742 The Marketing Book
management tools and techniques without
embracing the underlying philosophy, as their
Japanese competitors have done. Evidence sug-
gests that the most successful corporate social
and environmental improvement programmes
are those which reflect both a belief in the
business benefits of such programmes and the
underlying values of the company (Weaver et
al., 1999).
An example of a company whose corporate
philosophy has embraced the pursuit of sustain-
ability is household products manufacturer SC
Johnson, famous for brands such as Pledge and
Mr. Muscle, and acknowledged as a leader in
terms of eco-performance. The following is an
excerpt from their statement of values:
SC Johnson is dedicated to sustaining and
protecting the environment. Our vision is to be
a world leader in delivering innovative solu-
tions to meet human needs through sustain-
ability principles. Specific, measurable goals to
reduce pollution and waste in our products and
processes have been part of a decade of con-
tinuous progress toward sustainability...
Through the SC Johnson Fund, Inc. in the US,
we donate, on average, 5 per cent of pre-tax
profits every year to increase local and global
well-being. Our contributions are targeted to
advancing the three legs of sustainability: eco-
nomic vitality, social progress, and a healthy
environment.Going green – the management
challenge
Marketers’ interest in eco-performance may
reflect external drivers of legislation, customer
demand and public opinion, or internal drivers
relating to top management commitment, cor-
porate strategy or the pursuit of competitive
advantage (Bannerjee, 1999). Whatever the
motivation, making a commitment to improve
or compete on eco-performance can be a major
challenge. Even among those companies well
known for good eco-performance, greening
programmes have often been prone to hitting
what Robert Shelton of Arthur D. Little
describes as a ‘green wall’. Here the manage-
ment responsible for environmental improve-
ment, and their strategies, come into conflict
with entrenched corporate power balances and
values once the ‘low-hanging fruit’ have been
picked (Shelton, 1994). It is clear that, for
managers seeking to promote corporate social
and environmental improvement, there is a
significant internal marketing task to address.Taking a leadership role
Marketing has an important leadership role to
play within firms in relation to the environment.
Coddington (1993) recommends that firms
engaged in a greening process should set up an
environmental task force in which marketers
play a leading role. He identifies two sets of
strengths that marketers can contribute to the
greening process, the marketing perspective
and the marketing skill-set. The greening chal-
lenge requires creativity, the ability to work
effectively across internal organizational bound-
aries and excellent communication skills. Cod-
dington identifies marketing managers as being
often ‘superbly qualified’ for the task because: Marketers are able to identify and analyse the
marketing implications of corporate
environmental exposures and initiatives.
Marketers can help to identify new business
product and service opportunities that arise
out of those same environmental exposures
and initiatives (for example, using hazardous
waste clean-up obligations as a springboard for
entry into the hazardous waste remediation
business).
Marketers can work to ensure that, when
corporate environmental policies are
developed, the marketing implications are given
due consideration.
As a matter of course, marketers must
co-ordinate their activities across multiple
departments (R&D, manufacturing, packaging,
sales, public relations).