The goal of green marketing is to position different brands of products or services in such a way that potential consumers, especially those who are environmentally cognisant, view their “greenness” as a benefit. This greenness involves what the product is made from, how it is made, packaged, consumed and finally disposed.
A local example is found in the Kenyan telecommunications company Safaricom, which in August 2009, introduced Africa’s first fully solar powered mobile phones, manufactured by China’s ZTE Corporation. Kenyans flocked to buy the new phone, which removed the need to regularly access a source of electricity to charge their phones.
Branded ‘Simu ya Solar’ (solar-powered phone) and manufactured under the partnership with ZTE, the handset is made from recycled materials and has an in-built solar panel that charges the phone using the sun’s rays. Speaking during the launch of the phone, Safaricom Chief Executive Officer Michael Joseph said the company is keen on embracing green business processes and products.
Indeed, solar power is the way to go as it is cheap, green and renewable. This solar-charged phone will come in handy particularly in the rural areas without grid electricity.
YU, another mobile phone operator has taken strategic steps to eliminate use of paper based airtime recharge vouchers which contribute to environmental degradation. The top up dubbed ‘Eneza Electronic Top Up – the environmentally friendly electronic top up service’ is done straight to your phone account no need for scratch cards hence conserving the environment due to the reduced use of paper.
Through this initiatives, both Safaricom and YU has embraced green practices to satisfy customers, promote positive community relations and comply with environmental regulations.
However, just like maintaining a garden, green marketing requires care, discipline and enlightenment from organizations using it as a strategy. This call for an enterprise to be genuine and ensure that business policies should be consistent with whatever you’re doing to protect the environment.
Green marketing however is not without challenges, the main one being demand is not well established especially in developing countries thus companies have to put in great awareness efforts. It also requires a lot of recyclable and renewable materials which are expensive and not easy to find. What is more, huge investments are needed to explore the right technologies that will enhance this new idea.
There is also the danger of ‘green washing’, where a service or a product is presented as a green product when it’s not. This only serves to complicate information being conveyed to potential consumers which in turn slows their decision making processes, in addition to increasing prices of products the moment they are termed ‘green’.
Nonetheless there is hope that these barriers will be overcome as competitively priced alternatives emerge, consumers become more educated and the viral influence from today’s social media continues to gain momentum.
It’s time for firms to ‘grow’ their green products and services as environmentalism equals opportunity.