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Top1. Introduction
Companies have responsibilities towards their customers. The companies identify customer needs, wants, and preferences. They respond and deliver those offerings which satisfy customer requirements, create customer value, and capture value in return (Deshpande, Chouksey, & Babu, 2019). Apart from the responsibilities towards customers, companies also have responsibilities towards the society at large. Companies should try to ensure that the interests of the society are preserved. The business activities of companies should not cause harm to their customers and to the society at large (Boronat-Navarro & Pérez-Aranda, 2019). Companies should encourage those business activities which are not harmful to the environment, which are sustainable in the long run, and which take care of the requirements of the future generations (Rajnović, Cico, & Eremić–Đorđić, 2019). At the same time, companies should also generate revenues and profits to sustain in the competition. Consequently, it becomes difficult for companies to follow sustainable business practices (Hang, 2022). This is also true for the various marketing strategies and initiatives adopted by companies. Critics argue that companies employ marketing practices which are questionable and which serve their selfish motives rather than satisfying the interests of customers and of the society (Pantelic, Sakal, & Zehetner, 2016). Sometimes, the marketing actions of some companies satisfy the current needs of some customers and have good intentions. However, such marketing actions may not be beneficial for and may cause immediate or future harm to other customers or to the society at large. The actions taken by companies should be evaluated to ensure that the actions are sustainable in the longer run (Modica, Altinay, Farmaki, Gursoy, & Zenga, 2020). Companies and businesses require adopting marketing practices which are sustainable. Sustainable marketing refers to socially and environmentally responsible marketing that meets the present needs of consumers and businesses while also preserving or enhancing the ability of future generations to meet their needs (Kortam & Mahrous, 2020).
Both businesses and customers should understand the importance of sustainable practices and their promotion and should adopt responsible actions. Many individuals view businesses as the cause of economic and social evils. They try to ensure that businesses are following the basic principles which serve the dual interests of businesses and of the society. Various movements have taken place at the grassroots levels to ensure that businesses are in line. Two major movements include consumerism and environmentalism (Carrigan, 2017). Both consumers and the society at large have expectations from businesses. Various aspects of consumerism and environmentalism are discussed in the study. Both consumers and businesses have responsibilities in sustaining the environment. The study discusses about the social responsibilities of companies and the different strategies and initiatives taken by businesses to sustain the environment.
The responsibilities of both consumers and companies towards sustaining the environment cannot be overemphasized. Both consumers and companies should realize the importance of having a sustainable environment. They should also realize their responsibilities towards maintaining a sustainable environment. Although many consumers and companies understand their responsibilities towards sustaining the environment, it is imperative that they work together in protecting the environment and in ensuring the sustenance of the environment for future generations. Also, it becomes difficult for companies to create a trade-off between generating profits and sustaining the environment. It is important that companies focus on environmental sustainability apart from fulfilling their selfish motive of generating revenues and profits for themselves. They should adopt sustainable marketing practices and should promote such practices. Studies require to be conducted by addressing this important and relevant topic. The study focuses on addressing this research gap.
The objective of the study is to understand and analyze the various aspects of sustainable marketing and its promotion. Various aspects of consumerism and environmentalism are discussed.
The methodology adopted is a conceptual analysis of the literature on promotion of sustainable marketing by companies. Primary data is not collected for the analysis and empirical analysis is not performed.