Essay on Green Companies and Green Abuse

assuage any guilt they might feel about consuming mass quantities of unnecessary, disposable goods by dutifully tossing these items into their recycling bins and hauling them out to the curb each week”. (Westervelt, Amy. "Can Recycling Be Bad for the Environment?" Forbes. Forbes Magazine, 25 Apr. 2012. Web. 5 Dec. 2015). So why is the reason that companies are starting to “Go Green”? Its clearly obvious that the change in America from an industrial country to a environmental country has taught big business how to market environmentalism in mass quantities of their product. The strategy of the consumption-environment mindset are increasing rapidly. If this trend of buying without thinking does not slow down, with problems like not shifting priority from consumption to being environmentally aware, things will certainly worsen. On the topic of green marketing, people often see that green marketing refers to the advertising of objects or products with environmental characteristics to them (Like the Nestle bottle, for example). Terms like “Environmentally Friendly”, “Refillable”, and “Recyclable”, are some of the things people associate with green marketing. In reality

The rise of green products and the want of consumers to become more environmentally friendly has been increasing. In 10 Green Marketing Milestones, the reading mentioned how the “rise of the Toyota Prius: It may not have saved the world, but at 1 million cumulative vehicle sales the Prius became the predominant fuel-efficient hybrid vehicle” (Neff 2). This is an example of how companies are actually wanting to go green in order to make more profit and rise above their competitors. Going off the Prius example, it was also mentioned how Hummer cars, which use an excess amount of fuel, sales have plummeted. This was because this model no longer appealed to the consumers and General Motor’s had to discontinue the model and even went bankrupt. This sale tactic works and is so successful because the consumer’s mindset have evolved to seek things that are better for the environment. Many would prefer Toyota over General Motor because of their company’s reputation with being green. Although this might not work for all companies, but for some, they have become more successful than their competitors by going green and so, convincing more and more to

As we have seen an increase in awareness around sustainability and climate change, with the help of Al Gore’s Inconvenient Truth documentary in 2006, we see organizations moving towards mitigating the effects of climate change in various ways (Al Gore, n.d). As this corporate social responsibility has become more prevalent, organizations are now pushing their green agenda by publishing sustainability reports, doing mass marketing and implementing sustainable business practices to portray the image that they too are working towards protecting the earth’s natural environment all the while focusing on their underlying goal of selling their products and

The modern advertisements for the companies, that pollutes the ecosystem, are created to greenwash the public images for the organization. Most of the big manufactures spends much bigger amount of money and time on its commercials to pretend to be clean or green other than actually developing the business to minimize the environmental imapct. In 2010, one of the popular gasoline company Chevron launched a campaign: 'We Agree," that represents that Chevron agrees and cares about the pollutions around the world. One of the images, that Chevron used, states "Oil Comapnies Should Fix The Problems They Create" with a picture of nature filled with the sludge from the gas companies and there is "We Agree" printed under the statement. This advertising angered some audience because many people believed that the Chevron was only pretending to care and the people changed the slogan to "Oil Comapnies Stop Pretending They Care," and made a "Chevwrong" nickname. For another example, there are many bottled water companies that produce a large amount of the plastic bottles.

If you believe a company should “go green”, should a company spend more money communicating their

The grave, yet subtle, danger that large corporations put the world in is one that not many companies are committed to fixing. Large companies use substantial amounts of water, energy, fossil fuels, etc. and have almost depleted important resources. The Target Corporation has worked tirelessly to improve their environmental standings and therefore, increase the overall well-being of the world. Target, the second-largest discount retailer in the United States, with Walmart being the largest, has set goals year after year to change their consumption habits and increase their environmental sustainability. While Target has many environmentally friendly products and practices, the company has also committed some infractions, making many skeptical

One of the most successful techniques that we can still witness today is “greenwashing.” Greenwashing uses marketing strategies with green oriented projects that promote reduction of energy or pollution allowing the consumer to believe they are doing good to the environment. “In actuality, the company or group may be operating in damaging ways or may simply be unwilling to make a meaningful commitment to green initiatives.” (Investopedia.) BP logo being a green and yellow flower appears to be environmentally friendly and responsible yet, when the corporation first opened the logo was a dark red color eventually making its way to becoming green in 1947. Additionally, in 2000 they renamed themselves from British Petroleum to Beyond Petroleum changing the way consumers view them on environmental responsibilities and future of fossil fuel. “In 2002 CorpWatch and Friends of the Earth awarded BP the ‘Best Greenwash Award’ at the Greenwash Academy Award Programs” showcasing them as more of a marketing strategy then doing good for the world. At the end of the day, BP is beyond concerned with their profit margins then corporate social responsibility. BP has its eyes set on a new location for oil drilling in the Artic National Wildlife Refuge. “The company stands to make handsome profits if it is allowed to drill on the Arctic

In the courses that I have taken here at Thomas, I have not heard much about the environment, aside from in this course. Many of my other courses are about business, trying to make money over whether or not they’re doing the right thing. In one of my courses I have read about companies wanting to be more environmentally friendly, but I think companies, especially ones that do not truly rely on nature for their profits, want to be environmentally friendly because that is what their customer wants. Overall, it is my opinion that people ignore the issue, deny it, or have

Sustainability, as it pertains to the environment, seems like an idea that would appeal to everyone. The idea of conserving what we have, reusing what we can, and developing new ways to more efficiently use our planet’s limited recourses just seems like common sense to me. Unfortunately, our representatives in Washington D.C. have used environmentalism as a way to gain votes and divide the electorate. Responsible management of our planet has become as widely debated as gay marriage or religion in the schools. Like most social issues, sustainability has ardent supporters and determined critics.

On your weekly trip to the supermarket it’s easy to find a number of products, from coffee to dishwashing soap, that flaunt their green attributes” (American Psychological Association, 2010). With such rumors of greenwashing, consumers are more confused than ever. However, some consumers know the tricks and are coming to find that there are companies whose marketing practices are legit, not exaggerated or deceiving. APA also found that, “people are willing to spend more of their hard-earned green on green products, according to a 2008 survey of 9,000 adults performed by the global business firm Boston Consulting Group” (American Psychological Association, 2010). Consumers who are willing to pay more for a product or service are assuming that they are purchasing a healthier, safer, and better quality product or service for the environment.

The government tends to look at things based on an “economical standpoint” that tends to run biased- as they tend to ignore the moral/ethical aspects of the issue at hand. However, citizens and businesses tend to APPEAR on the same side of the fence because businesses will do anything to give the customers, or citizens what they want. However, the sad reality is that many businesses Greenwash their products into seeming more environmentally friendly.

In a world focused on climate change and sustainable development, many people have become more interested in the environmentally-related behavior of corporations and have increased their desire for “green” products. In response to this growing demand, numerous corporations have shifted to becoming more sustainable and are making green marketing claims. While some of these companies are actually carrying out robust sustainability practices, many companies’ practices do not match up to the image they convey to the public and are guilty of greenwashing. In fact, a study conducted by TerraChoice (2010) found that in 2010, over 95 percent of “greener” products were found to be greenwashed (6). The term greenwashing stems from whitewashing, and is defined by the Oxford English Dictionary as "disinformation disseminated by an organization so as to present an environmentally responsible public image."

One major problem as far as companies using green marketing and why it isn’t working is that the relatively vague definition of green marketing leaves a lot of room for loopholes. Green marketing, by simply being defined as “the marketing of products that are assumed to be environmentally safe,” allows companies to take advantage of this idea even if their products are not the best example of green ones (McClendon 1). Most companies also don’t practice what they preach in such

This paper investigates the impact of green supply chain management on industry, consumer perception and environment. Through research into multiple companies and case studies, a distorted perception among large corporations shows a historic struggle to find a balance between profit and sustainability. However, the potential long-term effects of the lack of environmental courtesy cannot be undone and therefore must be carefully engineered. Multi-billion dollar automotive corporations such as Hyundai and Toyota will be discussed and studied in depth to conclude the innovative changes contributed in the automotive industry resulting in maximum efficiency in lean and green production. Additionally, while studying these companies, the overall question of whether intentional sustainable practices provide increased customer satisfaction and comfort is answered through a survey given to 100 random people. In this small sample, it was found that 33% of consumers care about green business practices in automotive production but only 8% saw an increase in value because of it.

Green Marketing principles are important because it allows companies to satisfy the expectations of customers, shareholders, and their community. Furthermore, because of what Enron has done, customers and communities and place higher expectations on businesses to do the right thing. Also, being a green company is different than normal or traditional business. They have to practice what they preach and maintain throughout the longevity of the