The role of 'Channels of Distribution' in Sustainable Marketing?

Channel networks range from “raw materials suppliers and manufacturers as well as intermediary organizations/facilities (e.g., industrial distributors, wholesalers, distribution centers, transporters, retailers) that engage in pass-through trade.”[1] These various channel networks work together to make products available to customers. Understanding these channel networks and the value added at each step is instrumental in assessing and evaluating how the product system life cycle can be used to make all aspects of the channel network more sustainable.
To understand the complex nature of such channels it is important to remember to look at the picture holistically. Ideally each section of the channel network should be optimally efficient and therefore create not pollution and not waste. While this is not currently available, it is important in the interim to examine the total impact of a product whether it follows forward or reverse channels to ascertain the avenues for improvement toward a more sustainable process. While improving the “environmental performance of channel organizations still boils down to implementing P2 initiatives that reduce waste and R2 applications that remediate unavoidable waste streams”[2], the simplified objectives that a marketing strategy can set are much easier to digest. Some examples of these sustainable marketing channel objectives for P2 or pollution prevention include setting targets to reduce inventories by a manageable percentage by a certain date or reducing the amount of pollution creating processes from production. Additional examples of such sustainable marketing channel objectives for R2, or resource recovery include using a combination of recycled rubber with virgin rubber to reduce waste and promote competitive advantage.

Photo by Daniel Suchenski


[1] Sustainable Marketing: Managerial-Ecological Issues, page 175.[2] Sustainable Marketing: Managerial-Ecological Issues, page 178.