Yeşil Pazarlamanın Gelişim Süreci: Sürdürülebilir Kalkınma Hedefleri Bağlamında Kavramsal Bir İnceleme

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Abstract (En)

This study offers a thoroughly expanded and conceptually enriched examination of the evolution of green marketing within the overarching framework of the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), aiming to understand how the concept has transitioned from a narrowly defined environmentally oriented promotional practice into a comprehensive, strategically embedded sustainability paradigm directing contemporary corporate management. The research is grounded in the accelerating global urgency surrounding climate change, biodiversity loss, resource depletion, and ecological degradation, all of which intensify the call for responsible production and consumption practices and elevate sustainability to a central expectation among consumers, policymakers, investors, and civil society actors. While the early formulation of green marketing in the 1970s and 1980s largely revolved around environmentally friendly product attributes or pollution-prevention advertising appeals, the intensification of global environmental concerns and the institutionalization of sustainable development have pushed the concept far beyond its initial boundaries. Today, green marketing represents an integrative and multidimensional management philosophy that aligns environmental, economic, and social dimensions of sustainability with long-term strategic decision-making, innovation agendas, and corporate governance structures. Against this backdrop, the main objective of the present study is to map this conceptual transformation, trace the theoretical progression of green marketing, evaluate its contemporary strategic significance, and assess the extent to which it aligns with—and is strengthened by—the SDGs, which provide a universal and comprehensive blueprint for global sustainability efforts. Employing a qualitative research design, the study uses document analysis as its methodological foundation, systematically reviewing academic literature, international reports, policy documents, and empirical studies to identify how green marketing has evolved conceptually and operationally across decades. This methodological approach allows for a detailed interpretation of the historical foundations of green marketing, beginning with its emergence during the rise of global environmental awareness in the 1970s, advancing through the sustainability-oriented transformations of the 1990s and early 2000s, and culminating in the strategic, innovation-driven, and stakeholder-oriented paradigm observable today. The findings reveal that green marketing’s earliest manifestations were closely tied to regulatory pressures, ecological conservation movements, and shifting consumer expectations, leading firms to incorporate recyclable materials, biodegradable packaging, and pollution-reducing technologies into their product strategies. However, these initiatives were often short-term, fragmented, or limited in scope, lacking the organizational integration needed to achieve deeper environmental impact. The turn of the 1990s marked a significant turning point as global summits such as the Rio Earth Summit, alongside the emergence of seminal policy documents like the Brundtland Report, accelerated the institutionalization of sustainable development. Consequently, green marketing began to integrate broader organizational dimensions such as green supply-chain management, eco-efficiency, waste minimization, renewable energy adoption, and stakeholder engagement. This period also witnessed the rise of environmental management standards such as ISO 14001, which legitimized the concept and introduced verifiable frameworks that encouraged firms to adopt holistic environmental strategies rather than isolated interventions. However, the most transformative phase in the evolution of green marketing emerged with the global adoption of the SDGs in 2015. The SDGs provide a comprehensive and interconnected sustainability framework that aligns environmental, economic, and social concerns, thereby offering firms a clear and globally recognized reference for structuring, implementing, measuring, and communicating sustainability-oriented marketing practices. Particularly relevant are SDG 12 (Responsible Consumption and Production), SDG 13 (Climate Action), SDG 7 (Affordable and Clean Energy), SDG 9 (Industry, Innovation, and Infrastructure), and SDG 17 (Partnerships for the Goals), which directly encourage organizations to adopt circular economy models, reduce carbon emissions, improve energy efficiency, innovate in sustainable technologies, and collaborate with stakeholders to drive systemic transformation. Within this context, green marketing has evolved into a strategic mechanism for value creation, reputation building, risk mitigation, and competitive differentiation. Firms increasingly integrate lifecycle assessments, carbon footprint analyses, sustainability reporting, green branding, eco-certification, and transparent communication strategies into their marketing processes to demonstrate authenticity and strengthen stakeholder trust. Moreover, shifting consumer demographics—especially among younger generations—have heightened expectations for corporate sustainability performance, reinforcing market pressures for authentic, measurable, and long-term environmental commitments. Despite these advancements, the study highlights persistent challenges that continue to shape the green marketing landscape, particularly the issue of greenwashing. Defined as misleading or exaggerated claims about environmental performance, greenwashing undermines consumer trust, distorts market competition, and threatens the credibility of sustainability-oriented marketing. As greenwashing becomes more sophisticated, the need for regulatory oversight, transparent reporting mechanisms, credible verification processes, and globally aligned sustainability metrics becomes increasingly vital. In this regard, the SDGs provide a valuable framework that encourages measurable and verifiable action, offering firms an opportunity to substantiate their environmental claims through alignment with internationally recognized indicators and targets. The theoretical contribution of this study is multifold. It provides a holistic conceptual mapping of the evolution of green marketing, situating its transformation within major environmental milestones and the broader institutionalization of sustainability. It positions the SDGs as a catalyst for expanding the strategic meaning and organizational relevance of green marketing, linking the field more directly to global sustainability governance. Additionally, the study synthesizes interdisciplinary perspectives from marketing, environmental management, sustainability science, corporate governance, and consumer behavior, demonstrating that green marketing has increasingly shifted from a communication-oriented activity to a systemic and strategically embedded corporate function. The practical implications for organizations are equally significant. Firms seeking to enhance sustainability performance and build long-term competitive advantage must embed green marketing into their strategic planning processes, align marketing activities with measurable sustainability goals, and ensure organizational authenticity through transparent reporting, stakeholder collaboration, and continuous innovation. In conclusion, the expanded synthesis presented in this study demonstrates that the evolution of green marketing is deeply intertwined with global sustainability agendas. As environmental challenges intensify and societal expectations heighten, integrating green marketing with the SDGs becomes essential not only for corporate resilience but also for contributing meaningfully to global sustainable development. By offering a comprehensive conceptual examination of the historical, theoretical, and strategic evolution of green marketing, this study provides an important foundation for future academic research and practical guidance for organizations navigating the sustainability transition.