Sustainability and digital marketing: green marketing for positive impact and sustainable growth
22 January 2024Green marketing is a strategy based on promoting sustainable products and services that can reduce the environmental impact of business activities. It aims to raise consumer awareness, directing them to choose eco-friendly products, and it comes from the integration of online marketing with all concepts related to sustainability. In an increasingly digital world, companies must adapt to reach consumers on new channels, keeping environmental and social welfare issues at the core of their mission.
Sustainable marketing is about the balance between profit, ecology and supporting social structures. It focuses on creating long-term value for the company and the environment while providing benefits to consumers and society.
Green marketing, then, means combining the themes of digital marketing and sustainability, two pillars of Bologna Business School‘s high-quality education. Always at the forefront of research on sustainability and environmental protection with its Sustainability Observatory and the Bbs Initiative for Sustainable Society and Business, Bologna Business School offers Master’s degrees related both to these themes and the world of digital marketing. The Green Energy and Sustainable Businesses GMBA, the Digital Marketing & Communication Professional Master and the Sustainability and Business Innovation Executive Master are just some of the programs focused on the interconnected topics of digital marketing and sustainability.
Green marketing, as per the Green Marketing Manifesto, by John Grant, who first treated the topic fully, is a model that helps companies develop their marketing by following a line of promotion based on consumers who are sensitive to environmental sustainability issues. Following the Manifesto‘s “5 I” (intuitive, intriguing, innovative, inviting, informed), a company that wants to do green marketing must communicate its sustainability ambitions, promoting awareness and ethical consumption of goods.
Online activities also have an impact on the environment (massive use of energy, emission of greenhouse gases to run data centers, production and disposal of electronic devices) that must be minimized to ensure sustainable growth by the needs of companies that want to project themselves into the future.
Companies need to adopt measures such as optimizing energy, using renewable energy to power data centers, promoting sustainable products and services, and using recyclable materials in digital devices to apply sustainability to digital marketing. Communication needs to be transparent, to educate consumers about the importance of sustainability, to build a positive corporate reputation, and promote environmentally friendly products.
This is all about green marketing, at BBS approached in the Green Finance and Green Strategy for Sustainable Development course of the GMBA in Green Energy and Sustainable Businesses; or in the Digital Marketing and Business Ethics and Sustainability courses of the Professional Master‘s in Digital Marketing and Communication. Or, again, in Marketing for Sustainability and Circular Economy & Value Chain of the Executive Master‘s in Sustainability and Business Innovation.
There are many examples of strategies related to green marketing. Eco-labeling (certifying sustainable products), using sustainable packaging made of recycled or biodegradable materials. Transparent and honest communication, well distanced from greenwashing, promoting eco-friendly products, corporate social responsibility initiatives: actively participating in initiatives that promote environmental sustainability and supporting ecosystem conservation projects.
All these topics can be touched upon in Bologna Business School courses, thanks to the network of leading companies that offer company visits and meetings with executives: in the Global MBA, Professional Master’s and Executive programs, sustainability and digital marketing go side by side to arrive at the synthesis of green marketing.
Discover Bologna Business School’s Master’s programs with a focus on sustainability and digital marketing:
Green Energy and Sustainable Businesses GMBA
Digital Marketing & Communication Professional Master
Data Science and Business Analytics Professional Master
Data Marketing and Analytics Professional Master
Green Management and Sustainable Businesses Professional Master
Executive Master in Sustainability and Business Innovation
Business Analytics and Data Science Executive Master
Sustainability Transition Management Executive Master
