UNAIR NEWS – Environmental problems have received great attention recently, especially about the increasing number of plastic waste in several countries. In a wider scope, there is greater threat to the environment on earth.
It is marked by the diminishing natural resources, depleting ozone layer, narrowing tropical rainforest, and reducing non-renewable energy, including the increasing air and water pollution and waste problems.
Prof. Dr. Tanti Handriana, S.E., M.Si in her professorship inauguration speech said that in the last 50 years, 60 percent of the earth’s ecosystem has been drained. Natural resource consumption is expected to increase three to six times by 2050. Meanwhile, the population is expected to reach 9 billion by 2050.
“One of the causes of environmental damage is from our behavior as living beings,” Prof. Tanti said.
“We act as consumers, both in consuming products in the form of goods and products in the form of services,” she added.
Therefore, said Prof. Tanti, understanding consumer behavior is very important. The concept of consumer behavior is defined as a process involving individuals and groups, in terms of choosing, buying, using, or disposing products, services or experiences. Its special purpose is to satisfy needs and desires.
Based on this concept, community awareness about green behavior is very important to build, especially as an effort to deal with various threats to the environment. It is important to raise people’s awareness about green behavior, either as consumers ( green buying behavior ), and as business people ( marketing people).
Green marketing
Prof. Tanti explained, Green marketing is a company effort to design, determine, distribute and promote products by paying attention to environmental protection. The green marketing concept has existed since at least the first Earth Day commemorated, in 1970.
“Environmental problems and consumer demand for green products are driving factors for the rise of green marketing,” she said.
The aim is to achieve balance between the objective of sales and profits as well as a form of concern for the community and the environment. Green marketing is beneficial for companies as producers, such as ensuring long-term sustainable growth and profitability and saving money in the long run.
Companies that implement green marketing, said Prof. Tanti, will produce the green products that do not pollute the earth, do not damage natural resources, and can be recycled.
“A product is considered as a ‘green’ product if it meets the criteria: saving water and energy, preventing the contribution of pollution to air, water and land; protecting indoor air quality; using renewable raw materials; producing small environmental impacts; and produced in an environmental friendly process, ” Prof. Tanti explained.
Green Buying Behavior
Meanwhile, from the consumer side, there is green buying behavior which avoids products that endanger the health of consumers or other parties and products that cause significant damage to the environment during the manufacture, use and disposal of products.
“Including products that cause unnecessary waste and products that use materials derived from endangered species,” she added.
Based on the definition of consumer behavior, continued Prof. Tanti, green buying behavior covers all stages of consumers in consuming a product (both goods and services) which are environmental-oriented, starting from the product selection phase to product disposal.
“For example, recently the campaign to stop using plastic straws has been encouraged,” she said.
Based on Divers Clean Action data, daily use of straws reaches 93,244,847. If they are connected, the straws can cover the distance from Jakarta to Papua five times.
“It triggers the emergence of creative ideas to replace plastic straws with environmentally friendly straws,” she said.
Prof. Tanti hoped the community will participate actively in this positive effort and be consumers that protect the earth.
“On the other hand, for consumers who have not implemented green behaviour, let’s start from the simple things around us,” she said.
Prof. Tanti said that it can be done by turning off the lights when going outdoors, bringing our own shopping bags when shopping in traditional or modern markets (minimarkets, supermarkets, and hypermarkets ), saving water usage, using energy-saving lamps and electronic devices, and limiting the use of plastic straws.
“Thus, consumer awareness of the green buying behavior and the implementation of green marketing concepts from business people and government support will create a sustainable and comfortable environment. Including creating a healthy life in general and creating efficiency and profitability for business people, ” she said. (*)
Author: Feri Fenoria
