The Green Revolution in Marketing

Abstract: Environmental issues influence all human activities, few disciplines have integrated green issues into their literature. As society becomes more concerned with the natural environment, businesses have begun to modify their behavior to address society's "new" concerns. Some businesses are quick to accept concepts like environmental management systems and waste minimization, and have integrated environmental issues into all organizational activities. Business 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. World-wide evidence indicates that people are becoming concerned about the environment and are changing their behaviour accordingly. There is a growing market for sustainable and socially responsible products and services. When all else is equal – quality, price, performance and availability – environmental benefit will most likely tip the balance in favour of a product. This paper is written with a view to make an attempt to introduce the terms and concepts of green marketing and briefly discuss why going green is important as well as examine some of the reasons that organizations are adopting a green marketing philosophy and have a focus on some of the problems with green marketing. Key words: Green Marketing, Ecological Marketing, Life Cycle Analysis, Product line Analysis