Ecology is a modern trend and way of life for the majority of the population; therefore, many manufacturers are striving to become “green” brands to meet the needs of consumers. The development of this line of thinking was promoted by mass protests in 2019, which arranged a breakthrough and rooting of the idea in the eyes of consumers (Morris, 2021).
People saw the world’s largest brands advertising the need to save the environment and reduce the level of emissions of harmful substances, the idea of which they liked. Business owners quickly picked up on the trend and reviewed their products, production, transportation, and marketing strategies. They decided that this could help them gain an additional influence factor on the target audience, stabilize business development and increase sales. Marketing has the most potent effect on the audience, and many companies have improved the trademark. To ensure legitimacy and correct perception, it must comply with the law on Green Trademarks (Fromlowitz & von Bargen, 2021). Usually, the logos of companies that want to attract customers with a “green” status carry elements related to protection, green color, recycling, the planet, or nature.
Such policy allows companies to evoke loyalty and pleasant emotions from potential consumers intuitively. However, there are no strict regulatory standards for the content on labels. Many manufacturers often use vague or unreliable formulations regarding the environmental friendliness of the product. They create the appearance of the product’s naturalness to satisfy customer’s needs and give less information to avoid unnecessary questions. However, people who really want to take care of the environment and not just follow the trend criticize this approach strictly. They use various resources to find reliable information about the product and its packaging. Usually, only a small proportion of companies can get approval after verification. People are increasingly strict about “green” brands; hence, it is essential to consider some good and bad strategies and consumer feedback.
Companies that really try to reduce the harm caused to the environment receive positive feedback from customers and are steadily developing. It is proved by the marketing research of independent companies. One of these firms is Nielsen Media Research, which regularly conducts measurements of consumer goods, media pitches, and consumer research. According to their reports, one can see the market for sustainable products is developing rapidly and can reach 150.1 billion US dollars this year (Gelski, 2019).
Furthermore, 73% of consumers are ready to change their habits to reduce the negative impact on the environment. Research and mass media often talk about measures that everyone can take to reduce harm. For example, if a neighbor throws a plastic bottle into a container with shared waste, one should gently and politely ask him to use a separate garbage system. Such a step is small and is unlikely to bring a global effect; hence large corporations take it upon themselves to show a new way of life and form valuable habits by their example. In addition, marketing research clarifies to companies how economically effective the transition to the “green” category of sellers can be. In the first stages, the restructuring can take a lot of resources, both financial and organizational.
However, with the correct change of strategy and its implementation, the number and satisfaction of customers will only grow. For example, the Unilever Corporation takes a global approach to the issue of ecology and openly broadcasts it. Marketers show manufacturing and processing technologies that fully comply with the “green” standard. They also form a sense of unity in society, which allows them to increase loyalty. Their position is to inspire consumers to adopt new sustainable products and behaviors to achieve Unilever’s and the nation’s expected goals (PLC, 2021).
The production, packaging, and transportation technologies are at a high level. It allows customers to be confident and support the business development. Furthermore, the loyalty of potential buyers is formed because of the transparency of business processes. There are many sections on their website, each of which can answer a question of interest. For example, they use biofuels, bioplastics, and biotechnologies to manufacture their products (Unilever PLC, 2021). Marketers and copywriters take care of the customers; thus, the information on the website is written in an accessible and straightforward language.
It is an additional factor in the correct business strategy and the transition to the “green” side. In supplement to the above, the company’s managers form a sense of community among adults and develop quests to form valuable habits in children. Their website contains resources for educational initiatives that everyone can download and use. The company offers materials written in an entertaining form for children, which helps conscious parents teach children and adequately educate the new generation. It finds a positive response in customers’ hearts who are grateful to the company for everything they do. At the same time, Unilever remains in the leading positions, buys out new companies, and tries to make the world a better place every day.
However, as mentioned earlier, few companies choose a dishonest and cagey approach. For example, Walmart, which is one of the leaders in its industry, does not put enough effort into ecology. Their website contains information about what they are doing for nature, and there is a lot of it. For example, in 2019, Walmart purchased more wind turbines and installed more solar panels than any other company in the United States, and in 2020 they diverted 81% of landfill and incineration waste worldwide (Sustainability, 2021).
Like Unilever, the company has clear long-term goals that they boldly state. However, it is impossible to check their performance in the right direction, or information is difficult to find. One example is when a store was bombarded with complaints about refrigerants (Walmart Announces Goal, 2020). The executives replied that they would tackle the problem of the leak but did not name the exact timeframe or an estimated plan for the fight. This behavior influences the desire of buyers to stay committed to their habits. Companies must meet the requirements of the environment and their potential customers to develop sustainably and take a monopoly position in the market.
Moreover, each enterprise is periodically audited, and the results are published in open news sources. “Walmart received a failing grade on the EIA’s Climate-Friendly Supermarkets scorecard because of its failure to install HFC-free refrigerants in any of its stores or join the EPA’s GreenChill program” (Walmart Announces Goal, 2020). Considering the current requirements of buyers, this has played a significant role in the choice of a supermarket for every conscious citizen. An alternative promise from store managers is to reduce the waste of harmful items through a complete reorganization. For example, the company’s executives set high goals for themselves, such as zero emissions by 2040, but they continue to use plastic bags in their work (Marsh, 2020).
Some people think that paper bags are even worse because their production requires more resources, but there is an alternative option. Reusable bags are now quite common among conscious people who are trying to help the planet. Walmart directors could remove the plastic bags and put reusable in their place, which would be a giant step in the right direction. Possibly, the directors do not do this for an objective reason because it is pretty challenging to maintain the lowest prices and fully comply with the environmental strategy. For finding new ideas, senior managers of the company took a trip around the country to develop a clearer understanding of the situation.
They went through business meetings with representatives of the “green” movement and realized that it was enough to take a few simple steps to improve the situation (Spicer & Hyatt, 2018). They changed the business strategy and shifted the focus from buyers to suppliers. Later, they found that balancing cost and sustainability is possible but tricky to implement. The difficulty in entirely focusing on eco-friendly products is that directors do not understand how to justify the higher price of eco-labeled products.
Walmart’s strategy is based on low-cost products, and they worry that changing this parameter will lead to the loss of customers. Walmart may not be the worst example of a fraudulent company, but they still have many gaps that could be closed without much risk. Potential buyer, because of this fear, may change their preferences and choose another supermarket.
References
Fromlowitz, P., & von Bargen, N. (2021). Green brands: How trademark law can promote sustainable business practices | world trademark review. WTR. Web.
Gelski, J. (2019). Sustainable product market could hit $150 billion in U.S. by 2021. Food Business News. Web.
Marsh, J. (2020). 10 companies failing to keep their sustainability Promise—And 5 that are going green. Emagazine. Web.
Morris, T. (2021). Green consumerism: What you need to know. GWI. Web.
Spicer, A., & Hyatt, D. G. (2018). Walmart wants to be environmentally friendly — and discovers just how difficult ‘Sustainability’ is. MarketWatch. Web.
Sustainability. (2021). Corporate – US. Web.
Unilever PLC. (2021b). Our position on. Unilever. Web.
Walmart announces goal to become a regenerative company. (2020). Sustainable Brands. Web.