One of the top issues on the world´s agenda is global warming. To meet the challenge in finding non-polluting alternatives to coal, gas and oil, wood as the raw material has become an interesting option. The aim with the study has been to examine how various organizations in the biorefinery business communicate both their environmentally friendly activities as well as their products. Is this green marketing anchored in the overall identity and in that case how? How is the green profile communicated externally? Which are the main arguments for being green? These questions are answered by qualitative interviews as the method.
The theoretical base is focused on identity, profile and image. It is intimately connected to research in Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) which is to one part focused on the environmental aspect. Ethics and theories about publics is also part of the theory basis.
The result shows an awareness of how to market one selves as a green company. These four companies have reached different levels of maturity in their green marketing. As the examined companies are two municipal energy companies and two profit based industries means different starting positions, background and reasons to communicate their green identities. An overall argument in all studied companies is that the sustainability argument is crucial both within the operations as well as the communications.