The relevance of the environmental factor in corporate strategies: an application to the consumer goods industry

Over the last few years companies have begun to consider the environmental factor in their corporate and marketing strategic decisions. In this context, the purpose of this study is to analyse the main pressure factors of this new business philosophy. Consequently, the concept of 'Corporate Environmentalism' (Banerjee, 2002) has been introduced and a model of environmental orientation and strategy is proposed. The information has been obtained from 81 personal interviews with companies that belong to the consumer goods industry. A structural equation modelling methodology has been conducted. Results show that competitive advantages and the management environmental commitment are the firm's main eco-orientation determinants. The consumer goods sector is aware of their environmental responsibility, but this factor is not a priority in their decision-making process.