In: Finance
Assume for a moment that the chairman of the board of the board of a multinational company decided that it was “Going Green”. What would be appropriate but ambitious sustainability goal? What elements of a green marketing strategy would enhance the company’s competitive advantage? Provide specific examples to support your answers.
Some of the important sustainability goals are: 1) CO2 emissions (scope 1and scope 2) energy utilization, 3) water consumption. The company could set individual targets in each of these categories and each year they should reduce their emissions, energy utilization and water consumption on a y-o-y basis. The company could also set up targets benchmarking the sector. Marketing strategy could be to publish a sustainability report along with annual report each year where they compare the emissions. The company could also lease with brokerage firms and advertise that they are "Going Green" and in the analyst call where the company announces its results, the company could also highlight a small section on the going green initiatives and how they plan to reduce their carbon footprint. Furthermore, in this day and age, social media such as Linkedin and facebook are excellent channels to communicate about such initiatives. For example, various Metals & Mining companies publish sustainability reports along with annual reports and these companies have become more conscious of the environment. In Mexico, a recent bill has been has been proposed wherein any M&M company will be given mining concessions only when they have discussions with the local communities and they are required to public reports explaining the impact of mining activities to the environment.