Green Market

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EJM

37,5/6

848

Received January 2001

Revised May 2001 and

September 2001

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Social responsibility in

environmental marketing

planning

¨ ¨

Jari Karna

Department of Forest Economics, University of Helsinki,

Helsinki, Finland

Eric Hansen

Department of Forest Products, Oregon Sate University, Corvallis,

Oregon, USA, and

Heikki Juslin

Department of Forest Economics, University of Helsinki,

Helsinki, Finland

Keywords Green issues, Marketing, Corporate responsibility, Social responsibility, Government,

Forestry

Abstract Companies along the forestry-wood value chain from four European countries were

surveyed in order to examine social responsibility in values and environmental emphasis in

their marketing planning. Most of the Finnish, Swedish, German and UK companies

emphasise environmental issues in their values, marketing strategies, structures and functions.

The companies were classi®ed into three groups according to their responsibility values based

on the concepts of redirecting customers towards sustainability and the role of governmental

balancing of markets. ªProactive green marketersº (companies emphasising pursuing

sustainability and believing in free market system) emphasise environmental issues in their

marketing planning clearly more than traditional ªconsumption marketersº, and more than

ªreactive green marketersº (companies emphasising pursuing sustainability under

governmental balancing). We interpret that proactive marketers are the most genuine group

in implementing environmental marketing voluntarily and seeking competitive advantage

through environmental friendliness. Thus, the example of these progressive companies should

be the direction towards sustainable development in business...