Marketing Sustainability: A Critical Consideration of Environmental Marketing Strategies

Abstract

In our present economy, producers by definition seek to maximise profit through minimising cost. If there is no explicit societal or regulatorily mandated value in ensuring that environmental and social welfare costs are evaluated and included in business-as-usual functioning, these attributes may be omitted and are typically referenced as ‘externalities’ or market failures. At the consumer level with an increased understanding of the impact of externalities on human and environmental welfare, there is an interest in both operational transparency in the production of goods and services and in evaluating the resource and justice footprint of consumption choices. As a result, companies that are publicly pursuing operationalised sustainability across all their functions have an opportunity to establish a brand premium; however, the marketing of sustainability may differ from the implementation of sustainability highlighting that a degree of transparency is required to provide credibility. This chapter analyses an emerging marketing channel, ‘social marketing’. Social marketing is a strategy that promotes the perception of an alignment between individual values and business objectives by encouraging positive behaviours, like caring for the environment. This chapter provides a case study of Levi Strauss and reviews portions of the company's sustainability marketing program to address how marketing is being used to engage, educate and empower customers, while simultaneously establishing a sustainability brand identity for the company.

Citation

Venkatesan, M. (2022), "Marketing Sustainability: A Critical Consideration of Environmental Marketing Strategies", Ogunyemi, K. and Burgal, V. (Ed.) Products for Conscious Consumers, Emerald Publishing Limited, Leeds, pp. 151-166. https://doi.org/10.1108/978-1-80262-837-120221009