Marketing et développement durable - analyse de l'entreprise Ben & Jerry’s

Résumé du document

Since the 70's environmental concerns have been growing among the population as the consequences of human activities have been more and more visible. Companies have to consider this trend and need to understand and evaluate the importance of what is called sustainable development.

What is important is to know if this is just the latest fad or if it is on its way to lead to tremendous changes in our vision of the future. Anyway marketing can't miss the opportunity of taking advantage of this trend, all the more so this strategic choice can prove to be a real factor of differentiation.

From the 50's to the beginning of the 70's, the first warnings about pollution gave way to a growing awareness of the fact that the economic growth couldn't last forever without causing serious consequences on our environment. People realized that at the rate of the current intensive exploitation of natural resources, they were bound to be worn out.

Extraits

[...] Each element of the marketing mix is considered in the light of sustainable development. PRODUCT Ben & Jerry's aim is make the best possible ice cream in the nicest possible way”. That's why they find it important to source the finest ingredients from producers and suppliers who share their willingness to contribute to social and environmental change. In 2003, they launched a sustainable dairy farming program with a view to help farmers to measure the effects of their farming and develop improvement plans. [...]

[...] Their packaging is not a 100% recyclable because they have to coat the tub with polyethylene to prevent it from leaking. But they are continually working on to make improvements. PRICE Ben & jerry's dedicates a proportion of its products' prices to an important environmental cause: global warming. When purchasing Ben & jerry's ice creams, a small amount of the price is used to buy what is called “climate tickets”. These tickets help to offset the environmental impacts of air travel by supporting Clean Energy Projects in developing countries. [...]

[...] Costs will also be cut through the development of more sustainable business practices and better use and conservation of resources. If marketers do not develop a more sustainable attitude, they may have to deal with problems in keeping with the law, maintaining shareholders and customers' confidence or wining market shares. We can conclude that better socio-environmental performance leads to better marketplace performance. But such a sustainable marketing strategy is hard to implement, so marketing as a function will need to develop plans with clear objectives and well-defined strategies. [...]

[...] - The third circle is the goal to reach social equity. The idea of sustainable development is to achieve these aims simultaneously because trying to achieve one unique goal will be done at the expense of the two others. In order to succeed in achieving these objectives: businesses, public powers and every one of us need to work together. The union of marketing and sustainable development. As I just said, sustainable development has also become an important issue for companies. [...]

[...] It is important to add that for companies, their brands and their products or services to become and be perceived as more sustainable, it requires that a strategy is fully backed up by more than good marketing. It is essential that all services work together in order to keep improving the implementation of such strategy. Case study: Ben & Jerry's Ben & Jerry's is an American ice cream company, that manufactures ice cream and frozen yogurt. The company has built its strategy on product quality, preservation of the environment, and charitable actions. [...]