Green marketing practices as a source of sustainability and competitive advantage: Indian perspective

Author: 
Danish Mehraj and Dr.Ishtaiq Hussain Qureshi

Increased industrialization and ever growing consumerism has led to a situation where industrial pursuits of mankind have started to cast an unfavorable impact on environment that may prove self-destructive for the future. Earlier Developed countries, in their pursuit of economic development and progression to their current economic status, showed little respect for environmental concerns. But as on today, there is an increased awareness on part of their industries, governments and even consumers for conserving environment and cutting down on pollution. Nevertheless, it is just a beginning and there is a long, long-way to go. The growing awareness for environmental concerns led to adoption of Green marketing practices, which though, of relatively recent origin has gained worldwide popularity and recognition in a brief time period. In Indian Perspective, during the last few years, hundreds of studies have been carried out on the subject, addressing the various facets of the concept. Thus the purpose of this paper is to understand the perception of industries in India towards green marketing practices- a fast growing economy, towards green philosophy and to investigate further what initiatives those industries have taken for becoming green. To create a sustainable environment, the aim of this study is to explore and identify the components of environmental attitude that can drive the specific ecological behavior of Indian organizations. Most of the industries had the perception that Adopting green marketing practices would ensure them competitive advantage over their competitors. Therefore, these days’ concepts of green marketing are taking shape as one of the key business practices of the companies for gaining the competitive advantage, ensuring sustainability. This research is a step to fill up this gap. The findings of the study demonstrate that these days’ industries are having high concern about environmental protection and are willing to produce those products which are environmentally friendly i.e. green in nature. The companies who offer green products will definitely enjoy a competitive advantage over their competitors.

Paper No: 
719