This green stuff really matters

Here at Marketing Ability we are getting more and involved in the role that marketing can play in companies’ efforts to improve their environmental credentials, and to successfully communicate about what they are doing. Over the next few weeks we will do some further research and consultation as we develop new training programmes.

I’ve been reading a lot about environmental issues lately, naturally with a focus on marketing aspects. One thing that is becoming clear is the tremendous bottom-up pressure that consumers are putting on organisations to improve environmental performance. If any company still thinks that customers don’t care about this ‘green stuff’ look at the stats. Like the fact that UK turnover in ethical food in 1999 was just over £1billion: in 2005 it was over £5billion and rising. Or that well over 90% of people in the UK recycle in one way or another.

Green is already mainstream. Sure, in some sectors it’s more of an issue among consumers than in others, but it’s not something that any serious company can ignore.

Marketing and the environment is a complex subject. That’s why the Chartered Institute of Marketing’s Peterborough Group is running a seminar on the subject next week. (Details are here.) It’s also why that seminar alone will probably just scratch the surface of the green marketing agenda. But despite the complexities (that we will no doubt look at in future blog posts), this green stuff is here to stay.

The pressing need to take action to save this beautiful, fragile planet should be enough to make us all change the way our companies do things. But if that wasn’t enough, the need to respond to customer demands for new behaviours from us should make every organisation agree and work towards meaningful environmental targets.