ECO-ADVERTISEMENT

Eco-Advertisement and the Company Perspectives



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Abstract

Recently, corporations have been confronted with a number of global environmental challenges such as global warming, acid rain, depletion of natural resources, waste management, green consumerism and pollution prevention. There is growing pressure to deliver products and services which are environmentally compatible. A number of corporations such as Du Pont, 3M, AT&T, Xerox and Procter & Gamble are, therefore, integrating various environmental policies and programmes into their operations strategy and specific decisions concerning operations such as product design/planning, process technology selection, and quality management. Introduces the concepts of environmental management (EM) and argues that firms which do not recognize the implications of environmental problems on the operations function will not succeed in the competitive market. Various environmental management practices (such as implementing aggressive pollution-prevention programmes, initiating environment-related performance measures and developing green products and process technologies) provide opportunities to strengthen a firm's distinctive competence in terms of operations objectives such as highest quality, lowest cost, best dependability, and greatest flexibility. Thus, EM gives a competitive advantage and develops new links between operations strategy and the corporate strategy (e.g. cost leadership and product differentiation).

Table of Contents

CHAPTER I4

Introduction4

Background of the study7

Purpose of Study8

ACHAPTER II8

CHAPTER II9

REVIEW OF LITERATURE9

Scientific Certification Systems9

Eco Guide10

Eco Star11

Green-e13

Environmental regulation14

Price and quality perception15

Product dimensions16

Product labels18

Data sources and gaps38

Interviewing People and the Use of Questionnaires39

CHAPTER FOUR41

RESULTS AND DISCUSSION41

Results41

Discussion42

Managerial implications43

Message Characteristics46

Interaction of Prior Corporate Perceptions and Environmental Message46

Implications for Marketers Developing Corporate Environmental Advertising48

CHAPTER FIVE52

CONCLUSION52

REFERENCES58

APPENDIX62

CHAPTER I

Introduction

Eco-Advertisement may be defined as making relevant environmental information about a product available to the appropriate consumers through the product label to promote an environmental goal, cause or objective through consumer choice (Truffer et al., 2001). Products may be labeled based on a wide range of environmental considerations, such as recycled content, biodegradability, toxic emissions, waste generation, harm to wildlife, etc. By contributing to the decision-making process inherent in product selection, purchasing, use and disposal, eco-Advertisement has wide implications for consumers, businesses and government.

In response to an apparent consumer demand for “green” products, the number of products in US markets making environmental claims started mushrooming in the late 1980s. Products making claims such as recyclable, biodegradable, ozone-safe or eco-friendly were being introduced at a rate 20-30 times greater than that of other goods (EPA, 1991), and the percentage of new products making environmental claims grew from 1.1 in 1986 to 11.4 in 1990 ( Rhodes and Brown, 1997). Such explosion of claims led to widespread confusion and distrust among consumers. The growing number of environmental claims led the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) in 1992 to issue guidelines for responsible green marketing ( FTC, 1992).

By the late 1990s, largely due to the FTC guidelines, misleading environmental claims had nearly disappeared and third-party certification programs gained greater popularity and influence. Today, there are over 20 eco-Advertisement programs in the US covering a wide range of product categories. Examples include both government and private initiatives: pesticide Advertisement under the Federal Insecticide, Fungicide, and Rodenticide Act (FIFRA), “Dolphin-Safe” Advertisement of ...