How green marketing has started seeping in deeper than just communication level

Pollution, climate change, global warming, discrimination, and an ongoing pandemic; modern India is dealing with hoards of problems right now, a lot of which can be solved by sustainable living. The past few years have definitely sensitised the population much more about the impact of their consumption habits and lifestyle on the environment and society, making them more receptive towards brands that are doing their bit in safeguarding the world around them.

As per a recent Mintel survey, 44 percent of Indians would like to see more brands implementing sustainability and 47 percent want to see brands promote environmentally friendly products through trial packs and promotions. This has given a major push to the green marketing initiatives by the brands, opening a wide new world of opportunities for the agency businesses. Exchange4media recently interacted with some of the industry leaders to discuss how green marketing is growing in the country and what it means in the larger scheme of things.

More Awareness, More Demand

Though green marketing is a term that was first introduced in the west in the 70s and picked up little pace in India in the early 90s, it did not gather much steam in the country even till a few years ago. Even the government initiative Eco Mark scheme of 1991 did not attract many takers.

As 82.5 Communications Chairman & Chief Creative Officer Sumanto Chattopadhyay shares, “Green marketing’s first green shoots were seen in the 80s and 90s in India—but our country has lagged behind the more developed nations in this respect. Lack of awareness across the board, lack of public will and public pressure, consumers being focussed narrowly on value for money, the absence of a strong regulatory framework and lack of enforcement are some of the reasons why India has been slow to adopt green marketing.” However, over the past few years, consumer awareness backed with technological expertise and growing domain knowledge has pushed the growth of green marketing in India.

DDB For Good Head Shally Mukherjee explains, “I would attribute this (more companies getting serious about green marketing) to three key reasons. Regulations now require businesses to reduce their carbon footprint in a demonstrable, measurable and time-bound fashion which makes it imperative to invest in that direction and talk about it. The second and perhaps the most important reason is that consumers are making brand choices based on the green credentials of the businesses.

According to a study, 97% of Indians say that if they learnt that a product or service they were using damages the environment, they would stop using it. The third is that CEOs and Boards are realising that sustainability is the only real way for the long-term sustainability of the businesses.”

Infectious Advertising Founder & Director Nisha Singhania feels that most brands have now realised that Green Marketing is now not just a nice to do a thing, but a must-do for brands and companies if they want to appeal to the youth of today, hence pushing the efforts in that direction.

Brand-Nomics MD Viren Razdan corroborates, “Various factors, global warming, depleting resources and overall awareness have led to heightened consciousness. With the rise of transparency and activist consumerism has begun to show its impact as companies are being driven to have ‘ green’ as part of their agenda. Either as the most obvious factor that's impacting the earth or as an aspect that is creating an aura around their brand of a responsible caring company. The pressure would keep increasing as awareness and action of consumers will increase.” 

Much Beyond Just Communication

As brands evolve and adopt more sustainable practices, it opens up doors of opportunities for their agency partners too. Right from assisting in designing the new eco-friendly packaging to curating the best communication strategy, to making necessary cultural shifts internally, there is a lot that the agencies are up to. Singhania quips, “Green marketing enables agencies to create good and powerful work with a purpose. You get the opportunity to go beyond the day to day communication and create a long term impact for brands.”

Further, Mukherjee feels that this is a wonderful opportunity for creating distinctive and clutter-breaking work on issues that consumers care about and will reward brands for, in the long as well as short term. “But I think it’s also an opportunity for agencies to become more cognizant and responsible themselves when it comes to sustainability. It can and will be a differentiator in the coming years as the discourse and investment in the space increases in client boardrooms. We already have clients who prefer to work with us and have awarded us projects because of our belief, practices and investments in the space of sustainability as an added differentiator over and above our creative excellence and this consciousness is only set to grow.”

Chattopadhyay adds, “For agencies today, it is important to understand the different aspects of sustainability to be able to meaningfully partner clients. One needs to be aware, for example, that sustainability is not only about the environment. It is also about human rights, gender equality and creating a more equitable society overall. Even when focussing on the eco-conservation aspect of sustainability, one has to understand the different ways in which it can be tackled—be it through creating a circular economy as a tool for waste management, by reducing packaging waste, moving to recyclable materials or using renewable sources of energy.

The move of burger brands from clamshell packaging to wax paper is an example of this. To be responsible professionals today, we all need to be aware of the 17 Sustainable Development Goals set by the UN—which provide a framework for companies, brands and societies to move forward sustainably.”

Time For An Internal Revamp

The industry feels that along with helping the brands reach and communicate their sustainability goals, it’s high time that agencies, too, realign their activities with the sustainability goals.

Mukherjee highlights, “This is a narrative that is slowly gaining momentum with third-party assessments of the carbon footprint of the advertising and media industry. In fact, according to a study, 82% of millennials say that in 5 years’ time they want to be spending money with brands that practice green and sustainable advertising. I think marketers and ad agencies will need to be sensitive and take steps in the direction much sooner because sustainability has to be a belief and a commitment that reflects in everything a brand does. The more honest and committed the brand is, the better trust and credibility it will command. However, there is still work to be done to define what sustainability means and how to measure it when it comes to marketing activities.”

Chattopadhyay agrees, “We all need to take a good hard look at our own ways of doing business and actively find ways to reduce our carbon footprint. This applies to the materials used in the creation and dissemination of communication. It applies to our offices and campuses. And to the transportation we use. Sustainability is a journey. And we have barely begun to walk its path. The truth is we have a long way to go.”

Razdan, however, concludes by saying that the journey towards sustainability has just begun and it will take some time for the whole ecosystem to adapt and work in a similar manner. Albeit, the industry is positive that a lot many changes in dynamics, structures, and actions of both brands and agencies are imperative in the coming years with a unified focus on sustainability.