Assessing Marketing Demand
Green technology refers to “the application of advanced systems and services to a wide variety of industry sectors in order to improve sustainability and efficiency,” Green technology markets demonstrate these via installing solar panels and windows into office buildings, waste reduction, creation of self-sustaining systems, creating biodegradable products, the promotion of reducing, reusing and recycling, etc. Depending on the sector and industry, the size of the green technology market can vary. Green technology can be applied across all industries and sectors, but its primary ones fit for application include agriculture, gas, oil, retailing, supply chains, automobiles and truck, building construction, repair, and maintenance, transportation and shipping, manufacturing, etc. Making efficiency a part of a company’s operations has a great effect on the company’s bottom line and public perception.
Recent emphasis on green technology and sustainability marketing has come from several directions, namely concerned citizens and nonprofit organizations, including those who care about the environment and its protections. At the grassroots level, green technology and strategies have been implemented through the replacement of plastic grocery bags, recycling bins and installation of energy-efficient technologies in homes, apartments and office buildings. The energy industry is being driven by environmentally conscious individuals, nonprofits and other community groups that hope to preserve this world and leave it better for those who will come after today’s population. The market is already consumer driven and consumers will continue to see more environmentally friendly alternatives from their homes to their cars, and as such, will continue to pressure organizations to integrate the environment into their corporate culture (Polonsky, 2008). Consumers will likely need to see effort and carried out initiatives from companies and organizations regarding sustainability and green technology, especially in the fields it can be applied the most. Green technology and sustainability initiatives require that consumers want a cleaner environment, even if it means they pay for it with higher prices, changed lifestyles and even organizational pressure.
What the reports on consumer behavior and the market have not yet acknowledged is how companies plan on combating the skepticism of green technology in certain industries, such as electric cards and plug-in hybrids, or how consumers will believe or attest to the credibility of organizations that actually put forth these efforts. If cities, communities and companies can institute programs to increase consumer awareness instead of making green technology seem like a marketing and advertising gimmick, it will go a long way in earning and maintaining consumer trust. However, consumers must also understand exactly what it is they want to see companies do and depending on a genuine answer to that question, it will enable them to know if their own environmental consciousness is only for show. In order to understand both sides of the equation, it is necessary to evaluate the attitudes toward green technology, its past, present and future, and motives for wanting/doing such in a qualitative survey of open-ended questions that allow for total transparency when answering. This is to speak to the genuine nature of wanting to sustain the environment for the greater good of the people and not just the bottom line. As mentioned, those with the urgency in wanting a cleaner environment may inevitably have to sacrifice what they are accustomed to. On the other hand, companies who want to put forth these initiatives must acknowledge the same possible consequences. It would also do well to interview market experts to see the trajectory of consumer wants and needs in terms of green technology as time goes on. Although it is not possible to speak to every part of the future and what it may entail, market experts have the knowledge to be able to predict trends.
References
Jay Polonsky, M. (2008). An introduction to green marketing. Global Environment: Problems and Policies, 2(1).
Plunkett, Jack W., Plunkett, M. B., Steinberg, J. S., Faulk, J., & Snider, I. J. (2018). The “Internet of Things” (IoT) and M2M: Wireless Sensors to Boom, Aided by Nanotechnology. Green Technology Industry.
