How Businesses Are Marketing Green Innovation

What are green innovation and green marketing?

Green innovation and green marketing are strategies businesses use to develop environmentally sustainable solutions and promote them to eco-conscious consumers. The goal is to align profitability with social responsibility. 

More specifically, green innovation and green marketing involve the following: 

• Green innovation involves developing environmentally friendly products and business procedures. It can encompass product design, energy-efficient technology, eco-friendly packaging, and supply chain management.
• Green marketing means selling products or services by highlighting their environmental benefits and the company’s eco-conscious processes and standards. Green marketing terms familiar to consumers include “sustainable,” “eco-friendly,” “organic,” and “recyclable.”

To practice green innovation and ethically market it, businesses should adhere to the following guidelines: 

• Use no toxic or ozone-depleting materials.
• Design products that can be reused.
• Use packaging made with recycled, biodegradable, and eco-friendly materials.
• Follow environmentally friendly manufacturing guidelines.
• Produce products and packaging from recycled materials whenever possible.
• Optimize transportation and logistics to reduce emissions.
• Ensure that raw materials are responsibly sourced.
• Engage in energy-efficient practices.

How are businesses using green innovation and green marketing?

Businesses implement green innovation in their packaging, product design, logistics, and more, and then use green marketing to share their practices with consumers. By combining green innovation and green marketing, businesses can help the environment while scaling operations and appealing to an audience that appreciates their efforts.

Here are a few ways businesses use green innovation and green marketing. 

Using and highlighting sustainable materials

Hallmarks of green innovation include using sustainable materials and green technology, focusing on reducing waste, and prioritizing product longevity. Businesses intentionally implement these practices in their product design, packaging, supply chain management, and other activities to demonstrate their environmental commitment. 

When companies adhere to green innovation practices, they highlight their efforts to reduce their carbon footprint and sell ethically sourced and environmentally conscious offerings on their product label design and packaging and in their marketing and advertising efforts. Their business transparency about manufacturing practices and priorities increases consumer trust and respect. 

Consistently improving sustainability can help streamline operations, lower costs, and help your brand stand out from the competition.

Improving profitability through green marketing and innovation

There is no doubt that you can make a profit and be socially responsible at the same time. Sarah Soteroff, head of public relations for Too Good To Go in North America — a company that matches surplus food with people who need it — emphasized the balance between doing the right thing and boosting the bottom line. “Business can and should do good while also being profitable,” Soteroff said.

Most people and business owners agree that green is good. Companies that practice green marketing are committed to corporate social responsibility and sustainable development. That commitment demonstrates their firm belief in protecting the environment. Green marketing also makes their products or services more attractive to consumers with the same concerns, helping boost sales and brand awareness.

Soteroff highlighted how businesses can align profit and purpose: “We are a for-profit, social impact business,” Soteroff said. “Our goal is to eliminate food waste globally and encourage consumers and businesses to lessen food waste [not only] while using the app, but also across the value chain wherever consumers purchase or produce food.” 

Maintaining brand authenticity through sustainable practices

Businesses use green innovation and green marketing to establish, maintain, and reinforce their brand authenticity. The goal is to align their sustainability efforts with their core values and then share those efforts with consumers. That, however, takes work and commitment.

Companies that market green products must integrate sustainability into every aspect of their operations and consistently reinforce their practices to customers. When a business can maintain brand authenticity, consumers are more likely to rally behind it, increasing customer loyalty. 

Increasing their social responsibility

Businesses often use green marketing and innovation with the straightforward purpose of enhancing their social responsibility and making a positive impact. They often pursue specific goals that align with their values and address a range of issues, such as improving ethical labor practices, encouraging volunteering, or supporting charities.

Soteroff emphasized her company’s dedication to social impact through its core mission of eliminating food waste. “First and foremost, we are a social impact company. Everything we do is in service of eliminating food waste everywhere it occurs,” she said. “Via our consumer-facing marketplace, our package product (which is available in Europe with plans to expand and sell directly to consumers in bulk to reduce food waste) and our Platform product (also available in Europe, it assists businesses with inventory management to lessen waste) collectively work toward this goal.”

Attracting eco-conscious consumers

Eco-conscious consumers are on the rise, including top buyer markets such as millennials and Generation Z. By combining green innovation and green marketing, businesses can educate their customers, build a community, and make sustainability more accessible.

Avoid shortcuts in your green efforts. To be respected as a social impact brand, you must be transparent about your company’s environmental impact. Consistently evaluate the materials you use, the green energy powering your production and shipping, and your adherence to fair labor practices.

What are the benefits of green innovation and green marketing for businesses?

Businesses gain numerous benefits from showing true concern for the environment’s health. 

• Doing the right thing: Many businesses go green because it’s the right thing to do, and their efforts bring them enormous pride and satisfaction. Soteroff echoed that sentiment when discussing Too Good To Go’s green initiatives: “We imagine a world with no food waste, which is our primary goal and motivator.” 
• Making more money: Businesses that embrace green innovation and marketing often fare well financially after an initial investment. Consumers are often willing to pay more for sustainable products and support companies committed to climate-change initiatives. They are eager to tell their friends and family about socially responsible businesses, helping companies earn repeat business and benefit from word-of-mouth marketing. 
• Fostering happy employees: Employees enjoy and take immense pride in working for businesses that prioritize the environment and their health. Businesses that employ green marketing and innovation can often attract and retain high-level talent drawn to the company’s ethos and purpose. As a bonus, happy employees are good for business, helping reduce turnover and improving innovation and brand reputation.
• Getting ahead of the curve: The EPA and various local, state, and federal laws aim to reduce carbon emissions and promote sustainability. Preparing early for future mandates and sustainable development goals allows you to position your business to be eco-friendly without incurring the significant upfront costs of last-minute compliance.

Whatever your motivation to go green, good will come from your efforts. “Some users and businesses are motivated by sustainability, and some are motivated by price,” Soteroff said. “Ultimately, the positive impact on the environment is the same regardless of motivation.” 

Companies with innovative green marketing initiatives 

Here are a few examples of companies that ethically and genuinely employ green innovation and marketing. These principles are deeply embedded in their company culture and transparently demonstrated through their processes, operations, and sourcing.

Patagonia 

Patagonia has become synonymous with sustainability — and for good reason. The company’s founder, Yvon Chouinard, pledged in September 2022 to donate all future profits to fight climate change. “We’re making Earth our only shareholder,” Chouinard said, channeling Patagonia funds to a trust and a nonprofit organization to help save the environment for future generations.

Every step Patagonia takes is transparent to its customers, from environmental and animal welfare programs to safe working conditions to supply chain details. Patagonia is also continuously strategizing to pay its workers a livable wage, use fair trade materials, and choose renewable fuel resources.

Too Good To Go

Since 2016, Too Good To Go has been changing how we think about food waste. With over 350 million meals saved, the social impact company has 170,000 active business partners across 19 countries in Europe and North America.

Eliminating food waste is the top action you can take to help tackle climate change. Too Good To Go participates in regulatory initiatives, creates coalitions, and designs education programs to inspire the next generation to thrive as green advocates.

Pela

Pela is on a mission to significantly reduce the amount of plastic in the oceans and landfills. The company makes several products, including compostable phone cases and electric kitchen composters.

Pela purchases verified carbon credits to be Climate Neutral Certified. In addition, the company donates to local community organizations that promote sustainability. By 2028, Pela hopes to remove 10 billion pounds of waste from the world.

Grove Collaborative

Grove Collaborative takes the guesswork out of sustainability. All products in its marketplace must meet a four-point standard: healthy, effective, sustainable production, and 100 percent cruelty-free.

The company made history as the first plastic-neutral retailer, balancing the amount of plastic it produces by diverting an equivalent amount from the environment. Although Grove initially aimed to be plastic-free by 2025, it has since revised its goals. The company now aims to avoid 15 million pounds of single-use plastic waste by 2030, maintaining its commitment to plastic neutrality.

In addition to its plastic initiatives, Grove continues to prioritize reforestation efforts through partnerships with organizations such as the Arbor Day Foundation, planting trees in high-need areas to further its environmental mission.

It’s never too late to go green

It may be easier financially for larger businesses to go green and create a sustainable business model, but small companies can go green on a smaller scale — one step at a time. Develop goals and action plans to make your products sustainable, improve workplace conditions, or use a portion of profits to support eco-friendly initiatives. Consider, for example, the following: 

• Can your product be made with different, more eco-friendly materials? 
• Can you use recycled materials? 
• Can your packaging be reduced? 

Asking these questions can help reduce supply chain pinch points, rising shipping costs, and unpredictable utility charges and help set your business on a path to sustainability.