Abstract
The search for integration of environmental concerns and social responsibility in companies has pursued several different stages and processes. To better understand them we need to first understand what is considered sustainable business development and how marketing has reacted and evolved in order to achieve this goal of sustainability. Green Marketing consists of marketing activities defined to create and facilitate transactions of goods and/or services with the goal of satisfying the needs and desires of consumers expressing their concerns in terms of environmental sustainability.
TopBackground
Green marketing become a discussion in the decade of 1960 due to the imbalance between natural resources and the exponential growth of the population. During the 1970 years, environmental concerns were no longer just about this the gap but also about the abuse of resource consumption by companies, with their excesses of production and lack of respect for preservation of the environment. Here, the western countries of the northern hemisphere were the most targeted countries of the debate (Portilho, 2003). In the decade of 1980, consumption options were the reflection of an individualism that was responding to a proliferation of products that emerged to meet the needs of a fragmented market. From the decade of 1990, considered the most fertile in terms of scientific production on the green consumer (Hartmann & Ibanez, 2006), the perception of the environmental impact widened to the high standards of consumption of companies and the centre of this problem shifted to the individual sphere of each consumer. People began to be aware of the consequences of their acts of consumption, not only in terms of depletion of natural resources because of the excessive consumption and of the pollution that these acts, and all their daily activity caused in the preservation of nature and, therefore, in those resources. In the 90’s, a social consciousness arises in consequence of the need to deal with global problems (Afonso, 2010). The big difference between the consumers of the years 70 and 90 is that the first were concentrated on a radical perspective and a restriction of consumption, while the seconds were favourable to technological solutions that enabled them to maintain their lifestyles. The birth of the new century seems to have reinforced this posture, resulting in a passage from non-development to sustainable development.
Key Terms in this Chapter
New Environmental Paradigm: The view that humans represent only one among many species on the Planet Earth, that human activities are determined by the environment as well as by social and cultural factors, and that humans are strongly dependent upon the environment and its resources.
Green Marketing: Consists of all activities designed to generate and facilitate any exchanges designed to meet human needs and desires, such that satisfaction of needs and desires occur with the least detriment of the impact of Natural environment.
Social Marketing: Is the project, the implementation and control of programs designed to influence the acceptability of social ideas, involving planning considerations, pricing, communication and product distribution and market research. It’s an informed marketing principle that advocates that a company should make its marketing decisions considering the needs of consumers, the needs of the company itself, the interests of consumers in the long term and the interests of society in the long run.
Eco-Centric: Perspective that regards all living organisms and their natural environment as central or most important elements, regardless the importance of humankind.
Anthropocentric: Perspective regarding humankind as the central or most important element of existence.
Dominant Social Paradigm: The view that humans are superior to other all other species considering that Planet Earth provides unlimited resources for humans, and that progress is an inherent part of human history.