Trappings versus substance in the greening of marketing planning

Abstract

A key function of corporate and marketing planning is to ensure that businesses develop strategies which keep them in harmony with a company's external environment. In the wake of the Brundtland Report in 1987, and the Rio Earth Summit in 1992, it has become increasingly clear that when it comes to the physical environment, the current trajectory of development for economies, and the companies within them, is not physically sustainable. The need to address this issue has led to a great deal of activity among companies including environmentally related total quality initiatives; the reformulation of many products and processes; and an attempt to reposition environmental pressure as a potential source of competitive advantage. Although the 1990s were heralded as 'The Earth Decade', as they draw to a close, the degree to which our companies have moved closer to real sustainability appears minimal. This article discusses the degree to which this lack of change stems from the fundamental incompatibilities between the philosophy of sustainability and the strategic marketing planning processes that companies use in practice, and the concepts which underpin conventional marketing.