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Marketing tools for products
It is not enough to develop and produce environmentally sound products. The
performance must also be communicated in a credible and understandable way to
customers to build a competitive edge for your products with the
sustainability performance. First you have to make clear the purpose of your marketing
activity. Is the purpose to give information about material content and/or
recycling, to get positive customer response, to increase the image of your
company, to get positive economic influence, to provide customer with
environmental information, to make comparisons between different products
possible etc?
There are two different ways to select what environmental marketing material
to use. One way is general, i.e. you have a general purpose
for using marketing materials. The other way is based on the questions asked by
customers, stakeholders etc.
Choice of marketing materials based on your purposes
In the table below you can see, depending on the purpose, what you can use as
marketing material.
| Purpose |
Use |
| To provide customers with the material content of your product. |
MD |
| To inform customers about the lack of certain harmful substances. |
MD |
| To inform about the conformity to directives and standards. |
MD |
| To give a recycling instruction. |
RI |
| To give information about operation, maintenance and/or service. |
RI |
| To give an overview of the environmental performance of your company and
your product. |
ED, EPD |
| To give customers and other stakeholder thoroughly information about the
environmental performance of your product. |
ED, EPD |
| To present a certified environmental product declaration |
EPD |
| To give a positive environmental image of your company. |
MD, RI, ED, EPD |
| To be in the frontline of working with environment. |
EPD |
Material declaration; MD, Recycling instruction; RI,
Environmental Declaration (type II); ED, Environmental Product
Declaration (type III); EPD
Choice of marketing materials based on questions commonly asked by
customers and other stakeholder
Different marketing information answers different questions. For each
question a suggestions of suitable marketing information are presented in the
table.
| Question |
Use |
| What
are the material content of the product? |
MD, RI, ED, EPD |
| What
is the weight/weight-% of different materials or substances in the
product? |
MD, ED, EPD |
| Does
the product contain any hazardous substances? |
MD, RI, ED, EPD |
| Are
there any RoHS-substances in the product? |
MD, RI, ED, EPD |
| In
which way can the product be dismantled? |
RI |
| Are
there any components that need special handling? |
RI |
| Are there any batteries in the product? |
MD, RI, ED, EPD |
| In
which recycling fractions could the materials in the product be sorted? |
RI |
| What
is the energy consumption during operation? |
ED, EPD |
| Which
are the emissions from the operation? |
ED, EPD |
| How
is the product transported? |
ED, EPD |
| How
is the product packaged? |
ED, EPD |
| Has
the company implemented an environmental management system |
ED, EPD |
| Has
the company implemented a quality management system? |
ED, EPD |
| How
is the product disposed? |
RI, ED, EPD |
| Which
directive requirements does the product conform to? |
ED |
| Is
there any PVC in cables? |
MD, RI, ED, EPD |
| Do
plastic parts contain flame retardants? |
MD, RI, ED, EPD |
| Are
there any harmful substances in paint/varnish |
MD, RI, ED, EPD |
| Are
paints solvent based? |
ED, EPD |
| Can
the product be reused after end-of-life? |
RI, ED, EPD |
| Which
is the standard specification of the product? |
ED |
| Which
are the maintenance instructions? |
ED |
| What
are the risks arising from malfunction? |
ED |
| What
is the environmental risk in case of fire? |
ED |
| Which
are the energy resources and material resources used for the different
life cycle phases, i.e. manufacturing, operation and disposal? |
EPD |
| Which
are the emissions and waste for the different life cycle phases, i.e.
manufacturing, operation and disposal |
EPD |
| What
environmental impact has the product during the different life cycle
phases, i.e. manufacturing, operation and disposal? |
EPD |
| What
is the eco profile of the product? |
EPD |
Material declaration; MD, Recycling instruction; RI,
Environmental Declaration (type II); ED, Environmental Product
Declaration (type III); EPD
Decide to whom the information should be distributed. Consider the following
categories:
- All customers that require environmental information
- A cross-section of all customers
- To customers you are sending an offer
- To suppliers
- Authorities etc
Decide in which situations information should be distributed. Consider the
following alternatives:
- Together with an offer in a package with other information material such
as safety data sheets, specific technical information etc.
- A general sending-out to stakeholder supposed to be interested
- Customer events, visits, exhibitions, conferences, workshops and
lectures
- Internet
Choose products for environmental product information. Consider the following
alternatives: Information for
- All new products
- Products or systems
- Products in large production volumes
- Products that are just launched
- Representative types of a new product family
Decide in what format the information should be distributed. Consider the
following alternatives:
- Off-print
- Brochure
- Electronic format
- Advertising pamphlet
Experiences
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