Nowadays, consumers are more conscious than ever about the impact that their decisions have on the environment. And they’re willing to spend their money accordingly. Thus, a business’s decision to adopt green practices, limit emissions, and invest in energy-efficient light bulbs (for instance) might be driven just as much by marketing concerns as by ethical or financial ones.
If you’d like to get a message out there to your would-be customers, then it’s worth doing so with one eye on the potential environmental impact.
Green Marketing: Here’s How To Get Started
Simply declaring yourself to be green does not always make it so – and your potential new customers will need tangible evidence in order to earn their trust, and their custom.
“You’ll need to quantify the impact of your business activities through regular audits.”
– Green Marketing 101
Encourage feedback from workers and customers, and ask yourself constantly: what measures are you failing to implement that might lessen your environmental impact?
Do Not “Greenwash”
Widespread concern over environmental issues means that your business will be exposed to greater scrutiny than ever. Brands need to be able to demonstrate green credentials. And they’ll need to do so in as transparent a manner as possible. Which means, whatever you do, don’t greenwash!
Be forensic in detailing the steps being taken, and don’t skirt over the technical challenges and setbacks that might come along the way. While it might be tempting to bury your company’s green policy on an obscure page on your website, a better idea is to be upfront and honest, with regular bulletins posted on the company blog.
“Be honest and upfront about your journey to improving your company practices.”
Choose Recycled Materials When Possible
Talking endlessly about the value of sustainability might be counterproductive if you’re spreading that message on printed materials. Thus, it’s worth not only adjusting the quality of your printed advertising, but the sustainability, too. Look into printing suppliers which share your environmental ethos. Look for those which provide recycled paper stock.
In September 2018, Rotherham-based printer instantprint launched its fully-recycled stock, which is made available on a range of key products, including flyers, leaflets, business cards, and greetings cards.
The company is keen to draw attention to their own green bona fides: “instantprint even offers to add the FSC logo across all of their paper-based products free of charge for customers who request it. This has proven really popular on their printed greetings cards especially in environmentally conscious industries such as the catering, retail and business service industries.”
instantprint’s ‘totem’ recyclable banners provide a sustainable means of getting even larger messages across, and make a great match for trade shows and other time-limited events where a message needs to be conveyed quickly.
The growing demand for responsibly-sourced paper, and consumer interest in initiatives like the FSC, should serve as an illustration that a commitment to green principles is valued by customers. Internally, companies should make the transition toward a paperless filing system – this not only reduces the amount spend on paper itself, but the energy, ink and hardware it takes to make printed memos a reality. It may also help to make your office space look that little bit tidier, too!
