Much has been said about the business wonders of conventional marketing but only a handful discourses about its demise. Inevitably, conventional marketing has succumbed to the emergence of a new paradigm—sustainable marketing.
Conventional marketing is no longer a foreign concept to us. Its unmistakable presence manifests everywhere from our material possessions, to our daily activities, and to our consumer behavior. However, to establish a baseline, conventional marketing is simply “meeting consumer needs profitably” according to renowned marketing expert Philip Kotler. It plays a crucial role in sustainable growth as integral business activities revolve around it such as market research, product design, product development, distribution, promotions, advertisements and the like. But traditionally, as profits are prioritized, environmental and societal impacts are often neglected in pursuit of bottom-line growth posing grave threats to life as we know it.
Confronting a prevalent crisis
There exists an apparent crisis of unsustainable growth plaguing our society, our environment, and our economy. As Martin and Schouten remarkably articulated, we live in a funnel reality with two major opposing forces—an increasing demand for natural resources and a continuous decline of those resources.
Global population has increased exponentially since the advent of the industrial revolution and at this rate, is expected to be around 9.7 billion by 2050. This projected population increase and increasing global consumption will further drive the demand for natural resources to astounding rates. Natural and human systems are no longer in sync causing more environmental imbalance and it will only be a matter of time before we arrive at the brink of human collapse. This crisis ushers in the fall of conventional marketing and paves a way for a new transformative paradigm: sustainable marketing—an effort to harmonize profits, people, and planet.
Parsing the progression of marketing
Known to be product-centric and profit-centric, conventional marketing is one of the many by-products of the industrial revolution. Way back when, businesses assumed that abundant natural resources were virtually unlimited and that nature was capable of absorbing colossal human wastes. These bold and faulty assumptions led to overexploitation and irreversible damages on a grander scale.
But with the prominence of environmental issues in the late 20th century, such as plastic pollution from disposable packaging, green marketing emerged as an immediate response. Environment-friendly products and services were given the spotlight highlighting the minimal ecological footprint of every purchase. And while social marketing encompasses social issues beyond environmental concerns, only sustainable marketing captures all these dimensions and recognizes the interconnectedness of environmental, economic, and social factors. It is committed to the pursuit of value maximization while minimizing environmental and societal costs.
The emergence of a new holistic paradigm
By definition, sustainable marketing is the process of creating, communicating, and delivering value to customers where natural and human capital are preserved or enhanced throughout. It has two key objectives: inward integration and outward assimilation.
Sustainable marketing aims to conduct internal processes in a sustainable manner considering the environmental and societal impacts of marketing decisions. Taking it a step further, truly sustainable businesses should integrate the principles of sustainability not only in marketing but in other business functions as well, from supply chain operations to finance to HR.
Outward assimilation, on the other hand, pertains to marketing sustainability as a set of practices and eventually, as a cultural value weaved within society. Whether it’s through sustainable products or awareness campaigns, this outward objective strives to make sustainability the norm.
Transitioning to sustainable marketing
Scholars have conducted studies and designed several marketing strategies aligned to the tenets of sustainability. Take the concept of product stewardship as an example, which urges businesses to be responsible for a product’s end-to-end life cycle. Instead of being solely interested in products’ points of sale and profits, design, production, distribution, promotion, consumption, and disposal are given careful consideration.
Specifically for production, dematerialization, frugal innovation, and energy efficiency are often pursued by businesses who have begun incorporating sustainability at the heart of their operations. Another sustainable marketing strategy is service dominant logic. Focusing on the core benefit or added value for the consumer, it eliminates unnecessary components like excessive packaging or non-ergonomic product design.
Staying competitive through sustainability
While sustainability has seemed to be a buzzword for years now, it proves to be an effective strategy to gain competitive advantage and stay in the lead. Patagonia, one of the top players in the outdoor apparel industry, has instilled sustainability in their corporate identity since its inception half a century ago. The change started internally shifting from standard industrial-grade cotton to 100% organic cotton and using recycled polyester for their clothing apparel. For their Black Friday promotion, they launched a provocative campaign called “Don’t Buy This Jacket” advocating for responsible consumerism urging customers to think before they buy.
Patagonia manufactures their products with the end in mind as part of their extended producer responsibility strategies. They crafted a take back program called Worn Wear as an avenue for resale or preloved Patagonia items. Even completely worn out products do not simply go to waste as they are broken down and reused as recycled raw materials. For minimally damaged clothes, they issued a free Do-It-Yourself repair guide to mend outdoor clothing including durable preventive maintenance.
Another brand driving sustainability is The Body Shop, a UK-based beauty and cosmetics company. They carved their position in the market through providing natural and cruelty-free products which deeply resonate with their loyal customers. The Body Shop pursues omnichannel strategies that exhibit the advocacies they stand for like fighting against animal testing, fighting against domestic violence, and sustainable consumer behavior. Ethical sourcing has been a priority for the company since 1987 with their Community Fair Trade program that ensures their suppliers strictly meet ethical and quality standards. In exchange, they provide market access and financial assistance to their suppliers’ environmental projects that benefit local communities in their vicinity.
As Patagonia and The Body Shop champion sustainability from within, they encourage their stakeholders, from suppliers to end-users, to build sustainable habits as well. They have established physical measures to usher that change and empower both individuals and communities to be eco-socio-conscious.
Forging a path towards a low impact future
Reviewing, rethinking, and redesigning business operations to embed sustainable practices present several potential challenges such as customer disapproval, costly overhauls, stakeholder resistance, and public criticisms. Despite that, sustainable business pursuits will prove to be a worthy investment moving forward as put forth by leading sustainable brands in the market. And this is not only for a company’s bottom-line growth but for all stakeholders, most especially, society at large.
Brief bio: Ynna Abigail Olvida graduated with a Bachelor of Science in Business Administration from the University of the Philippines Diliman. She is currently pursuing an ASEAN Master’s degree in Sustainability Management at Gadjah Mada University in collaboration with the University of Agder. You may reach out to her via Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ynna-abigail-olvida/