Green consumerism is the way forward

By Waeil Ahmad Kamel 

Let’s be real, no country in the world is immune from the effects of climate change. The United Nations (UN) launched the Sustainable Development Agenda in 2015, reflecting the growing understanding by member states that a sustainable development paradigm for today’s and future generations offers the best path forward for reducing poverty and improving the lives of people everywhere at the same time. 

Taking into consideration the profound impact on human consciousness, the polar ice caps melting, global sea levels rising, and catastrophic weather events becoming increasingly ferocious. Building a more sustainable global economy will help reduce the greenhouse gas emissions that cause climate change. Therefore, it is critical for the international community to meet the UN Sustainable Development Goals, as well as the emission reduction targets set out in the 2015 Paris Climate Agreement. Sustainable development and climate action are interlinked, and both are essential to humankind’s present and future well-being. 

Green consumerism is one way that can make a definite impact, it refers to the situation in which some consumers demand products and services that have undergone an environmentally friendly production process or a process that includes recycling and protection of planetary resources, in other words, green consumerism entails the production, promotion and development of or use of goods and services on the basis of their pro-environmental benefits. 

The economic, social and cultural forces have set the framework for green consumption, and this is because it is a social situation and movement in the modern era, where it is specifically aimed at encouraging people to be more aware of the production processes of companies and only to buy or use products and services that do not harm the environment, and for this reason consumerism has created Green as a balance between buyer behaviors and the profit goals of organizations; because it is mostly based on sustainable and pro-environmental behavior. 

What is the importance of green consumption? 

Reduces Waste in Packaging: Green consumerism calls for some frugal packaging options, as it has social attitudes such as preferring to buy bulk products of vegetables and fruits rather than prepackaged products, and it encourages the reuse of paper and plastic packaging bags that often detriorate the environment. 

Increases Energy Efficiency: Green consumer attitudes advocate the efficient use of energy, which ultimately helps save money, lower utility bills, reduce greenhouse gas emissions and enables economies to meet the growing demand for energy. Through green consumption, the environmental and economic benefits of utility systems are realized together with managing the risks associated with inefficient production processes. 

Reduces the release of emissions and other pollutants during production and transportation processes: in general, thanks to green consumption, emissions from the transportation sector and industries have been reduced significantly, this is also due to advertising and some green consumer programs’ strict standards against emissions that have been established, thus reducing emissions from engines and developing clean fuel options. 

Increases the consumption of healthy foods: Through the propaganda of green consumerism there has been the growing need for more eco-friendly food production, and as a result, people are gradually developing a culture of buying more organic and local foods that are arguably healthier because they are not grown or produced using synthetic chemical fertilizers, antibiotics, hormones, or pesticides. 

In the next several years people will realize how beneficial it is to preserve the planet, and to avoid regrets decades in the future. We can begin to conserve natural resources by becoming an environmentally friendly consumer. Here are the ways in which anyone can become an environmentally friendly consumer: 

· Change our mindset: It is difficult to force people to consume products or use services that prevent the depletion of natural resources that lead to habitat loss or environmental degradation. A daily green habit should be embraced by people. 

· Recycle and use eco-friendly products: We can easily become environmentally friendly consumers by choosing to recycle the products we use or use eco-friendly products, instead of buying bottled water for example we can choose a water bottle that we can always use to hold water, and instead of using tissue paper, we can use cloth napkins that we can wash and reuse. 

· Buy Locally Grown and Organic Food: Purchasing locally grown, organic foods can significantly reduce the carbon footprint of transportation and the environmental impact of the use of pesticides or synthetic fertilizers. 

Lastly we can implement green marketing strategies, this is done by doing the following: 

· Ensure transparency: This entails extremism and exposing any bad news, as organizations need to find a competitive advantage by disclosing as much information as possible about sources and production processes. 

· Focus on pro-environmental solutions and benefits: Since buyers want some information about the personal benefits of the products offered, companies should focus on incorporating more environmental benefits of the products. For example, organizations should ask whether their products save consumers money or whether the products are attractive to discerning consumers. 

All of these impacts can only benefit us in the long run if only we act upon green consumerism and implement it in our daily lives. On this note, as humans, we should always think about long-term and not short-term benefits of satisfying our needs.***

(Waeil Ahmad Kamel  is a student in Department of Business Administration, Kulliyyah of Economic and Management Sciences (KENMS). The article is part of ‘Responsible Consumerism’ course. The views expressed here are those of the writer/author and do not necessarily represent the views of IIUMToday,)

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