The role of green marketing: Insights from three airline case studies Robert Mayera*, Tim Ryleyb and David Gillingwaterb a Centre for Air Transport Management, Cranfield University, Cranfield, MK43 0AL, United Kingdom b Transport Studies Group, School of Civil and Building Engineering, Loughborough University, Loughborough, LE11 3TU, UK * Tel.: +44 (0)1484 473210; fax: +44 (0)1484 473148 E-mail:
[email protected] 1. Introduction Environmental marketing has become important across a range of industries. Many organisations have adapted their marketing mix to address the changes in the market (Bonini and Oppenheim, 2008). For example, The Body Shop generates a powerful brand through the focus on environmental credentials (Curtin, 2007). Consumers also become more aware of the environmental impacts of consumption and show concern for the environmental damage this causes. They expect companies to be proactive rather than reactive when it comes to climate change, as Bonini and Oppenheim (2008, p. 56) state: “Consumers want to act green, but they expect businesses to lead the way.” This means that companies should focus on green marketing efforts that are attractive to consumers. This is beneficial for the companies, as more and more people prefer to purchase from companies that care for the environment (Kotler, 2011; Strategic Direction, 2013). Historically, services are seen as producing little environmental impact (Van der Zwan and Bhamra, 2003). However, Peattie (1995, p. 182) classifies transport as “dark-grey”, “high-impact” services which create significant environmental issues and achieve low sustainability. This is particularly true for air transport given its growth rate and contribution to carbon emissions.