i have written some 27 pages chapter 1 to 3 with references but will also need you to proof read from chapter 1 cus the others have been corrected by the supervisor.
will give more information later on.
but i will need to be submitting them to the lecturer chapter by chapter.

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GREEN MARKETING: THE EFFECT OF BRAND AWARENESS AND BRAND EQUITY ON BRANDS USING CORPORATE SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITY WITH A “GREEN” CONTENT.

 

ABSTRACT

An important challenge facing marketing strategist is to identify if consumers are willing to pay more for environmentally friendly products. It is apparent that an enhanced knowledge of the profile of this segment of consumers would be extremely useful. The research is meant to examine consumers’ reactions to a company or business that is advertising w?th an environmental or “green” content thereby us?ng it as its sign of corporate social responsibility (CSR) with the potential aim of enhancing brand awareness and also increase brand equity.

Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) as a concept entails the practice whereby companies voluntarily integrate both social and environmental (green) business philosophy in their mode of operations. Therefore, through this integration the brand can have a strong influence on each individual consumer and this will increase the brands or company’s attractiveness and equity. The environment as an entity is making unprecedented demands on we the people who have the task and responsibility of determining its future but determining this future will inevitably require change. Therefore, using Green Marketing as a core content of a company’s Corporate Social Responsibility can be an effective tool that can influence feelings, enhance consumer trust, awareness and ultimately increase brand attractiveness and equity without damaging the environment for future generations.

 

CHAPTER ONE

INTRODUCTION

Since, Information plays a central role in advertising; one problem with advertising information is lack of trust so an opportunity to enhance trust by using green advertising is latent and feasible. Companies involved in green marketing make decisions relating to the entire process of the company’s products, such as methods of processing, packaging and distribution. Green marketing companies seek to go above and beyond traditional marketing by promoting environmental core values with the believe that consumers will associate these values with their company or brand. Engaging in these sustainable activities can lead to creating a new product line that caters to a new target market. In 1987, a document prepared by the World Commission on Environment and Development defined sustainable development as meeting “the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own need” therefore, Green Marketing should be a Strategy, Tool, and Inspiration for Sustainable Branding thereby making Environmental issues balanced with primary customer needs.

Corporations are increasingly recognizing the benefits of green marketing, although there is often a thin line between doing so for its own benefit (i.e. revenue generation or green washing) and for social responsibility reasons. The term “green washing” refers to all industries that adopt outwardly green acts with an underlying purpose to increase profits. The primary objective of green washing is to provide consumers with the feeling that the organization is taking the necessary steps to responsibly manage its ecological footprint. In reality, the company may be doing very little that is environmentally beneficial. Also an integrated, rapidly growing market for goods and services that appeal to consumers whose sense of environmental and social responsibility influences their purchase decisions can be measured using their brand awareness, brand trust, brand opinion, brand equity, purchase behavior, brand quality etc.

Shel Horowitz, a green merchant for over 30 years and primary author of Guerrilla marketing Goes Green (John Wiley & Sons, 2010), states that to market effectively, green businesses ought to market differently to three totally different audiences: “deep green,” “lazy green,” and “non-green”; each will have totally different trigger points that will move them to shop for your products, and for the non-green audience, marketing effectively typically needs action product superiority instead of care for the world. On the opposite hand, Roper’s green Gauge shows that a high proportion of customers (42%) feel that environmental product don’t work additionally as typical ones, although new reports show a growing trend towards green product; but Marketers typically profit of this confusion, and deliberately make false or exaggerated “green” claim.

Significance of the Study

In recent years the term green or Eco marketing have come to prominence and reflect a growing concern at all levels of the impact of the increased consumption on the physical environment. The implications of  the destruction of the forests , the appearance of ‘ holes ‘  in the ozone layer etc. were widely published and created a wave concern about the destruction of our  natural environment. Therefore, many consumers are in favour of eco-friendly products .This has created some impact on marketing. Brands do not necessarily have to be known for being green in order to be relevant to consumers. Instead, brands should tell their story in a way that is true to their existing brand positioning. Because, the present-day conception of corporate social responsibility (CSR) implies that companies voluntarily integrate social and environmental concerns in their operations and interaction with stakeholders.For example, Albaum and Duerr (2008) identified that the sustainable products introduced into the marketplace could influence economic development and the entrepreneurial business models used in that particular country; in this way, a green market economy could possibly replace the current market economy that runs largely on fossil fuel.Because, people don’t simply buy things anymore; there’s a winning mix of brand interactions, advertisements and recommendations that go into every significant purchase we make be it green or the conventional non-green products.

The Aim of the study

The research’s aim is to find out the possibility of profitability and awareness of green marketing products, since the overarching question that has guided the study was “will profit sustainability increase or decrease” through transitioning to green marketing strategy based on global initiatives. Also, to find out if companies that use this method can attract sales, recognition and balance environmental issues with primary customer needs. Because, some companies use green marketing methods to attract the consumers awareness, purchase intentions, brand opinion, which most likely generates brand equity for the company that uses this green washing means.

Therefore, using a case study of PROCTER AND GAMBLE an umbrella company that owns over 70 well-known brands, 26 of which saw a net profit of over 1 billion dollars in 2011. Recognizable names include Bounty, Charmin, Crest, Dawn, Downy, Duracell, Febreze, Gillette, Iams, Oral-B, Pampers, Pantene, Tide, and Vicks, just to name a few. They have a diverse array of products with different names, packaging designs, and marketing campaigns that appear unique and specialized, and are the world’s largest consumer goods manufacturer, usually heralded as a role model amongst Fortune 500 companies. With consistent growth, respected management, and profitability even in the face of recession, P&G’s message is clear – “going green” is a central part of its corporate culture. But just how accurate are these claims since a 2007 study conducted by Greenpeace International ranked Procter and Gamble at the top of a list of “Eco-Villains” based on its policies and products.Thus, the question that remains is “Can both economic stability and profit sustainability be accomplished in a green economy?”

DEFINATION OF TERMS

Brand Awareness:

This is the likelihood that consumers recognize the existence and availability of a company’s product or service. Creating brand awareness is one of the key steps in promoting a product. Brand awareness is an important way of promoting commodity-related products. This is because for these products, there are very few factors that differentiate one product from its competitors. Therefore, the product that maintains the highest brand awareness compared to its competitors will usually get the most sales.

Brand Equity:

This is the value premium that a company realizes from a product with a recognizable name as compared to its generic equivalent. Companies can create brand equity for their products by making them memorable, easily recognizable and superior in quality and reliability. Mass marketing campaigns can also help to create brand equity. If consumers are willing to pay more for a generic product than for a branded one, however, the brand is said to have negative brand equity. This might happen if a company had a major product recall or caused a widely publicized environmental disaster.

The additional money that consumers are willing to spend to buy Coca Cola rather than the store brand of soda is an example of brand equity. One situation when brand equity is important is when a company wants to expand its product line. If the brand’s equity is positive, the company can increase the likelihood that customers will buy its new product by associating the new product with an existing, successful brand. For example, if Campbell’s releases a new soup, it would likely keep it under the same brand name, rather than inventing a new brand. The positive associations customers already have with Campbell’s would make the new product more enticing than if the soup had an unfamiliar brand name.

 

1.3 Green marketing:

With green businesses, technology brings innovation, which creates value for consumers, and innovation is the key ingredient for success and organizational profit.

1.4. Corporate social responsibility

“Corporate social responsibility is a management concept whereby companies integrate social and environmental concerns in their business operations and interactions with their stakeholders. CSR is generally understood as being the way through which a company achieves a balance of economic, environmental and social imperatives (Triple-Bottom-Line Approach), while at the same time addressing the expectations of shareholders and stakeholders.The CSR approach is holistic and integrated with the core business strategy for addressing social and environmental impacts of businesses

The way businesses involve the shareholders, employees, customers, suppliers, governments, non-governmental organizations, international organizations is usually a key feature of the concept. In other words we can say that CSR embraces both the internal needs of employees as well as the external needs of the society i.e. taking care of employees’ safety and health in excess of legal requirements and considering external implications towards the society.

1.5. Green content

The way businesses involve the shareholders, employees, customers, suppliers, governments, non-governmental organizations, international organizations is usually a key feature of the concept. In other words we can say that CSR embraces both the internal needs of employees as well as the external needs of the society i.e. taking care of employees’ safety and health in excess of legal requirements and considering external implications towards the society. The way businesses involve the shareholders, employees, customers, suppliers, governments, non-governmental organizations, international organizations is usually a key feature of the concept. In other words we can say that CSR embraces both the internal needs of employees as well as the external needs of the society i.e. taking care of employees’ safety and health in excess of legal requirements and considering external implications towards the society.

1.6. Branding

An effective brand strategy gives you a major edge in increasingly competitive markets. But what exactly does “branding” mean? Simply put, your brand is your promise to your customer. It tells them what they can expect from your products and services, and it differentiates your offering from that of your competitors. Your brand is derived from who you are, who you want to be and who people perceive you to be.

Building and managing a brand can play a large part in making this happen and if you want to strengthen and manage the perceptions of your business, then a strong brand is needed. Good branding elevates and differentiates your like-for-like products or services and gives your customers reason to choose you over your competitors

1.7. Marketing

Marketing is an important aspect of any business that ensures your customers are aware of your products and services and your brand. Communicating your story effectively is the key to effective marketing. You’ll want to talk about your social and environmental initiatives and integrate them into your messaging to enhance your brand’s image and attract customers to your environmentally and socially beneficial products and services. Few businesses do this well. Create an effective green and social responsibility message by communicating what you’re doing well and what you’re working towards related to your business’ specific impacts. Communicate the environmental and social benefits of your offerings through honest communication. For both the brand and the products, avoid sweeping statements and grandiose language

1.8. Green Brands

A green brand identity is defined by a specific set of brand attributes and benefits related to the reduced environmental impact of the brand and its perception as being environmentally sound. A well-implemented green brand identity should provide benefits to environmentally conscious consumers. While there are some studies on the perceived value of environmentally sound product attributes (Roozen and DePelsmacker, 1998), the role of emotional benefits in the case of green brands is still largely unassessed.

1.9 Eco-Friendly

Eco-friendly literally means earth-friendly or not harmful to the environment.  Eco-friendly products also prevent contributions to air, water and land pollution. Making a truly eco-friendly product keeps both environmental and human safety in mind. At a minimum, the product is non-toxic. Other eco-friendly attributes include the use of sustainably grown or raised ingredients, produced in ways that do not deplete the ecosystem.

Marketing Eco develops websites, integrated, client-empowering interactive media and e-Commerce, manages SEO, email design, social media setup and integration, and offers loads of other strategic marketing services .As consumers become more aware of environmental issues like global warming, energy shortages and chemical toxins, they are beginning to make more eco-friendly and sustainable choices with their purchases. And businesses are taking notice of the trend by incorporating eco-friendly business practices and green marketing into their overall business strategies. Few top green brands-Ford, Toyota, Honda, Nissan, and Panasonic etc.

CHAPTER TWO

LITERATURE REVIEW

GREEN MARKETING

Experts on this topic have observed that firms with low operational costs show higher returns than those with higher operational costs, such as fuel costs and other pertinent expenses that often generate high debt (Brigham &Daves, 2004, p. 514). The contributing factor would be from the improved energy designs and renewable power systems that are revolutionizing the way these companies live and workwhich contributes to great profit margins.

As sustainability becomes a viable substitution for fossil providers and their products, investors and entrepreneurs can expect to see favorable results in the marketplace, strengthening economies and market investment opportunities. This is evident in the research question “Will profitability and ROIs be an issue for an alternative energy economy, or can a green economy is considered to provide a parallel or even greater ROI than the current economy?” To address this question, a case study entitled “Growing a Green Economy for All: From Green Jobs to Green Ownership” points out that community wealth–building enterprises, including electric cooperatives, municipal utilities that support solar energy, entrepreneurial businesses that engage in green manufacturing, equity investments from banking institutions, social enterprises that dominate the recycling industry, seeking out new green opportunities, and nonprofit developers that are taking the lead on greening affordable housing, contribute to profitability. These activities contribute to ROIs that are in some ways even greater than those offered by the current economy (Warren &Dubb, 2010, p. 1).

Many studies among industry participants and other stakeholder groups in the green industry, such as The Solar Economy: Renewable Energy for a Sustainable Global Future, Urban Energy Transition: From Fossil Fuels to Renewable Power, 100% Renewable Energy Autonomy in Action, and The Plot to Save the Planet: How Visionary Entrepreneurs and Corporate Titans are Creating Real Solutions to Global Warming by addressing economic profitability and ecological stability, have drawn attention to the alarming rate of growth in incidences and consequences of problems caused by fossil user in the industries. These problems include but are not limited to the loss of sustainability in our forest, overlooked energy producing opportunities like biofuel, hazards to the environment through the use of none biodegradable product in our supermarkets, loss of competition and innovation, loss of control and regulation on the type of environmentally friendly products in our supermarkets and the reduction of entrepreneurial spirit in the development of green products and technologies.

 

GREEN CONTENT AS A SIGN OF SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITY

Profit is the driving factor for all entrepreneurial activity, and business activity is the driving factor for the economy. Profit derived from an alternate energy economy is more sustainable than profit from a fossil fuel–based economy for several reasons such as to lower cost of goods sold and affordable market pricing in relation to consumer demand. By contrast, renewable fuels provide a constant supply of energy to sustain a healthy and clean economy. Although innovative goods and services will take time to become fully marketable, advances in technologies and new products are entering the market on a daily basis, which directly contributes to a green economy socially.

What is a Green Business?

A “green” business strives to have a positive impact on the environment and community. It develops and practices business strategies that go beyond regulation and demonstrate commitment to a healthy and sustainable future. A green business adopts principles, policies, and practices that improve the quality of life for its customers and employees. There are now certification systems that strive to standardize these businesses such as the B Corporation and Green America’s Certified Business programto encourage the idea that a green economy is better for profiteers than a fossil fuel economy.

The Awareness and Value of Being Green

Companies have strengthened their commitment to sustainability as the benefits become more apparent and the alternatives more untenable. Just as natural resources are becoming scarce and costly; customers, employees and investors are increasingly environmentally-conscious. Championing sustainability allows businesses to align deeply with their missions of fulfilling their social responsibility goals and engage customers on a more meaningful level.

According to a 2011 study by MIT, sustainability is now a permanent part of 70% of corporate agendas. Most companies now also consider green practices to be vital to remaining competitive and many affirm that these practices are contributing to profits. Some of the reasons for going green include:

Reduced Risk: Environmental degradation threatens the ecosystem services that allow our economy to function and companies are beginning to take notice. PepsiCo, for example, is investing in sustainable solutions to water scarcity while Siemens is abandoning investment in dirty energy sources for the renewables that will power the future. As investors and partners become more knowledgeable about green strategies that improve the bottom line, climate-responsive business practices are becoming the norm.

Green Product Demand: Demand for environmentally-friendly services and products continue to grow. According to a survey conducted by Cohn & Wolfe, a majority of consumers in all countries say that it is very or somewhat important that companies are environmentally-friendly and 35% are willing to spend more for green products.

Consumer Engagement:Community involvement is an important cornerstone for many companies, and green practices enhance public image, community relations and good will. According to a report by D S Simon Productions, “media initiatives with a corporate social responsibility focus generates 35-50% more positive media coverage on television, radio, web and social media than comparable programs without the CSR hook”.

Attracting Talent: Environmentally-conscious business practices help attract and retain the best employees by increasing employee satisfaction and pride in the workplace. According to a MonsterTRAK poll on green employment, 92% of young professionals would be more inclined to work for an environmentally-friendly company. Engagement programs that empower employees by giving them easy ways to support causes they care about, such as the EarthShare @ Work giving program, are also proven morale boosters.

Attracting Investors: Socially and environmentally responsible assets rose more than 324% from 1995 to 2007, signaling a growing interest in sustainability among investors. Investors are also shifting from a “do no harm” approach to a “do more good” approach that will benefit companies committed to the health of the communities they operate in.

 

GOING GREEN AND INCREASING EQUITY IN A TOUGH ECONOMY

Cost is frequently cited as a deterrent to implementing sustainable practices, but answering tough questions about a business’ practices and implementing programs that reduce, reuse and recycle can actually save a lot of money. Some examples:

• According to NRDC, Bank of America reduced the weight of its ATM receipts from 20 pounds to 15 pounds, saving paper, transportation, storing and handling costs, to the tune of $500,000 a year.
• Coca-Cola’s efforts to cut down on packaging saved it $100 million.
• After Marks & Spencer adopted environmental and ethical business guidelines, the company earned an extra £50 million in revenue.
• A small business owner in the UK replaced 62 tube lights to more energy efficient lighting throughout his shop, saving him £2,282 in annual energy costs.
• Environmental Defense Fund and Frost & Sullivan conducted a survey of energy efficient business leaders. Of 500 respondents, 42% said their sales have increased over the past one to two years and an equal number said that their sales have remained the same.

Green jobs are also more recession-proof than the alternatives. Next 10?s report on green jobs in California shows that while the economy there contracted 7% during the recession, the clean energy and pollution reduction industries fell only 3%. From 1995-2010, green jobs in California grew 53% while the total economy grew 12%.

While recessions are difficult, they also provide a window for new business ventures and an opportunity to establish a new position within the market. Resources become more affordable, human resources are more abundant, and customers become more willing to reconsider suppliers and consider alternative products. This is a great time to go green and position a business as an environmental leader.

GREEN TEAMS

DO IT WITH A GREEN TEAM

Having a sustainability officer is now the norm: 86% of large companies have at least one person focused full time on sustainability. Even so, many employees feel that their employers could do even more to promote environmentally-friendly practices. Growing numbers of businesses are now developing “green teams” to capture the collective passion and expertise of a group of employees.

With upper management support, a diverse green team can build sustainability initiatives at the workplace based on individual, group and company capabilities and strengths. Green team initiatives can start with a small group of people focusing on cost-effective ways to improve internal operations, to bigger, more formalized programs like the one eBay’s 1000+ member team is running!

Earth Share runs green team workshops throughout the country. These meetings bring together sustainability and environmental leaders to share ideas, educate each other and provide a private forum to discuss the environmental issues affecting today’s modern workplace.

ENVIRONMENTAL CONCERNSOF NON-GREEN BRANDS TO THE PLANET

Global warming is affecting many parts of the world. Due to global warming, the glaciers are melting which are causing the rise in the sea level. When the level of the sea rises, it causes danger to the people living in the low lying areas. So, this causes a big problem for the people, plants and animals living on the earth.

When the level of the sea rises, it covers the plants and causes some of them to die. When they die, animals lose their main source of food. We, human beings lose our two sources of food, plants and animals. It may also force people to lose their homes. In other words, the whole chain will get affected if nothing is done on time to stop global warming from spreading its wings.

Here below are few of the main causes that are contributing their best towards global warming.

1. Pollution: Pollution whether it is vehicular, electrical or industrial is the main contributor to the global warming. Everyday billions of vehicles release various gases into the atmosphere. This causes earth to warm up and increase its average temperature. Electricity causes pollution in many ways while, Fossil fuels are burnt for example Coal is burnt to produce electricity and it is a major fuel that is burnt in power plants. Coal produces around 1.7 times as much carbon dioxide per unit of energy when flamed as does natural gas and 1.25 times as much as oil. Over 75% of the electricity worldwide is produced by burning fossil fuels. Many gases are sent into the air when fossil fuels are burnt of which the main gas is the carbon dioxide gas.

Industries on the other hand release various gases into the water and air. Carbon dioxide, methane, nitrous oxides are the major greenhouse gases. Different gases have different heat trapping capabilities. Some of them trap more heat than carbon dioxide. Methane is much more effective then carbon dioxide in entrapping heat in the atmosphere. By driving cars, using electricity from coal fired plants and heating up our homes from natural gases, we release carbon dioxide and other heat trapping gases in the atmosphere.

2. Deforestation: Deforestation is the cutting down of trees and plants to make way for any development activity. Carbon dioxide is the air that our body lets out when we breathe. Trees take in this carbon dioxide and release oxygen that we breathe in. With the cutting down of more and more trees is leading to greater concentration of carbon dioxide in the air.

This means that it is very important to protect our trees to stop the greenhouse effect, and also so we can breathe and live. Deforestation is blamed for rise in the greenhouse gases present in the atmosphere by cutting or burning them. New development projects, requirement of land for homes and factories, requirement for wood and also soil erosion are the major factors that are causing deforestation, which in turn leading to global warming.

3. Landfills: When we throw garbage out of our house it goes to landfills. Landfills are those big chunks of garbage that you must have seen on some expressway, when you go out of your city that stink. The garbage is then used by big recycling companies to make some useful products out from that garbage.

Most of the time that garbage is burnt which then release some toxic gases into the atmosphere. This enormous amount of toxic greenhouse gases when go into the atmosphere makes global warming worse.

4. Population: Another cause of global warming is population. Since Carbon dioxide contributes to global warming, the increase in population makes the problem worse because we breathe out carbon dioxide. More people means more demand for food, more carbon dioxide in the atmosphere, more demand for cars, more demand for homes and they all in somehow or other lead to global warming.

More demand for food will lead to more transportation since movement of goods and services is done by transportation sector. More demand for cars means more pollution in the air and more traffic on the roads which means longer waiting time on the traffic lights and will result more burning of fuel. More demand for homes means cutting down of trees to make way for homes, schools and colleges.

HOW CAN THIS BE MITIGATED?

1.         Energy conservation

Energy conservation refers to efforts made to reduce energy consumption. Energy conservation can be achieved through increased efficient energy use, in conjunction with decreased energy consumption and/or reduced consumption from conventional energy sources.

Energy conservation can result in increased financial capital, environmental quality, national security, personal security, and human comfort. Individuals and organizations that are direct consumers of energy choose to conserve energy to reduce energy costs and promote economic security. Industrial and commercial users can increase energy use efficiency to maximize profit.

2.         Energy policy

Energy policy is the manner in which a given entity (often governmental) has decided to address issues of energy development including energy production, distribution and consumption. The attributes of energy policy may include legislation, international treaties, incentives to investment, and guidelines for energy conservation, taxation and other public policy techniques.

3.         Sustainable energy

Sustainable energy is the provision of e