Corporate sustainability refers to the paradigm of maximizing customer and workers’ value through the creation of a "green" strategy geared towards environmental conservation and fairness and observance of ethics throughout the supply chain. It involves the incorporation of the concepts of sustainable development, corporate social responsibility, stakeholder relations, and corporate accountability in the production process. Sustainable businesses take part in corporate social responsibility, stakeholder engagement and include accountability processes in the vision and mission statements as well as in their strategic planning. They also volunteer resources towards environmental conservation, philanthropy and ensure that their ethical labor practices are upheld at all levels of the production process. Johnson & Johnson fits the description and was named among the top ten most sustainable companies worldwide ranking at number seven.
Johnson & Johnson is an American multinational corporation which deals in pharmaceuticals, medical devices and consumer packaged goods (Camilleri, 2017). It has expanded its operations 130 years later to serve over 150 countries with a total of 250 subsidiaries since its inception in 1886 (Camilleri, 2017). Their product range includes bandages, medications, baby products, beauty products and contact lenses. Their business sustainability revolves around ethical labor relations, observance of human rights in the workplace, corporate social responsibility activities, stakeholder engagement and environmentally friendly production (Esakki, 2017). They also work towards the advancement of global health, planet protection, supplier sustainability, philanthropy and being transparent and collaborative (Benn, Dunphy, & Griffiths, 2014). They achieve these sustainable development goals through some established frameworks which include; their products, recycling initiatives, environmental stewardship programs and lobbying for sustainable healthcare (Esakki, 2017). Johnson & Johnson is, therefore, a sustainable business and an exploration of their marketing, supply chain and operations management strategies in relation to sustainability and their impacts are proof of the fact.
Delegate your assignment to our experts and they will do the rest.
The marketing strategy of Johnson & Johnsons is the marketing mix. The marketing mix comprises of four components, product, place, price, and promotion (Camilleri, 2017). The products are classified into pharmaceutical products, medical devices, and consumer healthcare goods. Consumer products include moisturizers, body lotions, body wash, anti-aging lotions, skin care products, no-calorie sweeteners, and pain relieving creams. Medical devices include oncology machines, orthopedic and trauma treatment equipment. The pricing of the products is done using the consumer price index as the basis (Camilleri, 2017). They work hand in hand with governments like in France and Britain to offer their drugs like bortezomib and risperidon injections at subsidized prices to make them affordable to the citizens as part of their sustainability process (Camilleri, 2017). Their products are differently priced depending on the nature of the product. They use psychological pricing by pricing their products using 99 or 49 multiples (Camilleri, 2017). The place aspect is varied since the company has subsidiaries and product suppliers and distributors in over 175 countries worldwide. Their promotion strategy includes the use of coupons, cause marketing, advertising online and offline and corporate social responsibility initiatives (Benn et.al. 2014). A decentralized management system guides the process with an executive committee which deals with resource distribution and allocation.
The Johnson and Johnson company practices sustainable marketing through their strong advocacy for ethical marketing at all levels of its production process (Camilleri, 2017). They ensure that all their sales intermediaries sign binding contracts in which they swear to uphold all laws put in place by the government and other professional bodies (Benn et.al. 2014). They are also required to pledge to follow the already established Healthcare integrity guide which calls for transparency and fairness in all business dealings. The company uses sustainability as a basis for their green customers target marketing and promotion strategies (Camilleri, 2017). They make the eco-friendliness the unique selling proposition when marketing the products to attract and retain the environmentally conscious customers while preserving the environment in the long run. Sustainable marketing also entails the production of green outputs for the product part of the marketing mix (Benn et.al. 2014). These involve biodegradable products and minimizing the carbon footprint of the use of the product up to its disposal. Johnsons and Johnsons uses recyclable substances in their product use and follows the government set regulations on the carbon footprint limit of companies (Camilleri, 2017). The sustainable pricing strategies ensure that the green products are affordable to all customers (Esakki, 2017). Johnsons and Johnsons makes its green products affordable by minimizing on the cost of acquisition of raw materials like the green palm oil initiative which ultimately affects the price of the product.
The Johnson and Johnson company uses the continuous replenishment Supply chain model to move its products (Belvedere & Grando, 2017). The model involves working closely with intermediaries who bridge the gap between the company and the consumers (Esakki, 2017). The company is very keen when dealing with suppliers, and as they aim at building sustainable supply chain networks, they have put down certain guidelines to be followed by the suppliers for sustainability in the process (Benn et.al. 2014). The first criteria that the company use in selecting suppliers is based on supplier transparency and their sustainability programs (Belvedere & Grando, 2017). The claims of sustainability programs and compliance with the law should be backed by evidence since the company only deals with law abiding suppliers geared towards sustainability. In 2015, the company developed a Healthy Future goal program which has sustainability categories like energy saving, waste management, water saving, workforce injury/illness reduction, workforce wellbeing, and community and human rights investment (Benn et.al. 2014). All prospective suppliers are required to subscribe to at least two of these categories a move aimed at ensuring sustainability.
Johnson and Johnson is also part of the Carbon Disclosure Project (CDP) which encourages the measurement of energy use levels as well as greenhouse gasses emissions for environmental conservation (Camilleri, 2017). As part of their supply chain, suppliers are expected to publicly report on their emissions, water usage and their commitment to improving water availability (Esakki, 2017). The parameters used to assess the sustainability potential of prospective and existent suppliers are ethics, employee wellbeing, and environmental consciousness. The company ensures that all labor laws are adhered to in the supply chain and strongly condemns child labor, forced labor, poor working conditions and poor treatment of employees (Belvedere & Grando, 2017). If a supplier violates any of the ethical and standard practices, their contract is terminated since failure to adhere to these jeopardizes the company’s sustainability efforts in the supply chain (Benn et.al., 2014). The Johnson and Johnson company, therefore, champions for sustainable business practices even in the supply chain which has positive implications both in the long term and in the near future.
The incorporation of sustainable marketing practices in the business process leads to the strengthening of the brand and cultivation of a competitive advantage (Esakki, 2017). Customers are always proud of being associated with a winning brand, and an environmentally conscious business is a winner. The sustainability initiatives foster brand loyalty, attract and retain customers and also create brand awareness among the public (Camilleri, 2017). The sustainability practices through the production of green products also help to create points of relevant differentiation for products in the overcrowded marketplace (Esakki, 2017). The uniqueness sets the brand and its products aside from their competitors which give them a competitive edge which is important in gaining and holding on to a market share (Benn et.al. 2014). Sustainability in business is, therefore, a crucial asset in the ever competitive marketplace.
Sustainable business practices also maximize profits and increase stakeholders' value (Benn et.al. 2014). The practices increase profits through facilitating customer attraction and customer retention and also through the boosting of productivity levels in the labor force. When a company makes the employee's wellbeing their priority, their job satisfaction levels increase exponentially and they become highly motivated (Belvedere & Grando, 2017). The Johnson and Johnson company was ranked among the top 10 most sustainable brands because of its low turnover rates which were a metric used in the ranking criteria (Esakki, 2017). Apart from eliminating slavery, child labor and advocating for employee safe working environ, the company has employee health policies in place and reward systems for achievements towards the sustainability goals (Esakki, 2017).The initiatives also avoid the depletion of natural resources which ensures that the companies and the communities around them will still have resources to tap years from now.
The Johnson and Johnson company is, therefore, a sustainable business as evidenced by their marketing mix and supply chain strategies. The implications of the practice are profit maximization, strong brand name, and image, increased brand awareness, increased productivity and continuity in the production process.
References
Belvedere, V., & Grando, A. (2017). Sustainable operations and supply chain management . Hoboken: Wiley.
Benn, S., Dunphy, D. C., & Griffiths, A. (2014). Organizational change for corporate sustainability . Abingdon, Oxon: Routledge.
Camilleri, M. A. (2017). Corporate Sustainability, Social Responsibility and Environmental Management: an Introduction ... to theory and practice with case studies .
New York: Springer.
Esakki, T. (2017). Green marketing and environmental responsibility in modern corporations . Hershey, PA: IGI Global.
