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fellow Googlers or the company as a whole may be falling short of our commitment, don’t be
silent,” states the code. “We want—and need—to hear from you.”32

Still, written codes and ethics programs do not ensure ethical behavior. Ethics and
social responsibility require a total corporate commitment. They must be a component of
the overall corporate culture. As the Google Code of Conduct concludes: “It’s impossible
to spell out every possible ethical scenario we might face. Instead, we rely on one anoth-
er’s good judgment to uphold a high standard of integrity for ourselves and our company.
Remember . . . don’t be evil. If you see something that isn’t right, speak up!”

The Sustainable Company

At the foundation of marketing is the belief that companies that fulfill the needs and wants
of customers will thrive. Companies that fail to meet customer needs or that intentionally or
unintentionally harm customers, others in society, or future generations will decline.

Says one observer, “Sustainability is an emerging business megatrend, like electrifica-
tion and mass production, that will profoundly affect companies’ competitiveness and even
their survival.” Says another, “increasingly, companies and leaders will be assessed not
only on immediate results but also on . . . the ultimate effects their actions have on societal
wellbeing. This trend has been coming in small ways for years but now is surging. So pick
up your recycled cup of fair-trade coffee, and get ready.”33

Sustainable companies are those that create value for customers through socially, envi-
ronmentally, and ethically responsible actions. Sustainable marketing goes beyond caring
for the needs and wants of today’s customers. It means having concern for tomorrow’s cus-
tomers in assuring the survival and success of the business, shareholders, employees, and
the broader world in which they all live. It means pursuing the mission of a triple bottom
line: people, planet, profits. Sustainable marketing provides the context in which compa-
nies can build profitable customer relationships by creating value for customers in order to
capture value from customers in return—now and in the future.

20 Reviewing the Concepts

OBJECTIVES REVIEW AND KEY TERMS

Objectives Review the immediate and future needs of customers and the company.
Truly sustainable marketing requires a smooth-functioning market-
In this chapter, we addressed many of the important sustainable ing system in which consumers, companies, public policy makers,
marketing concepts related to marketing’s sweeping impact on and others work together to ensure responsible marketing actions.
individual consumers, other businesses, and society as a whole.
Sustainable marketing requires socially, environmentally, and ethi- OBJECTIVE 2 Identify the major social criticisms
cally responsible actions that bring value to not only present-day of marketing. (pp 628–635)
consumers and businesses but also future generations and soci-
ety as a whole. Sustainable companies are those that act respon- Marketing’s impact on individual consumer welfare has been
sibly to create value for customers in order to capture value from criticized for its high prices, deceptive practices, high-pressure
customers in return—now and in the future. selling, shoddy or unsafe products, planned obsolescence, and
poor service to disadvantaged consumers. Marketing’s impact on
OBJECTIVE 1 Define sustainable marketing and society has been criticized for creating false wants and too much
discuss its importance. (pp 627–628) materialism, too few social goods, and cultural pollution. Critics
have also denounced marketing’s impact on other businesses for
Sustainable marketing calls for meeting the present needs of con- harming competitors and reducing competition through acquisi-
sumers and businesses while preserving or enhancing the ability tions, practices that create barriers to entry, and unfair competi-
of future generations to meet their needs. Whereas the market- tive marketing practices. Some of these concerns are justified;
ing concept recognizes that companies thrive by fulfilling the some are not.
day-to-day needs of customers, sustainable marketing calls for
socially and environmentally responsible actions that meet both