Marketing that Makes a Sustainable Difference. 2008 Qtr 2
|
Marketing that Makes a Sustainable Difference.
|
A scan of just a few websites on Green revealed these enlightening facts:
- An average adult in the USA receives 41 pounds of junk mail a year and approximately 44% of this mail winds up in a landfill without having been opened.
- In 2006, US residents, businesses and institutions produced more than 251 million tons of municipal solid waste (including paper and plastic items) which is approximately 4.6 pounds of waste per person per day.
- Paper is the number one material that is thrown away. For every 100 pounds of trash, 35 pounds is paper. Newspapers take up about 14% of landfill space, and paper in packaging accounts for another 15 to 20 percent.
- 30% of sales promotional literature is trashed from inventory because it’s obsolete.
- In the US, more than 26 billion bottles of water are consumed every year, many of them outside of the home where there is little opportunity for recycling.
It’s tough to read these statistics without some emotional response—whether it’s a silent cringe at the enormity of the numbers, or a personal “oh well” sigh of acceptance. Regardless, today’s marketers are getting hip to the fact that the world is waking up to a new environmental consciousness.
So what’s a marketer to do? How can we do our part and demonstrate that our brand, company or product is environmentally responsible? Stop marketing? Hardly.
Actually there are many ways marketers can make a sustainable difference.
1. Consider electronic media—For a direct marketing program, consider how the message is delivered. Can the invitation or offer be emailed? Remember the “medium is the message” so if email is chosen, one should be aware of how the communication is messaged and obey spam protocols.
2. Print on demand when you can—Marketers can cut waste from their marketing budgets and save the landfills from obsolete literature and other unwanted printed materials. Plan for printing the optimal quantity and consider on-demand printing where possible.
3. Use soy-based inks and recycled paper—Realistically, you probably can’t eliminate paper completely from the marketing plan. So when printed materials are called for, consider printing responsibly using soy-based inks and recycled paper, or paper certified by the Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) and Green Seal. For more information, visit fsc.org and greenseal.org.
4. Rethink your sales meeting materials and launch kits—Sure, it’s a marketer’s job to make a big splash to introduce a new product or strategy to the channel, starting with a company’s own sales force. However, often times, these strategies get developed into kits or portfolios that use non-biodegradable or non-recyclable materials. It begs the question: how many plastic folders and literature portfolios does a person really want—and will keep? Reconsider the marketing options. Mother Earth will thank you.
5. Consider the organization’s stance on green—It’s hard to promote being green if there’s no commitment behind the effort. If your organization hasn’t gotten on the green bandwagon, consider forming an action committee to develop ways to become more environmentally responsible. At Miller Brooks, we recently instituted a number of green initiatives. For instance, we used to throw out more than 8,000 empty soda cans every year. Today, we’re recycling those cans as well as paper, and we’ve eliminated our use of styrofoam cups, paper plates and plastic utensils. And we continue to look for new ways we can make a sustainable difference—for ourselves, our clients, but mostly for the environment.
Back to top