5: Communicating the Environment in the Green and Circular Economy

Abstract

Can products and services truly communicate the Environmental message? Is the traditional economic model able to encompass both concepts of Environment and Sustainable Development, enhancing natural resources? These are some of the key-questions at the base of the Green Economy and the most recent Circular Economy, the “green revolution” of the economy as a result of strong socio-cultural change that pushed the corporates to implement eco-sustainable actions as well as to find new communication tools to communicate their Environmental commitment in a very efficient, eco-responsible, transparent and shared way. In the modern economy, still linked to the business-oriented approach, the Environmental compartment is an integral part of the economic system on the tail of the Triple Bottom Line model based on the trinomial: Population, Planet and Profit. But is it sufficient to prevent the risk of “sprinkled with green” products and services that really have nothing to do with an eco-sustainable management aka (as known as) “green washing”? The process and product certifications are they able to guarantee the communication of Environmental quality to the consumer-user? Can the marketing tools be efficient Media to communicate Environmental and sustainable values? And if so, which forms and within which limits? The promotion conventional and non-conventional tools (guerrilla marketing) have raised the “green” flag, but are they really effective? These are some of the questions we will try to give an answer in the “Chapter 5—Communicating the Environment in the Green and Circular Economy”.