The Need for Global Green Marketing for the Palm Oil Industry in Indonesia

Abstract

Continual scrutiny of and attacks on the palm oil industry in Indonesia have been ongoing for decades. The constant arguments against the palm oil industry have always touched on the issues of environmental sustainability, including deforestation and biodiversity loss, human rights issues, and various unsustainable practices. Even though many major palm oil players have voluntarily joined the RSPO, as well as the mandatory ISPO, with both certification bodies covering the environmental sustainability contexts of community development and human rights, constant attacks from stakeholders are mounting. This paper argues that besides fulfilling all of these requirements, there is a need for the industry as a whole to apply the right approach to green marketing or sustainable marketing as a means of strategy and business sustainability. Without a proper green marketing strategy and platform, the message of sustainability will not be delivered efficiently to the intended targets. There needs to be an understanding in regard to the market and also collaborative action between various stakeholders—including competitors and NGOs—to create and execute a fruitful green marketing strategy that can cross boundaries and be well received by the intended market.

1. Introduction

The palm oil industry in Indonesia has been one of the main contributors to GDP in Indonesia, with a contribution of around USD 15 billion to Indonesia’s foreign exchange in 2020 in terms of exports [1], and also employs more than 16.2 million workers in the industry. Furthermore, it is an industry that has contributed to the reduction of fuel imports by IDR 38 trillion in 2020 [2], a particular commodity that is highly valuable in its contribution to the economy of Indonesia. Crude palm oil (CPO) is the by-product of the palm oil tree (Elaeis guineensis) and has many uses including biodiesel, toiletries, cooking oil, medicines, and food. Due to its significance, it is also the most widely traded vegetable oil compared to other sources, accounting for almost 60% of all global oil seeds [3]. In regard to its competitiveness in terms of pricing and compared to other vegetable oil products such as soyabean, rapeseed, sunflower, and ground nut, CPO prices are always the lowest; therefore, this particular commodity is being used as an alternative to conventional fuel; this is currently being implemented [4].

In regard to the fact that Indonesia is the biggest CPO producer in the world, certain consequences also come with it, such as the immense rate of deforestation and the loss of biodiversity. The deforestation rate of Indonesia grew alarmingly during 2001–2019 to 16.24 million hectares, and the loss of biodiversity has been immense [5,6]. Indonesia experienced an average annual increase in deforestation amounting to 47,600 ha of primary forest loss from 2010 to 2012 alone, which is the highest rate in the world [7]. Palm oil plantations have also been heavily associated with carbon emissions and climate change due to their planting in peatland areas, which emit carbon, and it has been estimated that more than 2.5 gigatons of carbon have been lost since 1990 due to palm oil plantations in South East Asia [8].

Perhaps this environmental degradation is one of the main reasons that many environmental advocates such as Greenpeace have been so adamant about their actions against the palm oil industry, especially in Indonesia. Many environmental non-governmental organizations (NGO), including Greenpeace, have expressed their contempt vehemently through various daring and near-reckless actions, such as organizing a demonstration to block the Wilmar International CPO delivery vessel to Mondelez, the holding company of well-known snacks such as Oreo, Cadbury, and Ritz [9], blocking the passage of the IOI Group’s vessel at Rotterdam [10], orchestrating a series of sieges at one of Sinar Mas’s buildings in Jakarta—one of the biggest palm oil plantation companies in Indonesia and a major supplier to Nestle and Unilever [11]—and many other similar actions. Furthermore, European countries in the European Union (EU) have issued a policy called the Renewable Energy Directive (RED), which restricts the use of fossil fuels and oils derived from environmental degradation such as CPO in order to mitigate the global warming crisis, and it is in their opinion that palm oil plantations contribute significantly to the destruction of the environment and are one of the biggest agents of deforestation [12]. The issue of these trade barriers, under the guise of environmental issues, has been raised to the World Trade Organization (WTO) by Indonesia and Malaysia on the basis of protectionism and unfair business practices [13]. CPO disruptions will put the almost 5 million tons of CPO exported to these countries in jeopardy, triggering buyers to suspend their CPO purchases from Indonesia, altering the pricing system, and tarnishing the image of the palm oil plantation business even when much research has stated that the efficiency of palm oil trees has far surpassed other oil-producing plants and thus decreases the need for further land conversion [4,14].

Despite its massive contribution to the Indonesian economy and the livelihood of many smallholders and farmers, this particular commodity has been subjected to immense criticism and the sustainability factors contributing to it, especially on the environmental side. However, it is ironic that the Indonesian government has committed to a mandatory regulation concerning social responsibility towards palm oil plantations in the form of Indonesian Sustainable Palm Oil (ISPO) [15]. Furthermore, many of the companies in question are also members of the Roundtable Sustainable Palm Oil (RSPO), which is a voluntary NGO body co-founded by a notable NGO, the World Wildlife Foundation (WWF), in 2004, to ensure that CPO is produced in a sustainable way, with their main concerns being human livelihood and the state of our environment [16].

Therefore, it is imperative for palm oil plantation companies to realize that there is a need for green marketing in regard to CPO in order to educate, communicate, and rehabilitate the image of the palm oil industry for the market. In order for palm oil companies to be able to strategize against the ever-growing pressure from multiple stakeholders concerning environmental factors, palm oil companies must comprehend necessary factors in terms of sustainability and then have a clear and coherent strategy for how to communicate these factors. This paper will try to explain the importance and evolution of green marketing and the necessary importance of a good green marketing communication strategy through the use of possible coopetition models involving many stakeholders in order for common goals to be achieved. This paper also explains how even though the company has achieved sustainable certification without a current, proper communication strategy, the effort can indeed backfire or itself be rendered useless.

2. The Concept of Green Marketing

2.1. The Concept of Sustainability

Sustainability has been a key issue in the corporate world since the 1960s because of the world’s finite resources and vast global economic growth [17]. The trend of sustainability has increased significantly over the few past years to encompass factors from various stakeholders that specifically address issues such as climate change, environmental degradation, unequal economic growth, human welfare, and good corporate governance [17,18,19]. Perhaps one of the best and clearest categorization generalizations is John Elkington’s concerning sustainability, that is, his term the triple bottom line (TBL). It essentially suggests that firms allocate resources not just by looking at the firm’s financial bottom line but also by taking into account the three Ps (people, planet, and profit) [20].

2.2. Triple Bottom Line

The main aim of the triple bottom line is to shift from the focus of short-term economic profit and to approach business operations with an emphasis on the economic prosperity alongside social development and environmental quality [20,21]. Elkington’s point of view makes a clear distinction between profit and the wellbeing of people and the environment. This concept has promoted many platforms such as the Global Reporting Initiative (GRI) and Dow Jones Sustainability Index (DJSI) [22], and in the case of the palm oil industry, it has also been the propeller for the standardization of RSPO for a voluntary worldwide standard and ISPO in Indonesia for the mandatory certification of palm oil plantation companies. However, the TBL has some flaws in its conception, especially in its emphasis on accounting perspectives and not on counteracting a corporation or a firm’s profit-oriented nature. In a recent article in the Harvard Business Review (2018), Elkington himself has admitted that most companies that have used TBL in the past only used it as a balancing-act concept or a trade-off scheme. Even though there are merits in its application, the continuous threat of climate, water resources, forest, ocean, biodiversity, and many others still remain, and there is a need for other models that can push for systemic change and transform capitalism [23].

Therefore, the concept of sustainability has to expand according to the times and specifics of its industry. Perhaps in the palm oil industry in Indonesia, the platform that touches on many of its sustainability aspects, including environmental, socioeconomic, and good corporate governance, is the RSPO and the ISPO, at least for the time being.

2.3. The Sustainability factor of the Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil (RSPO) and the Indonesian Sustainable Palm Oil (ISPO) Standard

The RSPO and the ISPO are both used to align palm oil production with the rigorous principles of sustainable development in order to bring about change and to transform the industry [24,25]. However, in many ways, numerous studies have shown that the ISPO is a way for the Indonesian government to assert more control over sustainability policy instead of the industry being dictated to by other nations concerning palm oil sustainability, particularly non-producing CPO countries or organizations [26,27,28]. That is the main reason that the RSPO is still much preferred to the ISPO. The similarities and differences between the RSPO and ISPO are clearly shown in Figure 1.

Nevertheless, these two certification bodies mainly cover the same principles and criteria of people, planet, and profit in accordance with Elkington’s triple bottom line concept. Even though the language and the interpretations of the RSPO and ISPO guidelines are different, both sets of criteria have similar emphasis, especially on opening new plantations which must account for greenhouse gas emissions, primary forests, and peatland exploitation [29].

The ISPO was created by the Ministry of Agriculture in Indonesia in 2011 under the Ministry of Agriculture Regulation Number 11/Permentan/OT.140/3/2015 to answer questions concerning the sustainability of palm oil plantations and to support the commitment from the President of the Republic of Indonesia [29]. The RSPO was created by the drivers of a European initiative to combine a renowned NGO working in the environmental sector, the World Wildlife Fund (WWF), with a world-renowned fast-moving consumer goods producer, Unilever [30,31]. The main difference between the RSPO and the ISPO is the mandatory legal compliance for palm oil plantations that are based in Indonesia.

Regardless of the impediments to gaining certification for palm oil-producing companies, the challenges are still persistent, originating from the many various stakeholders. The question of whether these certifications really benefit the prevention of biodiversity loss and forest loss has been asked many times [32,33,34]. However, the irrefutable evidence of business interruption caused by numerous NGOs and policy changes has created significant monetary and market loss [19].

2.4. Green Marketing

The term green marketing has been in use since the 1980s, following the shift of consumerism towards a cleaner and greener environment [35]. There are many definitions of this term. Pride and Ferrell (1993) have tried to explain it as a way for a firm to design, distribute, market, and price a certain product without harming the environment [36]. Polonsky (1994) has defined green marketing as all a firm’s activities to generate or facilitate services and/or products with minimal detrimental impact on the environment [37]. Richardson (2003) has eloquently explained Welford’s (2000) definition of green marketing as the process by which the firm’s management identify, anticipate, and meet the requirements of customers in a sustainable and profitable way [38]. The fundamental commonality of these definitions can be described as the whole process from production to marketing, pricing, and distribution, in which the firm or the company operates with the mindset of preserving the environment and communicating this green approach to its consumers.

However, the term green marketing has also expanded and taken shape over time. Sustainability marketing is a term that expands on green marketing by putting an extra focus not only on the environmental side, including pollution, hazardous waste, and pesticides, but also on the social values of a business that many researchers have pointed out throughout the years [39,40,41]. As we can see here, the concept of green marketing does not differ from the triple bottom line coined by Elkington (1999); Fuller (1999) has also summarized green marketing in the broader context of sustainable marketing as a way for an organization to holistically approach, develop, and implement certain strategies that follow certain criteria where the consumer’s needs are met, the targets of the firm are achieved, and the whole process is in line with environmental and ecological needs [42]. Even though the pressure on the palm oil industry is more focused on the environmental aspect, it is also imperative for palm oil players to put in play the sustainability card when designing and strategizing the communication plans, since sustainability is currently a key trending factor trend ever since the inception of the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) in 2015. The growing trend of this particular sustainability subject, especially in production and climate action, will cater for the future aspirations of consumers [43]. Many researchers have predicted and argued that the future of marketing practitioners and strategists will have to shift from consumer relationship orientation to multiple stakeholder orientation which involves economic, environmental, and social impacts. In this so-called new third millennium era, new consumption and production patterns are evolving, and therefore sustainable marketing is becoming increasingly important [44,45].

This particular sustainability marketing, which is not just focused on the environment, also has the qualities of creating a long-term marketing relationship with stakeholders as opposed to traditional short-term, transaction-oriented marketing [46]. Peattie and Belz (2010) have eloquently identified the need for a paradigm shift of conventional marketing by thinking about the following four specific areas: (1) socio-ecological problem as a starting point for marketing, (2) holistic approach to consumer behavior, (3) reconfiguring the marketing mix for sustainability, and (4) using sustainability marketing as a transformational force. The most important factor arising from the Peattie and Belz theory of sustainability marketing is perhaps the addition of the four “P” factors of marketing, which are product, price, place, and promotion [47], to another four “Cs” of marketing, which are customer solutions, customer cost, convenience, and communication [46].

2.5. The Four “Cs“

2.5.1. Customer Solution

The shift that is now occurring is based on the fact that customers’ needs have changed to sustainable products that can improve social and environmental factors for the better or at least not for the worse. By buying sustainable products, there is a sense of long-term bonding that can be achieved; however, these products must also achieve the following: customer satisfaction, which means that the customers’ needs must be met and the product is performing as the firm claims it should; dual focus, which means that the product is designed not only with ecological aspects but also with social aspects in mind; life-cycle orientation, which means that producers are actually making sure that sustainability is incorporated from the beginning until the end of the product’s lifecycle; significant improvements, which means contribution to social and ecological problems; continuous improvement, which means pushing producers to always look further because needs and demands for social and environmental concerns may change over time and must always be related to the customer; competing offers, which means that one must always be aware of competition and that, even when fulfilling all these criteria, future threats can still arise [48].

2.5.2. Consumer Cost

According to the new approach of sustainability and green marketing, consumer perspective has also changed for conventional pricing, beyond just looking at it in terms of product usage; now, customers have other considerations beyond the transaction cost incurred because of social and environmental factors [47]. It is undeniable that a difference in pricing will remain a factor for certain buyers regardless of the sustainability factor or the green factor that a product may present [49]; however, by targeting certain consumers, companies can actually gain credibility, increase market share, and gain long-term loyal customers [50,51]. Therefore, it is imperative for corporations to also target competing prices with proper communication strategies for environmental and social aspects [52].

2.5.3. Convenience

The current challenge facing marketing strategists is defining convenience against the traditional way of thinking of “Place“, outside the context of point of exchange or point of sales. The value to customers is the focus of convenience that it brings to them so that the product is easily accessible. The trade-off between sustainability and convenience is something that producers and marketing strategists must be aware of.

2.5.4. Communication

The important strategy that will change the narrative of the traditional four “Ps” is the ability to change the perspective of or perhaps educate consumers about sustainability not simply in a unidirectional way. As Peattie and Belz (2010) stated:

“The challenge for sustainability marketers is to develop communications campaigns which suit the nature of their consumers and the solutions they develop for them. It is, however, more challenging for sustainability marketers to take advantage of the power of marketing communications techniques, due to widespread concerns about “greenwashing” and the social and ecological criticisms…”

One must be aware of the danger of overstating or wrong communications that can give reason for consumers to suspect “greenwashing“. Greenwashing can be described practically as the misleading practice of marketing communications focusing only on the positive aspects of a corporate image, especially in environmental sectors, without fully disclosing the negative information that a company may have or be aware of [53,54].

The danger of greenwashing can lead to unfair competition against enterprises and also has a negative impact on customers and shareholders [55]. These tactics that companies use include, but are not limited to, abstract and vague statements about their products or services, misrepresentations of labels and slogans, product design, and hidden goal conflicts by stating that one product is sustainable but the rest of the product lines are not [55,56]. In addition to misinforming customers about the ecological benefits that a product might have, there is also the danger of losing existing customers and new potential business opportunities, not to mention the legal ramifications for companies. Therefore, precise communication strategies are of paramount importance in delivering the products.

3. Discussion

3.1. Green Marketing Strategy of Palm Oil

After understanding the business of palm oil and the challenges it presents in relation to environmental factors, we can observe that it is more important than ever before to implement a green marketing strategy in this industry. The current issue derives from the fact that CPO is considered a commodity, and commodities need to be marketed, especially when the end users are not the buyers of CPO. The fast-moving consumer goods producers, cosmetics manufacturers, pharmaceutical companies, cooking oil producers, and many more companies across the world are the real producers that sell their products to the end market.

Understandably, there will be some reluctance between producers of palm oil companies to “chip in” together since they are competitors, but it is also understandable that the marketing costs incurred cannot be justified for sales directly. It could be considered as an additional burden instead of an added value. It is important, in addressing this matter, that the strategies employed must be mutually beneficial for the palm oil industry as a whole, not specific to certain companies; a collaborative action between various competitors and perhaps even with various NGOs is needed.

In order for us to understand the necessary strategies that need to be implemented to market CPO, we need to understand the competitor or the adverse contender, the consumers, and the collaboration coopetition relationship strategy.

3.2. Competitor or Adverse Contender

It is quite evident that the main “competitor” that poses the greatest threat to the industry is the NGO. Analyzing the NGO marketing strategy, we can discover that the objectives are different from conventional marketing practices. In general, the targets that are set by these NGOs include recruiting more volunteers, fundraising, creating awareness, and achieving support from government institutions and corporations [57]. The strength of NGO marketing increased with the rise of the Internet and the advancement of technology; it costs less and less each day, and the ability to reach out to the market is more effective as many users can access it at any time and from any place. Furthermore, the “price” factor is low where donors can choose their pricing for the respective NGO’s cause, which means that the barriers of entry are quite low [57,58].

The most integral factor in NGO marketing strategies, however, is that NGOs do not sell products or services but are more focused on the mission and ideas [57]. In the case of palm oil, we can see from the results of aggressive marketing campaigns and the powerful lobbying engaged in by certain NGOs that many manufacturers have started to use labels with “no palm oil” on their packaging in order to gain a market share, and policymakers, especially in Europe, use the reasoning of these NGOs to push certain agendas in front of the legislative bodies; although, it is arguably used for a hidden agenda of protecting European agriculture as well, for example, oilseeds, because it lacks the competitive advantage of cost and production [58].

From the marketing strategies of the NGOs, we can see that one of the most prominent and oppositional NGOs to palm oil, that is, Greenpeace, targets emotional bonding rather than intellectual reasoning to engage their target market [58]. Using the primate orangutan as their symbol of deforestation, the marketing campaign created by Greenpeace has garnered far more interest and views compared to the facts and data that it has presented. By using the narrative of the orangutan, named “Rang-Tan”, this animated short advertisement tells the story of a female orangutan that is causing havoc in a little girl’s bedroom because her home has been destroyed by palm oil concessions. This advertisement has been recycled and consistently and continuously promoted in different media outlets to gain maximum exposure, creating an emotional multiplier effect [59].

Creating an impact in Indonesia, where Greenpeace is most active in trying to gain support, has proven to be difficult since many of the efforts that Greenpeace has made are being dubbed as a black campaign, unpatriotic, and destroying Indonesia’s economy, and even malfeasant and unethical [60]. In order to repair its tarnished image, Greenpeace has used many public-relations strategies including press conferences, press briefings, media gatherings, press releases, press tours, press interviews, and special events [60].

Nevertheless, the marketing strategies from Greenpeace and other NGOs in other countries are working quite effectively since the demands for change actually come from other non-producing countries such as those in the European Union. We have observed that the strategies that the NGOs have used and still continuously use are: lobbying the government, targeting consumer brands, and creating emotional public awareness [60,61]. By using a certain lobbyist who allegedly has the same agenda as the NGOs, from the soybean and rapeseed industries, they have pushed for certain rules to be enforced, and thus the use of palm oil for biodiesel will receive no fiscal incentives and will be phased out in the future [61]. This specific aim of the legislation is a clear and effective blow to the palm oil industry. The second strategy that these NGOs have used is targeting the main buyers of palm oil that have specific and close relationships with end consumers, such as Nestle, P&G, Unilever, Mars, and financial institutions that support palm oil expansion, such as HSBC [61,62,63]. Using specific campaigns that have a devastating impact on the image of the brand also attracts media attention, such as public demonstrations, hijacking office buildings to display visible and provocative images of deforestation, and intense social media campaigns; all of these marketing campaigns have affected the share price of certain companies [63]. The propaganda and borderline black campaigns produced by NGOs have created an emotional public awareness which proves that the narrative strategy pursued by the NGOs is successful [64]. Other NGOs, in particular, such as WWF, have played on this narrative strategy successfully by providing evidence of the flow of funds to palm oil plantations allegedly used for forest destruction, thereby increasing public awareness of certain policy changes to guide the regulation of the channel of funds and especially adhere to key environmental, social, and governance principles [64].

3.3. Consumers

Unlike normal market segmentations which marketing strategists have devised, for example, the many theories and certain concepts such as the four “Ps” of marketing [47] and theories concerning green marketing practices and sustainability strategies as explained above, customers are clearly the end users and products are not considered as commodities. The consumers of CPO are not the direct end users, but instead it is the manufacturers that create various products using CPO to produce soaps, cooking oil, biodiesel, medicines, cosmetics, etc. From our previous discussion, we can see that the pressure for the palm oil industry comes from foreign nations and major manufacturers that have been pressured by NGOs and the local communities [61]. Therefore, we must determine which categories these manufacturers belong to, such as the green economic consumers platform, and the palm oil companies must realize the importance of marketing to their buyers not just for the sole purpose of marketing their products but also, to an extent, to provide assurance and avoid further business interruption and business opportunity loss.

Ginsberg and Bloom (2004) divided green consumers into several segments: True-Blue Greens, who are strong believers and will avoid non-environmentally friendly products; Greenback Greens, who are willing to buy environmentally conscious products but not politically active; Sprouts, who are equipped with knowledge of environmental causes but will avoid spending more on environmentally friendly products; Grousers, who are oblivious to environmental concerns and are cynical about their impact on significant changes and believe that so-called green products are inferior to the competition; and Basic Browns, who are so absorbed with their daily routines that environmental and social issues are the last thing on their minds [65].

After understanding consumer segmentation in the green economy, one must also understand the competitive landscape of the buyers of palm oil products. Some manufacturers can be categorized as Lean Greens, who try to be good corporate citizens but do not publicize their environmental initiatives for fear that all the products produced by their brands will be held accountable to the “green standard“, such as Coca-Cola [65]. This type of company focuses on risk mitigation, and fear of reputation damage, but does not see that the green market segments are worthwhile for the time being. Defensive Green is a type of strategy that is being used by certain companies that may fall into these categories because they are being attacked in relation to environmental issues. These types of companies implement green marketing strategies with sporadic campaigns, and with little investment, because they may not see the significant uniqueness or competitive advantage that can be gained by going green, and justifying their market segments in terms of marketing campaign cost is challenging. Shaded Green is a type of company that will actually invest in a long-term environmentally and socially sustainable process in the hopes that it will result in a competitive advantage [37]. Finally, Extreme Green incorporates environmental and social issues into their core business strategy in their business development, marketing strategies, quality management, and indeed throughout the whole product lifecycle [65].

The palm oil business has to deal with all of these types of buyers who position themselves differently in the green consumer segments and their respective marketing segmentations. However, regardless of the segmentation and the end user’s ideology in relation to environmental and social issues, if certain business interruptions and negative backlashes are affecting CPO buyers, the results can be catastrophic in terms of loss of business opportunities, increase in unforeseen cost, loss of market share, potential fines, and delays in business operations.

The danger to the palm-oil-plantation business is that it has become complacent from the demand that has surged enormously in the past decade and the competitive advantage that palm-oil producers have in terms of pricing, production, and cost leadership in the industry. With these new developments, there is a need to go beyond conventional means of just focusing on planting and production. Complacency is no longer an option and the pressure from labeling products, fines, and exclusion is more apparent than ever [13,14,15,59].

3.4. Collaboration Coopetition Relationship Strategy

Looking at the landscape of the business environment, it is undeniable that there is a need for an effective green marketing strategy formulated collaboratively by the industry. The correct terminology to explain this joint venture for this specific issue would be coopetition. This term was popularized by Brandenburger and Nalebuff (1996) to describe when a competing organization can actually create a driving force by synergy that will change the market and eliminate possible threats without having to lose its competitive edge [66]. It is imperative and necessary that when defining the market landscape of the palm oil business, one must be able to determine the stakeholders involved and the possible coopetition that can happen when the target of the collaboration has been defined (Figure 2).

By understanding the stakeholders involved, and the goal of strategizing effective communicable green marketing globally, the collaboration can then come to fruition. In order for coopetition to work, one must work with the unlikeliest allies to focus on something original and be willing to share certain information [15,67]. This may extend to collaboration with many different stakeholders with various agendas. Arguably, the main purpose of an NGO is to protect the environment at all costs, whereas the main purpose of the government is to ensure that the economy is running sufficiently well to provide a decent standard of living for its citizens, and the company’s main purpose is to operate a profitable sustainable business [15].

The challenge here is that there needs to be an independent body that can create this coalition body while maintaining impartiality and that can address the issue at hand. Brandenburger and Nalebuff, who are experts in game theory and strategy management, have explained conceptually that in any business case scenario, one must ask what the possible outcomes are if cooperation is not happening [68]. Scholars have warned that the threat will become more imminent and the damage will grow exponentially [59]. Furthermore, coopetition strategy is mostly used as a last resort for many reasons; for example, fear of sharing information and perhaps even “bad blood” may play a role [68], which is why certain rulebooks are usually employed when this type of collaboration is being formed. This includes all stakeholders involved needing to adhere to the terms and conditions of the agreement and being willing to set aside their disputes in order to achieve a greater goal. The coopetition must also set a clear target that the needs of each participating stakeholder will be met, the relationship will be beneficial for all the participants, continuous communication shall be maintained to ensure that all the needs and targets are being achieved, and certain shared measurement systems will need to be implemented to create a formal report to observe milestones and achievements [15,69,70].

For palm oil companies to be working together to achieve a successful green marketing strategy with their competitors and also the unlikeliest of allies, such as different NGOs, would affect the emerging strategies produced. Instead of just focusing on the marketing field, the NGOs may ask for a clear internal policy change or perhaps a more robust sustainability level to be achieved within each internal department of the companies. However, the palm oil producers might also demand that when all of these things have been achieved, the communication strategy will be endorsed by the NGOs, and if future attacks are made, those stakeholders will become defensive when there are untruthful claims made by certain organizations. The involvement within the financial institutions can also be considered if certain tranches or funds are given based on certain restoration activities or certain sustainable milestones being reached. Therefore, scenarios can be created in which, instead of reducing finances, the financial institutions help companies become more transparent, welcoming, and responsible agents of the environment while also making profit.

Possible Green Marketing Strategy of Palm Oil Companies

After establishing the theories that support the need for green marketing, identifying the needs and desires of the competitors and consumers of the palm oil market, and creating a collaboration between those stakeholders to strategize a green marketing strategy, there are a few methodologies that can be employed specifically in the commodity sector. By using the same promotional techniques of the four “Ps” [47] in addition to the four “Cs” [46] of green marketing, we can devise a certain possible strategy for marketing palm oil to the buyers and create a positive image of this particular commodity along with the stakeholders in the coopetition coalition (Figure 3).

• Product–Customer Solution

The coalition must inform the end consumers and not just the general public that palm oil products are being harvested from a sustainable company. This is core to the whole strategy. Sustainability is not only for marketing purposes but should be used as a driving force for change as well. Once sustainability is considered across the whole decision-making process, it can then be communicated effectively in the promotional strategy. However, certain policies of the company have to be clear and in conjunction with the coalition, which is created collaboratively, and certain checks will always be performed. An example of this is Wilmar’s policy of “No Deforestation, No Peat, No Exploitation”, which outlines the position of the company in regard to sustainability [71].

This coalition needs to fund research from various intellectual and academic sectors around the world, and especially from the target market countries, to obtain high-quality research that not only disproves wrong assumptions but also explores and fosters support for palm oil companies in becoming increasingly sustainable.

Certification, such as the RSPO and the ISPO, should not be the main objective, but should be an automatic result of following certain principles and criteria of sustainability by companies, which leads to them becoming good corporate agents to the world.

Furthermore, consumers have to be able to understand that the process of buying products that contain CPO does not harm the environment and can improve livelihoods and save lives.

2.

Price–Consumer Cost

Although the price of CPO is determined according to commodities and certain factors do not directly affect the end consumers, this coalition could successfully work with the manufacturers of the end products as well. By stating that customers are buying their products which contain palm oil products, they are also helping preserve the environment, and also the employeesworking there at no extra cost. This effort needs to convince the direct buyers of CPO because they do not want to risk exposure to certain claims not being true. A step-by-step involvement process is required with the buyers to encourage willingness and being comfortable with the arrangement, from just supporting in a certain media format to being openly and willingly able to add information memos for certain retail markets or even to their product packaging. This will need some time, marketing campaigns, and strong lobbying between the coalition and the relevant country’s market.

3.

Place–Convenience

Even though the idea of the four “Ps” matrix with the four “Cs” is to gain a competitive advantage of convenience to the end consumers without sacrificing sustainability factors, the example that can be cited here is that, even though palm oil is produced in another place that may be very far away from the end consumers’ home, the impact it has is a lot smaller and more sustainable than any other oil-producing crops. Without sacrificing the convenience that end consumers already have, by buying products that include palm oil the consumers are actually helping the world in a very sustainable way.

The idea of place is a good platform as well for this particular coalition to promote and educate end users about the benefits of palm oil; not to sell but to educate about the sustainability factors that palm-oil-plantation companies contribute to the environment and the livelihoods of the people working together at the point of purchase. Commodities rarely have to go to the modern retail market or traditional market to educate the market; however, a difficult situation requires unusual tactics to improve reputation and promote the industry.

4.

Promotion–Communication

This will be the hardest challenge that has to be overcome by the coalition in order to convey the main message using the appropriate methodology and not overselling it to avoid being construed as false marketing or greenwashing. Perhaps one of the best commodity marketing examples is the marketing strategies of coal companies in Australia amid the carbon tax that is due to be implemented. Australia also faces pressure from local government and the world concerning its rate of pollution. There is also the question of how tobacco companies, amid the ban on advertisements and certain restrictions in place, convey the message to their customers and try to expand the market as well [72].

• Persuasive tradition

  o

  By challenging certain findings and certain claims from competitors in the case of extremist NGOs, one can question their data and credentials.

  o

  Lobbying key government members to explain the point of view of the coalition, and also to initiate dialogues not just with a certain stakeholder with a specific agenda but with a more comprehensive and holistic coalition.

• Proactive strategy

  o

  By creating advertisements that have a strong emotional element. Stories can be devised from plantation workers, a forgotten village that is transformed due to palm oil, a child that is elevated from poverty, helping and nurturing wildlife animals that live near the plantation, and many other stories that are fit for the mainstream community to observe and react to emotionally.

  o

  Creating a tagline that is easily understood for the palm oil plantation industry in doing good for the environment and sustainability, such as in the case of the coal companies that use the slogan “Cut emissions, not jobs” [72].

  o

  Support local market communities and provide financial assistance to the local economy so that the market will know that the impact of their purchase has a direct positive impact on their livelihood as well.

• Charm offensive

  o

  By using relationship marketing, the coalition can create a story of how, by buying palm oil products, they can exert a very positive impact on the environment and society.

  o

  By showing that in every part of their daily lives, palm oil products have always been there and should be there for the good of the community, not a place with which they have no relationship, but something close or a person they may know.

  o

  Use real people as endorsers and communities to actively participate and support the palm oil business. Not a corporation, but the commodity.

  o

  Use endorsers who are quite reputable in environmental sectors but also somebody to whom the community can relate.

• Experiential marketing

  o

  Storytelling and real experience can make a huge difference. By inviting certain representatives from the government, the buyers, and the end users, consumers can feel and experience life at the plantation and directly see the positive impact one has on the ground, and this will create and convey a different story altogether.

• Digital marketing

  o

  Unique and continuous digital marketing which may include different platforms can be used, but the message has to be clear, concise, and relevant to the changes and issues at hand.

  o

  A form of relatability and involvement can be created through this platform where end users can react, understand, ask questions, and ultimately be involved.

4. Conclusions

The need for an effective green marketing strategy is essential to the longevity of a business. However, before a strategy can be implemented, a strong and robust bond between different stakeholders must be established. In order to fight the threat from other sectors, rather than competitors, the industry must be united and educate the market about the important issue of sustainability. Nonetheless, the industry itself must understand that sustainability is a real and increasingly pressing issue that affects the whole business sphere; the company and the industry itself must change from the inside holistically to become good corporate citizens that create a lasting impact on people, the planet, and profit. It is necessary to focus not only on the TBL paperwork or sustainability certifications, but to effect a systemic change for the whole industry internally before an external relationship with a coopetition model can be achieved.

There are many limitations to this paper. Future research could be conducted in many different subjects and could focus on the following: observing the impact of implementing a green strategy in palm oil sectors; green marketing strategies in different parts of the world where culture, biases, and demographics may be a factor; coopetition challenges in the palm oil industry; and strategies for growth and expansion in the palm oil industry amid the challenges in sustainability factors.