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Green Marketing: A Tool for Sustainable Development

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VOLUME NO. 4 (2013), ISSUE N O. 06 (J UNE ) ISSN 0976-2183
GREEN MARKETING: A TOOL FOR SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT

HARI LAL BHASKAR

RESEARCH SCHOLAR
DEPARTMENT OF BUSINESS ADMINISTRATION
DDU GORAKHPUR UNIVERSITY
GORAKHPUR

ABSTRACT
Green revolutions, going green, environmental protection, sustainable life style, sustainable development, protecting our earth and many more have become a
natural phenomenon in our everyday life. Green marketing is a tool used by many companies in various industries to follow this trend. This concept has enabled
for the re-marketing and packaging of existing products which already adhere to such guidelines. Additionally, the development of green marketing has opened
the door of opportunity for companies to co brand their products into separate line, lauding the green-friendliness of some while ignoring that of others. This
paper mainly focuses on the concept, need, importance & strategy of green marketing in India. Researcher also examines the present scenario of green marketing
and reasons that organizations are adopting green marketing as a tool for sustainable development. Data has to be collected from multiple sources of evidence
to understand the importance of green and sustainability management, in addition to books, journals, websites, and news papers. The paper analyses whether
the manufacturers are cognizant about green products and eco-labeling, and also the difficulties in implementing green marketing. A guideline is given to the
Indian manufacturers for producing green marketing products.

KEYWORDS
Green marketing, Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR), sustainability, Environmentally Safe, Competitive Advantage, Recyclable, eco-friendly products.

1. INTRODUCTION

T oday’s consumers become more aware about to make their surroundings safer and healthier to live in. So they become more conscious about their
purchasing in respect with all the products that they are use in their day to day life. That is why they prefer that type of products that are eco-friendly
and not harmful for global environment any way. There are many industries who are now become more conscious about to be environmentally safe and
eco friendly with respect to their products and products utility (in case of technically sound products) and the reason for going to be green of the industries are,
by doing this they are helping to make the world more Greener and safer for future and up to some extent they are delivering their CSR (Corporate Social
Responsibility) by producing Green products for welfare of the environment and the for the customers as a whole.
Green marketing is the marketing of products that are presumed to be environmentally safe. Thus green marketing incorporates a broad range of activities,
including product modification, changes to the production process, packaging changes, as well as modifying advertising. Yet defining green marketing is not a
simple task where several meanings intersect and contradict each other; example of this will be the existence of varying social, environmental and retail
definitions attached to this term. Other similar terms used are Environmental Marketing and Ecological Marketing. Green marketing refers to the process of
selling products and/or services based on their environmental benefits. Such a product or service may be environmentally friendly in it or produced and/or
packaged in an environmentally friendly way. The term Green Marketing came into prominence in the late 1980s and early 1990s. The American Marketing
Association (AMA) held the first workshop on "Ecological Marketing" in 1975. Marketing involves: - Manufacturing and providing products to the consumers
which are of good quality and at the same time not harmful to them even in long run.
>Use the resources for development in such a manner which will enable the future generations to avail the resources to meet their needs leading to Sustainable
Development.
>Framing and implementing policies which will not have any detrimental effect on the environment i.e. at present as well in future. Thus "Green Marketing"
refers to holistic marketing concept wherein the production, marketing consumption an disposal of products and services happen in a manner that is less
detrimental to the environment with growing awareness about the implications of global warming, non-biodegradable solid waste, harmful impact of pollutants
etc. Both marketers and consumers are becoming increasingly sensitive to the need for switch in to green products and services.
The present paper deals that today’s consumer behavior on green Marketing and this paper highlights the need, importance of green marketing, some problems
with going green and also states what are the reasons that a marketer should consider for adopting green marketing for making changes in terms of product
packages, modifications and production changes. A guideline is also given to the Indian manufacturers for producing green marketing products.

2. COMPLETE REVIEW OF LITERATURE

The evolution of green marketing has three phases.
1. First phase was termed as “Ecological” green marketing, and during this period all marketing activities were concerned to help environment problems and
provide remedies for environmental problems. 2. Second phase was “Environmental” green marketing and the focus shifted on clean technology that involved
designing of innovative new products, which take care of pollution and waste issues. 3. Third phase was “Sustainable” green marketing. It came in to
prominence in the late 1990s and early 2000.
Green marketing has been an important academic research topic since it came. (Coddinton.1993; Fuller; 1999; Ottman, 1994). Attention was drawn to the
subject in the late 1970‘s when the American Marketing Association organized the first ever workshop on -Ecological marketing in 1975 which resulted in the
first book on the subject entitled -Ecological Marketing by Henion and Kinnear in 1976. Peattie and Crane (2005) claims that despite the early development, it
was only in the late 1980’s that the idea of Green Marketing actually made an appearance because of the consumers growing interest in green products. Green
marketing was given prominence in the late 1980s and 1990s after the proceedings of the first workshop on Ecological marketing held in Austin, Texas (US), in
1975. Several books on green marketing began to be published thereafter. The green marketing has evolved over a period of time. According to Peattie (2001),
the evolution of green marketing has three phases. First phase was termed as “Ecological” green marketing, and during this period all marketing activities were
concerned to help environment problems and provide remedies for environmental problems. Second phase was “Environmental” green marketing and the focus
shifted on clean technology that involved designing of innovative new products, which take care of pollution and waste issues. Third phase was “Sustainable”
green marketing. It came into prominence in the late 1990s and early 2000. During 1990s, the concern for environment increased and resulted in to increasing
challenges for the companies (Johri and Sahasakmontri, 1998). Dutta, B. (2009, January) in his article on Green Marketing titled Sustainable Green Marketing the
New Imperative published in Marketing Mastermind states that Green Marketing involves developing good quality products which can meet consumer needs
and wants by focusing on the quality, performance, pricing and convenience in an environment-friendly way. Barkar is of the view that, Companies need to
believe first that Green Marketing can work and make diligent efforts to make necessary product improvements, which deliver performance, and are marketable
and profitable. Unruh, G. And Ettenson, R. (2010) in their research article titled, Growing Green: Three smart paths to developing sustainable products. Published
in Harvard Business Review, is for executives who believe that developing green products make sense for their organization and need to determine the best path
forward. The authors have introduced and described three broad strategies that companies can use to align their green goals with their capabilities: Accentuate:
Strategy involves playing up existing or latent green attributes in your current portfolio. Acquire: Strategy involves buying someone else‘s green brand.
Architect: Strategy involves architecting green offerings – building them from scratch.

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Green marketing mainly focuses on four issues. These issues are: first, importance of green marketing; second, impact of green marketing on firm’s
competitiveness and performance; third, improving effectiveness of green marketing. In India green Marketing is a relatively new topic introduced by few
multinational companies operating in India like Philips India limited.
A recent research of the Greek market (2009) about the "green marketing", realized by the Athens Laboratory of Research in Marketing in collaboration with the
Centre of Sustainability (CSE), proved among others that the overwhelming majority of the consumers (92.8%) have a positive attitude towards the enterprises
that are sensitive on environmental matters. This attitude represents mainly women of bigger age, married with children, housewives and pensioners. The
96.4% declare that the enterprises are compelled to contribute in the protection of the environment, while the 56% of these avoid products made by enterprises
that do not respect the environment. The same research elected that the more important reasons that enterprises strategically support the protection of the
environment are their image improvement (4.54), differentiation (3.92), publicity (3.84), sales increase (3.63), favorable taxation (3.54) and finally to really
contribute to the protection of environment (3.47). Pittee (1995), and Van Dam & Apeldoorn (1996) define certain characteristics able to constitute
sustainability for enterprises or at least sustainable marketing, such as: a redefinition of the “product”, a willingness to change markets, an emphasis an benefits
from product use, marketing communication that aims to inform rather than just impress, a focus beyond current consumers needs, a willingness to manage
demand and expectation downwards, an emphasis on cost instead of price and taking more responsibility. Grant (2008) points out that “sustainability changes
everything”, while Johri (1998) shows that the future of green marketing strategy passes through the perception that consumers like "green" messages and
Yudelson (2009) claims that the green marketing space is wide enough for large retailers and developers.
In the European Union, a considerable number of organizations support enterprises to develop in a sustainable way by providing modern and practical
methodologies and applying environmental and social criteria. Some of them are: the Centre for Sustainability and Excellence (CSE), Global Reporting Initiative
(GRI), United Nations Global Compact, European Foundation for Quality Management (EFQM), European Business Ethics Network (EBEN), European Committee
(EC) etc (Avlonas, 2008). Pride and Ferell (2008) consider that the objectives of green marketing should be: a) to eliminate waste, which should focus on the
production of products without waste instead of getting rid of waste, b) to re-invent the concept of product in order to become consistent with the
environmental commitment, c) to price the products portraying the real cost, which means high value for the consumer’s money and d) to create profitability via
the creation of operational occasions that derive from the environmental conscience in the market.
A comparative study between British and Rumanian enterprises examined how they promoted their green products in international markets. The results showed
that while the British enterprises had focused their attention on the world fame of their products, in order to promote the green claims to international
consumers, the Rumanian ones had rested in the sales of agents supporting their green claims in the foreigner markets (Gurau and Ranchhod, 2005).
A recent study by Alsmadi (2007) investigating the environmental behavior of Jordanian consumers reveals a high level of environmental conscience.
Unfortunately however this positive tendency and preference in the ‘green’ products does not appear to have any effect on the final decision, obviously because
these consumers have a stronger faith in the traditional products and a small confidence in the green statements. The above obstacles are further strengthened
by the lack of environmental conscience by a lot of enterprises and the existence of a large scale of prices for the same product, many of which included an
impetuous estimate of environmental responsibility. The same phenomenon has been presented in other researches too (Ottman, 2004; Donaldson, 2005;
Cleveland et al, 2005). Naturally, all consumers are not always fervent and factual supporters of the protection of environment and certainly are not particularly
influenced by the ‘green’ marketing. However, they constitute a target group which can prove to be particularly profitable for the enterprises which will be
activated in the sectors of production and disposal of friendly to the environment products (Diamantopoulos et al., 2003; Jain and Kaur, 2006). The creation of
more sustainable marketing strategies is expected to be a difficult process, since the majority of consumers still ignore what sustainability really means. They
also seem rather dubious about the capability of enterprises to contribute to the protection of the environment. Becoming winners of this battle will be the key
challenge for marketers of the new millennium (Davis, 1993; Peattie, 1999; Jain and Kaur, 2003; Murphy, 2005). Elkington (1994: 93) defines green consumer as
one who avoids products that are likely to endanger the health of the consumer or others; cause significant damage to the environment during manufacture,
use or disposal; consume ad is proportionate amount of energy; cause unnecessary waste; use materials derived from threatened species or environments;
involve unnecessary use of, or cruelty to animals; adversely affect other countries. Dr. Vemuri. Lakshmi Narayana, Mr. S. Dinesh Babu in their article, ‘Green
Marketing – New Hopes and Challenges’ (2010) has been studied the meaning, history and the nature of ‘Green Marketing’. They are of opinion that the ‘Green
Marketing’ refers holistic marketing concept wherein, the production, marketing, consumption of disposable products that harms less on environment avoids
wastage. Anurag, Singh, Ranjit Singh, (November 2010) in their article ‘Green marketing Developments in the Indian Automobile Sector’ has reviewed the recent
trend of green marketing in the automobile sector. They have opined that the ‘Green Marketing’ is encompasses activities designed so as to generate and
facilitate the human needs. The article concludes with a call to other sectors as well as to purse eco friendly initiatives to foster long term growth in the
economy.

3. OBJECTIVE OF THE STUDY

One of the biggest problems with the green marketing area is that there has been little attempt to academically examine environmental or green marketing.
Therefore, in this paper, researcher tries to cover the major segments under their following objectives.
• To discuss the need & importance for Green marketing in India
• To understand the strategy needed for successful Green marketing
• To know which company implemented green marketing in India.
• To study the present scenario and potential of Green marketing in India.
• To examine some of the reason & problem that organizations are adopting a green marketing philosophy.
• To know why the manufacturers and marketers launch eco-friendly products.

4. RESEARCH METHODOLOGY
This study is based on secondary sources of information from various research publications, published newspapers, journals-online & printed, magazines, web
sites, books. The information is collected from libraries and websites. The literature is cross checked and validated to gives the latest information.

5. GREEN MARKETING AND SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT

American Marketing Association (AMA) defines green marketing as the marketing of products that are presumed to be environmentally safe; it incorporates
several activities such as product modification, changes to production processes, and packaging, advertising strategies and also increases awareness on
compliance marketing amongst industries. Business Dictionary defines green marketing as promotional activities aimed at taking advantage of changing
consumer attitude towards a brand. These changes are increasingly being influenced by a firm’s policies and practices that affect the quality of the environment
and reflect the level of its concern for the community. It can also be seen as the promotion of environmentally safe or beneficial products.
According to the World Commission on Environmental Development (1978), Sustainable Development is “meeting the needs of the present without
compromising the ability of the future generations to meet their own needs”. The common theme throughout this strategy of sustainable development is the
need to integrate economic and ecological considerations in decision making by making policies that conserve the quality of agricultural development and
environmental protection. This is what the end product of green marketing is, environmental protection for the present and the future generation. The
development of energy- efficient operations, better pollution controls, recyclable and biodegradable packaging, ecologically safe products are all part of green
marketing which also leads to sustainable development. Before first international meet on environment, Stockholm, 1972, India had provided for significance of
environmental protection and resources conservation in its fourth plan 1969-1974. Within 5 years of the conference, India amended its constitution to include
“environment protection” as a constitutional obligation. National committee on environment planning and coordination was setup after Stockholm conference.
Environmental protection act, 1986. The water act, 1974. The air act, 1981. Forest act, 1980 etc was also setup.
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5.1. NEED OF GREEN MARKETING
Issues like Global warming and depletion of ozone umbrella are the main for the healthy survival. Every person rich or poor would be interested in quality life
with full of health and vigor and so would the corporate class. Financial gain and economic profit is the main aim of any corporate business. But harm to
environment cost by sustain business across the globe is realized now though off late. This sense is building corporate citizenship in the business class. So green
marketing by the business class is still in the selfish anthological perspective of long term sustainable business and to please the consumer and obtain the license
by the governing body. Industries in Asian countries are catching the need of green marketing from the developed countries but still there is a wide gap between
their understanding and implementation.
5.2. IMPORTANCE OF GREEN MARKETING IN INDIA
Green marketing offers business bottom line incentives and top line growth possibilities. While modification of business or production processes may involve
start-up costs, it will save money in the long term. For example the cost of installing solar energy is an investment in future energy cost savings. Companies that
develop new and improved products and services with environmental impacts in mind give themselves access to new markets, substantially increase profits and
enjoy competitive advantages over those marketing non-environmentally responsible alternatives.
5.3. REASONS, WHY FIRMS EMPHASIZING ON GREEN MARKETING
When looking through the literature, there are several suggested reasons for firms increased use of Green Marketing. Five possible reasons cited are: 1.
Organizations perceive environmental marketing to be an opportunity that can be used to achieve its objectives 2. Organizations believe they have a moral
obligation to be more socially responsible 3. Governmental bodies are forcing firms to become more responsible 4. Competitors' environmental activities
pressure firms to change their environmental marketing activities 5. Cost factors associated with waste disposal, or reductions in material usage forces firms to
modify their behavior.
5.4. PROBLEMS WITH GREEN MARKETING
1. the firms using green marketing must ensure that their activities are not misleading to consumers or industry, and do not breach any of the regulations or
laws dealing with environmental marketing. 2. It is found that only 5% of the marketing messages from ―Green campaigns are enSrely true and there is a lack of
standardization to authenticate these claims. There is no standardization to authenticate these claims. 3. Indian literate and urban consumer is getting more
aware about the merits of Green products. But it is still a new concept for the masses. The consumer needs to be educated and made aware of the
environmental threats. 4. The investors and corporate companies need to view the environment as a major long-term investment opportunity; the marketers
need to look at the long-term benefits from this new green movement. It will require a lot of patience and no immediate results. The corporate should not
expect huge benefit for implementing Green Marketing immediately. 5. Green marketing is focusing on customer benefits i.e. the primary reason why
consumers buy certain products in the first place. If the green products are priced very high then again it will lose its market acceptability. (Marketing Myopia)
5.5. CURRENT SCENARIO-INDIA
Many analysts are predicting that 2011 will be a make-or-break-it year for many green businesses as increasing competition in the green sector drives some
businesses to new heights of innovation and service while other businesses lag behind. Trends may come and go, and of course, it is impossible for any green
business to stay on top of all of them, or is it worthwhile to try. However, keeping track of green business trends is a great way to ensure that your business stays
fresh, flexible, and creative in the face of new challenges and opportunities, the surest way to green business success in 2011 and beyond.
Eco-mark Scheme introduced by Government of India in 1981 was a major step towards the promotion of green marketing in the country. Eco-labels provide
information regarding the environmental performance of products. The basic objective of eco-labeling is to provide authentication to genuine claims regarding
the environmental impact of products and processes by manufacturers. The Eco-mark Scheme of India has the following stated objectives.
1. To provide incentives to manufacturers and importers to reduce adverse environmental impact of products. 2. To assist consumers to become
environmentally responsible in their daily lives by providing them information to take account of environmental factors in their daily lives. 3. To encourage
citizens to purchase products which have less environmental impact. 4. To reward genuine initiatives by companies to reduce adverse environmental impact of
products. 5. Ultimately to improve the quality of the environment and to encourage the sustainable management of resources.
CONSUMERS - As per research, India is the only country to choose deforestation and air pollution as the most important green issue. India is the only country in
which more consumers say it should be developing countries that should focus on green innovation versus developed countries. The results of the recently
released 2011 edition of the Global Image Power green Brands Survey show that concern about the environment by the consumers, is translating into a
willingness to pay for a premium for green products. 64% of Indian consumers indicate that they plan to spend more on green products next year. Furthermore
consistent with emerging countries, Indians are willing to pay a green premium price, with 48% of Indians willing to spend 10% more on a product simply
because it is green. Consumers in India are trusting of green advertising compared to other countries, with 86% of Indian consumers reporting that advertising
about green products help them in making choices. In India 28% of consumers intend to purchase auto in the next year as compared to purchase of 16% in last
year.
PRODUCERS – AMUL has been rated as the Top Indian Green Brand by Global Green Brands survey. The International Dairy federation has also awarded AMUL
Green movement as the best Environment IniSaSve in the ―Sustainability Category in 2010.It also has been awarded SrishS good green Governance award for
four consecutive years since 2011. The 2011, there are some top Green Brands in India are: 1. AMUL, 2. Suzlon Energy, 3. ITC Limited, 4 Tata Metaliks Limited
(TML), 5. Tamil Nadu Newsprint and Papers Limited (TNPL), 6. Wipro Technologies, 7. HCL Technologies, 8. Oil and Natural Gas Company (ONGC), 9. IndusInd
Bank, 10. IDEA Cellular, 11. Hero Honda Motors. he findings emphasize that today situation being both green and consumer friendly is the only mantra for long
term success.
GOVERNMENT- The Indian government has also done its mite in promoting green marketing and eco friendliness by way of banning plastic bags from daily use,
helping its automotive industry to develop greener vehicles by supporting hybrid and electric vehicles (EVs), by investing in greener cars the Government of India
is capitalizing on an underutilized segment and building an infrastructure that will generate economic growth and reduce emissions. The government took the
initiative of promoting green buildings construction, usage of alternate sources of energy by companies. Governmental Bodies are forcing Firms to Become More
Responsible. In most cases the government forces the firm to adopt policy which protects the interests of the consumers by reducing production of harmful
goods or by products, Modify consumer and industry's use and /or consumption of harmful goods; or, Ensure that all types of consumers have the ability to
evaluate the environmental composition of goods.
5.6. GREEN MARKETING PRODUCTS
The customers always prefer environmental household products which must benefit them such as, safe to use around children, no toxic ingredients, no chemical
residues, and no strong fumes commodities. At present most of the daily newspapers are in online and seminars, conferences, and publications as well as on-
going seminars on how to become a green company or community. School kids have environmentally related projects at schools or eco-friendly programs that
they are implementing at home or in their communities. Most of the companies are practicing green marketing in their products to fulfill the satisfaction level of
the customers. Some of them are as follows:
1- Coca-Cola Company of the USA pumped syrup directly from tank instead of plastic which saved 68 million pound/year. 2-In 1994, Philips launched the
EarthLight, a super energy-efficient compact fluorescent light (CFL) bulb designed to be an environmentally preferable substitute for the traditional energy-
intensive incandescent bulb (Ottman et al. 2006). 3-In India, Badarpur Thermal Power station of NTPC in Delhi is devising ways to utilize coal-ash that has been a
major source of air and water pollution. 4- Barauni refinery of IOC is taken steps for restricting air and water pollutants.
It is a common knowledge that email marketing has a minimal impact on Mother Nature, since no trees are harmed in the making and sending of an email and it
save both time and costs. We can send white papers, guides, and educational materials in PDF format for online viewing or downloading (instead of sending
clients and customers a hard copy paper version). Green marketing takes advantage of customers’ willingness to purchase, and sometimes pay a premium for,
products that provide private benefits as well as public environmental benefits.

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5.7. STRATEGIES FOR SUCCESSFUL GREEN MARKETING
The manufacturer/marketer should make effective strategies for successful green marketing. Here, some good strategies are given by the researcher on the
basis of collected data and experience.1. They should properly educate their Customers. 2. They should build green Products 3. It’s no Surprise. 4. Be Honest. 5.
Bring Products to the People. 6. Water Conservation. 7. Pollution Prevention. 8. Solid Waste Reduction and Recycling.
5.8. GUIDELINE FOR INDIAN MANUFACTURER FOR PRODUCING GREEN PRODUCTS
There some golden guidelines are given to the Indian manufacturer for producing green marketing products. 1. Know your customers 2. Educating your
customers 3. Being Genuine & transparent 4. Reassure the buyer 5. Consider you’re pricing 6. Giving your consumers an opportunity to participate 7. Thus
leading brands should recognize that consumer’s expectations have changed.
It is not enough for a manufacturer or company to green its products; consumers expect the products that they purchase pocket friendly and also to help reduce
the environmental impact in their own lives too.

6. DISCUSSION
There is now a real sense that environmental protection is highly necessary. Everyone believes a green life is a better and healthier life for present and future
generation. Most consumers’ spending pattern shows that they have a desire for brands that ‘go green’. Consumers not only want to buy their products but are
willing to pay more for it. Based on research, 70 percent of some 2000 people in US, UK, Germany, the Netherlands, Australia and Japan are willing to pay a
premium for energy alternatives such as, wind and solar power. Consumers are motivated to buy from companies that are eco-friendly in the production. When
a company display’s the green logo on their product, it shows that their product or services stands out from the crowd and this gives them a competitive edge.
Consequently, most customer buying decisions are influenced by green product label like the US energy star logo, Green label in Thailand, Korea Eco label and
much more.

7. CONCLUSION
As the demand for green products undoubtedly exists, Green Marketing provides an opportunity to the companies to increase their market-share by introducing
eco-friendly products. Stricter environmental regulations across the world, growing consumer preference for eco-friendly companies, and the inherent cost
advantages in lowering toxic waste, are encouraging industries big and small to clean up. Researcher found that, consumers are not overly committed to
improving their environment and may be looking to lay too much responsibility on industry and government. Though it‘s the responsibility of the firm to produce
products, which are having minimum impact on the environment, but ultimately it‘s the consumer who is having responsibility to use eco-friendly products.
Consumers are not too much concerned about the environment but as they have become more sophisticated, they require clear information about how
choosing one product over another will benefit the environment. Consumer education results in their empowerment. Empowered consumers choose
environmentally preferable products when all other factors are equal.
Ultimately green marketing requires that consumers Think Green, Think clean, Think Eco-friendly i.e. they want a cleaner environment and are willing to "pay"
for it, possibly through higher priced goods, modified individual lifestyles, or even governmental intervention. Until this occurs it will be difficult for firms alone
to lead the green marketing revolution.

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26. http://www.scribd.com/doc/27747562/green-marketing
27. http://www.smartplanet.com/people/blog/pure-genius/4-keys-to-building-a-green-strategy-foryour-com
28. http://www.unctad.org/trade_env/docs/epps_southafrica.pdf
29. www.cohnwolfe.com/en/ideas-insight/white-papers/green-brands-survey-2011
30. www.epa.qld.gov.au/sustainable_industries
31. www.greenmarketing.net/stratergic.html
32. www.greenpeace.org/international

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