Download Current Situation and Movement of Green Marketing in China –

Current Situation and Movement of Green Marketing in China –
Analyze its Resources and Performance
Li Hai-e
School of Management,
South-Central University for Nationalities; WuHan 430074, China
Abstract: Green marketing is very important in 21 century. From the main strength of implementation,
to analyze why our green marketing is backward, thinking the government should be the leading
strength. On the base, the paper brings forward the principal measures government should strengthen
and how to improve the government commitment.
Key words: Green Marketing; key strength; government commitment.
Instruction
Generally speaking, there aren’t many researches on green marketing. And the researches mainly
include: (1) what is green marketing, (2) Comparative analysis between domestic and abroad, (3) Green
marketing existence problem analysis; (4) green marketing development countermeasure and so on. But
these researches are abstract, short of instruction to practice. The author selects the key strength to
analyze green marketing present situation, and propose the development countermeasure. It clears the
way of thinking for our country to develop green marketing, which is very important.
1 The key strength of carrying out green marketing
1.1 The implication of green marketing
The scholars have the different definition to the green marketing. But about its essence, green
marketing is a social responsible marketing activity. Compared with the traditional marketing, it has the
following two characteristics: (1) Green marketing is the higher phase of marketing and the inevitable
development tendency. It takes the sustainable development as the core, emphasizes the environmental
protection, pursues economic efficiency, the social efficiency and the ecology benefit;(2) It will take a
long time to carry out green marketing, so we cannot define the enterprise as the only strength. The
environmental protection has decided that its application needs multi-strengths, especially in initial
stage.
1.2 The key strength of green marketing
The implication and characteristics of green marketing has decided its development must draw
support from four strengths, respectively the enterprise, the consumer, the government and
environmental protection NGO (non-government organization). These four strengths constitute a
dynamical system (e.g. Figure 1), impelling the development of green marketing. The enterprise is the
concrete execution, shouldering the formulation and realization of green marketing strategy and tactics.
The consumer is the actuation of the green marketing, drawing the green marketing development,
because to meet consumers' green need is the green marketing starting point and primary purpose. The
government and environmental protection NGO are the green marketing pusher, ensuring and
supervising the normal implementation of the green marketing, because on one hand, from the legal
laws and regulations and the public opinions they can bring pressure to the enterprise about its
implements of the green marketing; On the other hand from the point of protecting the Earth and the
sustainable development, it raises the green consciousness and promotes the green marketing
development through guiding, educating to the consumer.
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consumer
Government
Green
marketing
NGO
enterprise
figure1
the key four strengths for green marketing
2 The green marketing present situation: to analyze the commitments of the
principal parts
Generally speaking, the domestic green marketing started lately. At present, the green marketing in
our country is at the initial stage.
2.1 From the aspect of consumers
Compared to the developed countries, our consumers' green consciousness is at the initial stage.
Just a few people understand and accept the green marketing, the majority hope not to be polluted by the
environment rather than not pollute the environment. Moreover, the overwhelming majority cannot
accept the green product’s relative higher price. The entire social green expense demand has not been
formed. According to the green degree, we can divide the consumers into three kinds, namely: The depth
green consumer who will pay higher price for green product; the mild green consumer who are able to
purchase green symbol product, but they cannot pay a higher price consumer; the consumer having no
regard of green who never takes environmental protection as the purchase factor. According to the green
consciousness, the current consumer presents a pyramid structure, namely the consumer ignoring of
green occupy the majority, mild green consumer place in the middle, the depth green consumer occupy
minority.
2.2 From the aspect of enterprises
Many enterprises are not cognizant of the opportunity and the threat brought by the new market in
which green need and green marketing is very popular, which causes the green marketing only to be able
at a lower level. It is expressed in the following: (1) Partial enterprises ignore the environmental
protection and disregard the social responsibility. (2) About the understanding of the green breadth,
many enterprises thought narrowly the green marketing only is food, the electric appliance, the building
material and so on. (3) About the understanding of the green depth, the enterprise sticks to the product
stage, that is, the green value is just to pursue the profit which the green product brings.
2.3 From the aspect of environmental protection NGO
Environmental protection NGO overseas is the starting strength for green marketing development.
It directly exerts pressure through each form to the enterprise; On the other hand, it indirectly exerts the
pressure through the government and the consumer to the enterprise. But the domestic NGO influence is
extremely limited. Its influence is also weak. The difficulty that the domestic folk environmental
protection organization faces include: (1) NGO registration is difficult, (2) NGO fund is intense. So
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environmental protection NGO have difficulties to survive, say nothing of exerting pressure to the
government and the enterprise, guiding and educating the consumer.
2.4 From the aspect of government
Although all levels of governments have also made some effort, but they have not provided the
enterprise with fair environment, which has limited the green marketing development. We can see it
from the following:
1 The laws and regulations correlated to environmental protection and green
commodity production are insufficient, which causes the government is unable to urge the enterprises to
implement the green marketing. (2) From the system, the government check official mainly through the
economy and the political achievement but not the environmental protection. Especially when the
economy development conflicts with the environmental protection, they often sacrifice the environment
to receive the economic boom.
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3 The countermeasure of the green marketing development: The government
should become the leader
Through above analysis, at present the green marketing should be impelled by the government,
because the government is the first guardian of public resources, furthermore it grasps the public
authority and represents public interest.
3.1 The government commitment in impelling the green marketing
About how to promote the green marketing, the government should insist a basic principle, that is,
letting other three strengths to display function. So the government commitments mainly include the
following three aspects.
Firstly, perfect legislation and realize law enforcement
The government's legislation and law enforcement play an important role in the result of green
marketing. (1) To perfect the legal laws and regulations related to environmental protection, in order to
solve the enterprise illegal activities. (2) To strengthen the construction of management structure, in
order to urge the enterprise's behavior standardization. Generally speaking, the enterprise has four ways
towards green: impelled by the legal, through market, as stakeholder and as activist. The government
may force the enterprise from the legal angle to choose the green marketing.
Secondly, pay attention to guidance and strengthen education
Consumer's green demand would impel the green marketing development. But currently, our
consumer's green consciousness needs to be further enhanced by the government. To the government, the
most important thing is to strengthen the propaganda in order to change the public from economical
rational person to ecology. On one hand, to enhance its recognition ability of the green products and
service through positive guidance; On the other hand, the government must provide the data that reflects
environment condition, letting the public to understand vulnerability of ecological environment. Besides,
the government must pay great attention to raise green talented persons for the green marketing
development.
Thirdly, implement reform and strengthen service
The government must strengthen the service consciousness, particularly should encourage the
environmental protection NGO. The practice has proved that the environmental protection NGO
overseas is the nucleus to impel the green marketing. So our government should initiate its existence,
and give the solid support including: (1) relaxing the condition about NGO establishment; (2)
simplifying approval procedure, enhancing efficiency; (3) providing the fund support including the
establishment environmental protection fund and the enterprise support for NGO.
3.2 How to enhance the efficiency of government commitment
Firstly, inspect all levels of government personnel
The government should construct the green GDP inspection system which takes the environmental
protection responsibility as a part of the officials' achievement.
Secondly, strengthen surveillance and audit about the government commitment
Generally speaking, we may carry on the surveillance through the following three ways:(1) The
administrative oversight, which supervises the government whether enforces law legally or not; (2) The
public surveillance, which supervises and exposes the government illegal behavior through each kind of
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media, citizen, social organization; (3) audit of the government behavior, which inspects independently
government's activities.
4 Conclusion
With an analysis of the current situation of green marketing by the key strengths, the government
should become the leader which will create advantageous external environment and provides the
safeguard for the other three strengths. That is, the government must become the driving force. But,
according to the green marketing success experience overseas and the law of market development, the
author believed that the enterprise should become the determination performer for our green marketing
after a period of leading by the government. We think it is an inevitable result. The enterprise will take
charge of environment protection as stakeholder or activist after being impelled by the legal and the
market.
References
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Marketing Disparity and Origin [J]. Finance and Economics Theory and Practice,2004,(5) 108—111
[4] Wang Minglin, Liu Wang. A Study on the Protection of Heritage Resources and
Governmental Behavior in the Course of Tourism Development[J]. Tourism Journal, 2005,(5) 21—24
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