Green. Earth-friendly. Environmentally-conscious. Sustainable. Recyclable. Organic.
These are all terms we have come to know and hear over and over again in the past few years. The eco craze has moved beyond individuals and into businesses across the country. Becoming conscious of the environment and taking steps to make organizations more eco-friendly is not a trend, it is a lifestyle shift and is here to stay. If your company has not yet embraced the green movement or if you are in the midst of your eco efforts, read on for some ideas on how to promote your earth-friendly efforts.
Why is it important for companies to become green?
Besides helping to protect our planet, there are several other reasons for companies to go green. First, it will help you save money. Using energy-efficient appliances and light bulbs, switching to post-consumer paper, and encouraging employees to print less are a few of the many things that you can do to help the environment and save money for your business. Becoming green also helps to attract new customers. Consumers are likely to purchase their products from companies who share the same values, such as their commitment to the environment. Growing your eco efforts can also increase employee well-being. It creates a positive environment and shows employees that you care. If your organization cares about the environment, you are more likely to care about your employees as well.
Ideas to kick start and promote your Eco efforts.
Create an internal green team. To ensure employees at all levels of the organization are engaged and excited about your eco efforts, create a team of people from different areas of the company to lead your internal campaign. They can help implement, monitor and report on your progress and encourage others throughout the organization to take part in the mission. Give each of them an organic t-shirt with ‘Green Team’ imprinted on it, and outfit each team member with a supply of recycled pens to hand out to individuals as they catch them in the act of helping the environment.
Celebrate milestones. Make sure to celebrate all achievements so the entire organization is aware and inspired by your efforts. Earth Day is a great day to celebrate, but expand the events to other days throughout the year as well. Hand out recycled or reusable water bottles to your employees with information inserted on how much energy or money you have saved through your efforts. Also, encourage them to use the water bottles in place of bottled water to help the environment.
Participate in community programs. Organize or participate in a volunteer clean-up effort at a local park. Bring a team of employees and give them each a seed packet at the end of the event to plant in their neighborhood. Sponsor the event by giving all in attendance a recycled shopping tote with your logo on it.
Incorporate your eco message into your marketing programs. Promote your eco friendly efforts in all of your marketing efforts. Send out press releases on your company’s efforts, create an eco story and include it on your company website or in your catalog, and make sure any promotional item you are using is eco-friendly.
There are a growing number of eco promotional products in the marketplace. From items that are made from recycled materials to items that are recyclable to items that are simply reusable and promote eco friendly actions. When initiating and promoting your green efforts, using eco promotional products to support your initiatives is a great way to make sure the message resonates with your audience.
Best Promotions has a large selection of eco-friendly promotional products ranging from pens to totes to notebooks at a variety of price points. Visit their site to view ideas to help support your efforts. http://www.bestpromotions.com/products/browsecategory/303/
