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Indian companies target children to push green messages ... and sell products | Indian companies target children to push green messages ... and sell products |
(about 4 hours later) | |
As the UN finalises the new sustainable development goals to replace the millennium development goals, India is a living example of the importance of ensuring that growth is sustainable. | As the UN finalises the new sustainable development goals to replace the millennium development goals, India is a living example of the importance of ensuring that growth is sustainable. |
India ranked 155th out of 178 countries in a recent survey on environmental quality and came almost last in air pollution exposure. Thirteen of the 20 most polluted cities in the world are in India, according to a WHO survey. | India ranked 155th out of 178 countries in a recent survey on environmental quality and came almost last in air pollution exposure. Thirteen of the 20 most polluted cities in the world are in India, according to a WHO survey. |
The country’s annual GDP growth of 8% over the last decade has allowed millions to emerge from poverty, but has been clouded by environmental damage and poor social infrastructure. These challenges are being addressed at a governmental level through initiatives such as Clean India Mission, a five-year effort to eliminate open defecation, provide access to improved sanitation and clean up the River Ganges, among other targets. But they are also increasingly being tackled by businesses. | The country’s annual GDP growth of 8% over the last decade has allowed millions to emerge from poverty, but has been clouded by environmental damage and poor social infrastructure. These challenges are being addressed at a governmental level through initiatives such as Clean India Mission, a five-year effort to eliminate open defecation, provide access to improved sanitation and clean up the River Ganges, among other targets. But they are also increasingly being tackled by businesses. |
Related: Access to clean water and sanitation around the world – mapped | Related: Access to clean water and sanitation around the world – mapped |
Domestic and multinational corporations are looking to play a more positive role in India’s sustainable development. Several have identified a common audience on which to focus their efforts: children. | Domestic and multinational corporations are looking to play a more positive role in India’s sustainable development. Several have identified a common audience on which to focus their efforts: children. |
Organisations such as Unilever, IT giant Wipro and regional language daily paper Mathrubhoomi are working on initiatives that use children to increase support for environmental causes. | Organisations such as Unilever, IT giant Wipro and regional language daily paper Mathrubhoomi are working on initiatives that use children to increase support for environmental causes. |
These social and environmental campaigns fall broadly into three main categories. The first includes initiatives that engage children to push for positive behaviour change in adults. Surf Excel’s Keep India Clean, where children urge adults not to litter, is one such example. | These social and environmental campaigns fall broadly into three main categories. The first includes initiatives that engage children to push for positive behaviour change in adults. Surf Excel’s Keep India Clean, where children urge adults not to litter, is one such example. |
The second focuses on behaviour change among children. Unilever brand Lifebuoy’s Help a Child Reach 5 seeks to develop a hand-washing habit among children to prevent deaths from diarrhoea. | The second focuses on behaviour change among children. Unilever brand Lifebuoy’s Help a Child Reach 5 seeks to develop a hand-washing habit among children to prevent deaths from diarrhoea. |
The third group consists of brands aligning themselves with children’s causes. Horlicks’ Ahaar Abhiyan (nutrition mission), for example, focuses messaging about its malnutrition prevention programmes on children under five. Noodle maker Ching’s Secret’s Hunger Ki Bajao initiative seeks donations for Akshayapatra’s mid-day meal programme, which currently serves 1.4 million children across schools in India. | The third group consists of brands aligning themselves with children’s causes. Horlicks’ Ahaar Abhiyan (nutrition mission), for example, focuses messaging about its malnutrition prevention programmes on children under five. Noodle maker Ching’s Secret’s Hunger Ki Bajao initiative seeks donations for Akshayapatra’s mid-day meal programme, which currently serves 1.4 million children across schools in India. |
These initiatives indicate a very different trend to the pester power normally used by advertisers in India to persuade people to consume. So what is behind this shift to engaging children for cause-marketing in one of the fastest growing economies of the world? | These initiatives indicate a very different trend to the pester power normally used by advertisers in India to persuade people to consume. So what is behind this shift to engaging children for cause-marketing in one of the fastest growing economies of the world? |
An educated generation | An educated generation |
This is the first generation of children in India to receive formal environmental education in school, after the Supreme Court of India ruled that environmental education should become a compulsory subject from 2005. Up to the age of seven, children receive activity-based environmental education, and from the ages of eight to 10, they study it as a separate subject. For older children, education on issues such as global warming, waste management and the health impacts of pollution are integrated into other subjects. | |
Related: Can India lead on green buildings, clean energy and corporate sustainability? | Related: Can India lead on green buildings, clean energy and corporate sustainability? |
Effects of pollution | Effects of pollution |
These problems aren’t just theoretical; water shortages, waste mismanagement and air pollution are affecting children’s health and their daily lives. A recent report indicated that 40% of children in New Delhi and 36% in Bangalore have weak lungs due to air pollution, which makes them prone to a range of respiratory infections. | These problems aren’t just theoretical; water shortages, waste mismanagement and air pollution are affecting children’s health and their daily lives. A recent report indicated that 40% of children in New Delhi and 36% in Bangalore have weak lungs due to air pollution, which makes them prone to a range of respiratory infections. |
Children are already environmental activists | Children are already environmental activists |
The on-ground activism of children on environmental causes is evident in several cities. In Mumbai, children have been involved in the creation of eco-friendly idols of the Hindu god Ganesha. Thousands of these idols, traditionally made with chemical-laden flourescent paints, are immersed in the sea during the annual Ganesh Chaturthi festival. Children have also been involved in the Save Water for My Tomorrow campaign in Bengaluru, which reached out to 350 schools, the cracker-free Diwali and the Earth Saviours project in Delhi, which organised street plays in schools. | The on-ground activism of children on environmental causes is evident in several cities. In Mumbai, children have been involved in the creation of eco-friendly idols of the Hindu god Ganesha. Thousands of these idols, traditionally made with chemical-laden flourescent paints, are immersed in the sea during the annual Ganesh Chaturthi festival. Children have also been involved in the Save Water for My Tomorrow campaign in Bengaluru, which reached out to 350 schools, the cracker-free Diwali and the Earth Saviours project in Delhi, which organised street plays in schools. |
Captive audience in schools | Captive audience in schools |
While savvy marketers in India have long known that children are a key target audience, the availability of on-the-ground activation teams, the openness of the new generation of schools to corporate sponsorship and the leverage of digital media have made it easier to engage with school children throughout India. | While savvy marketers in India have long known that children are a key target audience, the availability of on-the-ground activation teams, the openness of the new generation of schools to corporate sponsorship and the leverage of digital media have made it easier to engage with school children throughout India. |
This raises an obvious criticism. The end-objective of these environmental corporate initiatives is not altruism. Children are a very large market for a wide range of products that they can buy or influence their parents to buy. By linking themselves with a positive environmental and social message, brands want to take advantage of this halo effect to gain new customers. | This raises an obvious criticism. The end-objective of these environmental corporate initiatives is not altruism. Children are a very large market for a wide range of products that they can buy or influence their parents to buy. By linking themselves with a positive environmental and social message, brands want to take advantage of this halo effect to gain new customers. |
But does this matter? India’s children face a challenging future and, providing that these companies are also walking the walk when it comes to the environmental and social impact of their products and services, maybe this new marketing approach will help influence a more sustainable form of development. | But does this matter? India’s children face a challenging future and, providing that these companies are also walking the walk when it comes to the environmental and social impact of their products and services, maybe this new marketing approach will help influence a more sustainable form of development. |
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