Green Livin How Green Are You?

Looking for ways to make your marketing efforts more eco-friendly? Our green “audit” just might help.

It’s getting easier every day to convince your CEO and CFO of the marketing benefits, and ultimately the bottom-line impact, of creating sustainable business processes. So the next time you champion some green marketing initiatives, you’re far more likely to get buy-in from the C-level types as well as your board of directors.

But once you’ve got the higher-ups on board, how do you get started? Experts agree that the best way to start is by taking stock: Exactly how green are you right now? What follows is a checklist of some of the eco-minded efforts espoused by sources in our recent green marketing issue. It’s by no means comprehensive, but it should give you a good idea of where your company stands right now — and how far you need to go.

In recent memory, which of the following green efforts have occurred within your organization? (Check all that apply. Score one point for each “yes” response.)

1. Decreased the thickness of your paper stock
2. Reduced the trim size on a mailer or catalog
3. Used recycled or “groundwood” paper rather than virgin stock
4. Used chlorine-free paper
5. Used soy- or water-based inks
6. Used such alternate energy sources as solar- or wind-generated electricity
7. Donated money to green initiatives to offset the cost of environmentally harmful business practices
8. Cleaned your mailing lists of duplicated or non-active recipients
9. Asked customers to specify how frequently they’d like to hear from you
10. Opted for printing processes that produce less waste, such as rotogravure
11. Offered customers print-on-demand technology
12. Sent customers online for follow-up information
13. Sent out larger print pieces on CD
14. Printed marketing materials on both sides of the paper
15. Chose vendors based on their use of renewable energy
16. Provide encouragement, incentives or opportunities for customers to use renewable energy
17. Engaged a third-party organization to perform an audit of your environmental practices
18. Benchmarked your environmental efficiency against local and national standards
19. Communicated your green efforts to your customer base
20. Shared an environmental innovation with one or more of your competitors

IF YOU SCORED:
15 to 20 points: Congrats! You’re about as green as they come. But don’t stop there! Keep up the good work, and continue to spread the word to all of your stakeholders.

10 to 14 points: Yeah, you’re green, all right. You’ve done a lot of great stuff, but there’s a lot more you can do.

5 to 9 points: Kudos for making the effort, but you’ve got a bit of a way to go before you could truly be considered “green.”

0 to 4 points: So, uh, what’s the holdup, friend? Being green is no longer a luxury: It’s a price of doing business. It’s time to get the green ball rolling.

https://www.delivermagazine.com/columns/2007/09/06/how-green-are-you/