Title: The Green Marketing Manifesto
Author: John Grant
Published by: Wiley
We’re a cynical bunch in this world aren’t we? Even as a firm believer in ethical marketing, corporate social responsibility and our industry’s key role in preserving the environment, I’ll admit that I approached this book with some trepidation.
On the face of it, The Green Marketing Manifesto has all the ingredients to send world-weary marketers to sleep. At first glance it looks a hefty, worthy affair, densely packed with text. Not only that, the green bandwagon is all too easy to jump on, and there is already a sense of mistrust among a public tired of having to examine the small print to find the reality behind an organisation’s green credentials.
But I shouldn’t have worried. The reality is that this is an excellent book, the kind that should be compulsory reading for anyone in our industry. At its heart is a very simple idea: that the marketing industry is in a hugely influential position when it comes to the environment. As communication experts, we are in a place where we not only can we influence consumer perceptions; we can also change consumer behaviour. This isn’t exactly new territory, but what the author John Grant does particularly well is to quash any ideas of bandwagon jumping or green washing from the outset. Instead, its focus is very much on outlining the difficulties involved in changing consumer perceptions and behaviour, as well as, crucially, about real, tangible ideas to move things forward.
The most important point in the Green Marketing Manifesto is actually about dropping the word ‘green’ altogether. And it is here that marketers’ role is most pertinent: the idea is that the very concept of ‘green’ is gradually absorbed into the unremarkable and everyday.
Reviewed by Jane Asscher, managing partner, 23red
05-03-08
