ABSTRACT
Despite the economic and social progress relished by a considerable proportion of the world, a large segment of humanity continues to live in hard to imagine conditions. This segment is often referred to as the “bottom/base of the pyramid” (BoP). With aggregate purchasing power over the US$5 trillion, the potential in this segment is impressively high, and it is not limited to the purchase of basic necessities only. Attention towards serving this large market by marketers will add to the already increasing ecological imbalance and depletion of natural resources. Also, the consumption preferences and practices of BoP consumers will have an influence on environmental degradation in difficult-to-imagine magnitudes. Considering its significant potential, an important issue facing business organizations in serving this market is finding ways to meet the needs of BoP consumers sustainably. Hence, business organizations need to focus on serving these BoP consumers and enriching their quality of life without exploiting the environment to the point of no return. Also, the consumers themselves need to contribute through environment consciousness in their purchase preferences to support and encourage sustainable practices of business organizations. There is a need to bring about a change in their consumption behaviour. Nevertheless, before bringing any behavioural change, it is crucial to evaluate current awareness and knowledge about environmental consciousness and sustainable consumption among BoP consumers. Therefore, this study empirically assesses the environmental consciousness of urban BoP consumers. The rationale for the study is that consideration for the environment could only come from the consumers who are aware of and fully committed to their rights to a quality environment. This study provides valuable insights to business organizations for designing relevant communication strategies to encourage BoP consumers’ environmental consciousness and sustainable purchasing practices.
