744 The Marketing Book
process as a ‘black box’ into which the customer
is not encouraged to peer. This is particularly the
case in industrial markets, where it is becoming
the norm among leading companies to insist
upon environmental auditing and reporting by
all suppliers. ‘Right to Know’ legislation in the
USA and the EU is also ensuring that companies
have to disclose information relating to issues
such as pollution.
Embracing a stakeholder approach
A ‘stakeholder approach’ is vital for the devel-
opment of appropriate and holistic green phi-
losophies, strategies and policies (Polonsky and
Ottman, 1998). Internally and externally, orga-
nizations face an increasing depth of interest in
their eco-performance from an increasing range
of interested parties. One by-product of the
growth in the Internet is that it provides
opportunities for customers and interest
groups to share information about companies
and their behaviour. This has strengthened the
ability of interest groups to mobilize customers
and interest the media in campaigns relating to
particular companies.
Table 28.2 highlights a range of stake-
holders and examples of socio-environmental
issues that could be associated with the devel-
opment, manufacture and marketing of a par-
ticular product.
The importance of a stakeholder perspec-
tive to companies with strong socio-environ-
mental focus is demonstrated by the following
statement from the The Body Shop:
The Body Shop is a stakeholder led company.
We believe its success is dependent upon its
relationships with all its stakeholders, including
its employees, franchisees, customers, commu-
nities, suppliers, The Body Shop At Home
(formerly The Body Shop Direct) consultants,
shareholders and campaigning partners... The
Body Shop has always believed that business is
primarily about human relationships. We
believe that the more we listen to our stake-
holders and involve them in decision making,
the better our business will run.New management responsibilities
The concept of companies taking greater
responsibility for their customers and products
has been reflected in the idea of ‘brand man-
agers’ being replaced by ‘brand stewards’. In
agrochemicals markets, where difficulties with
correct product use often occur in countries
with low literacy rates among farmers, some
companies are using the concept of brand
stewardship to ensure that products are used
correctly. Dow Corning, for example, demands
that its sales staff: inform customers about known hazards
relating to the products;
advise customers to use products in
accordance with label recommendations;
insist that distributors pass on handling, use
and disposal information to their customers;
report and respond vigorously against cases of
misuse;
co-ordinate visits by company staff to
customer sites, to ensure safe use and disposal
of products.Changing the marketing time frame
Green marketing focuses on the performance
of products before purchase and after use,
which requires a new time perspective for
marketers. A ‘cradle-to-grave’ view of prod-
ucts may mean that their performance must be
considered over a period of years instead of
moments. For consumer durables, the question
of actual durability assumes a new impor-
tance. Evidence suggests that many products
currently exist only as semi-durables and cre-
ating more durable products can form an
important part of a green strategy. Agfa
Gevaert switched from a policy of selling
photocopiers to leasing them on a full service
basis. This led to a product redesign brief based
around durability, and the upgrading of the
copy drums from a lifespan of under 3 million
to over 100 million copies. For marketers this