Green marketing of industrial areas

1. Green marketingof industrial areas Marino Cavallo Training session University of Algarve Faro, 1st of April 2014 1 April 2014, Faro

2. Sustainable Industrial Areas: our key words Sustainable industrial areas: network of SMEs managed through common and shared patterns and located in sustainable equipped areas Blue economy principles: the sustainable industrial areas are based on the same principles of blue economy that are systemic approach, closure of cicles, symbiotic processes. Green marketing and territorial marketing: the Province of Bologna invests on the assumption that green marketing of sustainable industrial areas can be an added value for the marketing of all the territorial capital www.merproject.eu

3. 10 steps for developing a green marketing plan for eco-industrial parks The project MER is an opportunity to enforce and enwider the tools designed within the project Ecomark for the the promotion and the green marketing of eco-industrial parks. One of these main tools is the green marketing plan for eco-industrial parks www.merproject.eu

4. First step: the theoretical framework The base of a green marketing plan for eco-industrial parks has to be the identification of the main characteristics of innovative industrial areas. In order to do this, the green marketing plan experiemented in the project Ecomark projecttakes into account 9 international best practices in terms of eco-industrial parks in order to highlight their main characteristics in different fields: Waste recover and recycling, Resources, Efficiency, Building sustainability, Protection of the landscape, Common environmental actions, Assistance for businesses, Social actions

6. Step 2: the objectives of a green marketing plan for eco-industrial parks - to communicate the economic advantages brought by eco-industrial areas to businesses - the environmental benefits of eco-industrial areas - the intangible capital of eco-industrial parks (for example the possibility of becoming part of a team) -the features distinguishing an eco-industrial area from other industrial areas -to overcome the alternative between sustainability and competitiveness in the perception of all businesses, public opinion, local stakeholders www.merproject.eu

7. Step 3: identifying the strategic objectives of eco-industrial parks: - To reach and promote the standards of environmental and competitive excellence - to encourage businesses and enterprise to settle in the sustainable productive areas -to activate and join a virtous circle of integration among the bussinesses settled in the area and between them and the Managing Body www.merproject.eu

8. Step 4: identifying the targets Whom do eco-industrial areas speak to? - To businesses: enterprises already located in the area or willing to relocate and to find another area to settle in. - to local stakeholders: public administration, local authorities, associations representing local bodies and local residents www.merproject.eu

9. The eco-industrial parks have to take into account at the same time both businesses and local stakeholders Businesses Local stakeholders EEIAs can be considered as a complex product responding to the private demand by taking into account the needs of local stakeholders www.merproject.eu

10. Step 5: identifying the needs and the attractive factors IAs have to respond both to the needs of businesses and to the ones of local stakeholders: www.merproject.eu

11. Step 5: identifying the needs and the attractive factors IAs have to be attractive both for businesses and for local stakeholders: www.merproject.eu

12. Step 6: identifying the distinctive factors and added value of eco-industrial parks - Sustainable industrial areas result from a project aimed at improving environmentally friendly productive context - Sustainable industrial areas allow businesses to implement effective policies for sustainable development - In the long-term, sustainable industrial areas may represent a positive competitive factor www.merproject.eu

13. In addition to the distinctive factors, the added value of eco-industrial parks is represented by: - increasement of environmental impact positively affecting the reputational capital and the corporate image - possibility of participating to the local policies for sustainable development - providing incentives www.merproject.eu

14. Step 7: the positioning By considering the eco-industrial park as a Product and by applying the marketing strategies, the positioning of eco-industrial areas in respect to the competitors can be represented as following: Quality of the settlement Eco-industrial parks Economical advantages Sustainable development Low cost for the settlement www.merproject.eu

15. Step 8: defining the general vision to communicate Taking into account all the issues and the features dealing with the attractiveness of eco-industrial parks, a marketing strategies for sustainable industrial areas has to be the result of a joint and integrated approach combining: the vision, the main subjects involved (businesses and local stakeholders), the success factors of eco-industrial parks and their added value in respect to the competitors. www.merproject.eu

16. Step 9: combining the targets and the messages An effective marketing strategy has to take into account the selection of the contents to be delivered to the different targets in order to choose the most suitable messages according to the characteristics of each target group www.merproject.eu

17. The marketing strategies for eco-industrial parks: combining the targets and the messages For the target group of businesses the most important messages to be delivered are: - the economic advantages of being settled in an eco-industrial parks - the advanced services provided by an eco-industrial park - the advantages in terms of reputation for the corporate identity www.merproject.eu

18. The marketing strategies for eco-industrial areas: combining the targets and the messages For the target group of local stakeholders the most important messages to be delivered are: - the environmental benefits represented mainly by a lower impact of productive and industrial settlements - wider vision of sustainable development - creation of a network aimed at improving and enforcing the territorial capital www.merproject.eu

19. Step 10: the channels for implementation A marketing strategy for eco-industrial areas includes: traditional communication tools (events, fairs, merchandising, advertising, sponsorships) and one to one tools (consisting largely in institutional networking in order to build a wide institutional support for further development and improvement of eco-industrial parks) www.merproject.eu

20. To sum up: A green marketing plan for eco-industrial parks has to promote the ability of innovative and sustainable industrial areas of being a meeting point between the needs of businesses and industrial actors and the needs of local stakeholders. A green marketing plan for eco-industrial parks meets the territorial marketing approach because eco-industrial parks can be also a driver for the whole territorial development. www.merproject.eu

21. Thank you for your attention marino.cavallo@provincia.bologna.it www.merproject.eu