GS4 · UPSC Mains

Prahlad is a climate conscious and responsible citizen, who left his well-paying job as a senior manager in a multinational company to start a small firm that would manufacture eco-friendly products. The motto of his company is “no waste, all green”. His firm makes bio-degradable polymer which can be used as an alternative to plastic bags, bottles, plates etc. Prahlad thinks that this will promote a healthier environment and will have a positive impact on people’s health. It will also help address the problem of climate change by reducing one’s carbon footprint. For this to be achieved, he believes that not just products, but the process too should be less polluting. This is why, he invested heavily in non-polluting machinery. These machines are certified as “green machines”. In fact, some of them were even imported from other countries. All of this has gained him a good reputation in the eyes of critics and environmentalists. But as the technology used in manufacturing these products is new, imported and expensive, the products made by Prahlad’s firm is costlier than conventional plastic products. Prahlad has proved that his product is environmentally benign, but he was unable to scale up production because of he ran out of funds. Prahlad knows that if he could start manufacturing the polymer at a large scale and leverage economies of scale his product would become more price competitive to conventional plastics. Prahlad used last of his funds to publicize his product. Prahlad thought that with this publicity, raising funds from the market would be easy. Prahlad reached out to many investors, and they showed great interest in Prahlad’s product. But none of them were willing to invest money in this product. They feared that this new product, being much expensive, would not be able to compete with the conventional plastic products. Prahlad’s firm is also losing his existing customer who complain about very high cost of his products. Both Prahlad’s prospective investors and past customers know that this technology is less polluting and environmentally benign and has a positive attitude towards it. But consumer concern and attitude about the environment does not readily translate into the purchase of environmentally friendly products. Academic research has also identified this gap between purchase intentions and behaviors. Prahlad knows that if he changes the production procedure, things can look better for the company on the financial front, but that can take away his reputation and will also be against his own beliefs. The only possible hope is to expand his consumer base, sell his products at full capacity and convince investors to invest in his eco-friendly venture to keep his green industry running. Consider yourself in Prahlad’s position and answer the following questions: a) How will you induce behavioral change to nudge people to move towards eco-friendly products? b) What factors will you have to consider while inspiring such a change?

20 marks · 20 words · 4 toppers answered this · seen 2025

GS4 · Attitude — content, structure, function; influence & relation with thought & behaviour; moral & political attitudes; social influence & persuasion

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