per unit
The subtotal and
total cost
40. Internal and external communication
(green starts from inside)
Green communication should be focusing on
two macro-areas:
the internal and external communication.
41. Internal and external communication
(green starts from inside)
The employees are in fact the first public to be involved, to
make them aware of their responsibilities towards corporate
green goals, and to engage them and increase their sense
of belonging to the organization.
The main objectives of which should aim communication
actions are therefore:
- Motivate employees towards the company's green
strategies;
- To strengthen the sense of belonging;
- To foster the relationships and synergies between different
business sectors;
- Affirm the green values of the organization;
- Create identity inside and outside companies.
42. Several internal communication tools
Bulletin board
E-mail
Poster designing and signage
House organ, booklets, manuals and magazines
Newsletter
Ethic code
Training sessions, workshops, conventions
Questionnaires and surveys
Intranet, social networking and business
website
43. Advices for a sustainable internal communication
If it's really necessary, it's recommended to print
by using recycled paper, or FSC certified paper,
and eco-font76
44. External communication
The external communication has to take into
account all the aspects previously mentioned
that that characterize today's market, where
companies get in touch and set a relationship
with consumers who are ever more aware of,
informed and involved in sustainability issues
and to whom transmitting green-social values
consumers trust in
Quality and
certifications
Saving and
performances
Products
Life Cycle
Environmental
committment
45. External communication tools
Environmental certifications
- EMAS (Eco-Management and Audit Scheme)
- ISO 14001
- ISO 14020, ISO 14021, ISO 14024, ISO 14025
- FSC (Forest stewardship council)
- CoC (Chain of Custody)
Accountability tools (Corporate Social and
Environmental Report)
Corporate publications, catalogues, ect.
Newsletter
Packaging
Corporate press agency
46. External communication tools
• Internet
• Corporate building
• Concept store
• Billposting
• TV and radio commercials
• Guerrilla marketing
• Ambient advertising
• Events
47. The 7 sins of Greenwashing
Sin of the Hidden Trade-off
A claim suggesting that a product is ‘green’ based on a narrow set
of attributes without attention to other important environmental
issues. Paper, for example, is not necessarily environmentallypreferable just because it comes from a sustainably-harvested
forest.
Sin of No Proof
An environmental claim that cannot be substantiated by easily
accessible supporting information or by a reliable third-party
certification. Common examples are facial tissues or toilet tissue
products that claim various percentages of post-consumer recycled
content without providing evidence.
Sin of Vagueness
A claim that is so poorly defined or broad that its real meaning is
likely to be misunderstood by the consumer. ‘All-natural’ is an
example. Arsenic, uranium, mercury, and formaldehyde are all
naturally occurring, and poisonous. ‘All natural’ isn’t necessarily
‘green’.
48. The 7 sins of Greenwashing
Sin of Worshiping False Labels
A product that, through either words or images, gives the
impression of third-party endorsement where no such
endorsement exists; fake labels, in other words.
Sin of Irrelevance
An environmental claim that may be truthful but is unimportant or
unhelpful for consumers seeking environmentally preferable
products. ‘CFC-free’ is a common example, since it is a frequent
claim despite the fact that CFCs are banned by law.
Sin of Lesser of Two Evils
A claim that may be true within the product category, but that
risks distracting the consumer from the greater environmental
impacts of the category as a whole. Organic cigarettes could be
an example of this Sin, as might the fuel-efficient sport-utility
vehicle.
Sin of Fibbing
Environmental claims that are simply false. The most common
examples were products falsely claiming to be Energy Star
certified or registered.
49. Which tools we're gonna
be using
Traditional
media
Stores
Traditional
shop
Large
retails
Press
Television
Stores
Product
packaging
Environment
al features
Environment
al
certifications
Shopping
assistence
Advertising
campaign
Exhibition
corner
Cause
related
marketing
58. Thank you for your attention
Umberto Mezzacapo - CesCoCom
Studies Center on Consumption and Communication
Department of Sociology and Business Law
University of Bologna
