Green Marketing: Build Sustainability into Your Proposals, Presentations, and Promotional Materials (copy)

The client wants 10 copies of a 50-page proposal. That’s approximately 6 percent of one tree. (How Many Trees Does YOUR Office Use Each Month?) It’s also at least one to two days of extra time that needs to be built into the proposal schedule (depending on your printing methods and logistics) to produce. That’s a lot of time and material.

Given client requirements, as marketers, there’s only so much we can do to affect how we and our firms use these resources – but it’s probably a lot more than you think!

If we feel inspired by Earth Day or our own passion about the environment, let’s walk through some “green” (or sustainable/environmentally friendly) steps we can implement or propose from the Marketing perspective.

Recycle, Repurpose, Reuse

The first things that come to mind when we think of going green is often paper and plastic. Paper can be recycled and use minimized. Plastic can be repurposed or reused (think plastic bags or water bottles). Here are some examples we can put to use on proposals and other marketing deliverables. (Note: Some clients already require or employ these practices.)

Print on recycled paper (aim for more than 50% post-consumer content).
Whenever allowed, use double-sided printing (instantly reducing paper consumption by 50%).
Use water-, vegetable-, or soy-based inks, which are biodegradable and not harmful to the environment.
Recycle empty toner and ink cartridges.
Promote recycling in your office to ensure no paper is wasted.
Encourage digital drafts/proofs and deliverables whenever possible.
Utilize sustainable printing companies, whose practices reduce their waste and carbon footprint.
Buy plantable business cards or zero-waste seed paper for a unique and eco-friendly touch.
Choose biodegradable and/or reusable products for your branded promotional items.

These may seem simple – or a little complicated – but any measure we can take helps. Keep reading for more ways we can boost sustainability in our A/E/C Marketing efforts.

Digital-First

The most environmentally friendly marketing solutions do not use paper at all. A few ways to set up for zero-waste success include:

Electronic Submissions
Encourage clients who still require printed responses to accept qualifications and proposal submissions through an online portal instead. With so many bid opportunity platforms, owners have a lot of choices to meet their procurement needs. If they are not ready to forego print submissions, suggest limiting the number of hard copies required.

QR Codes
Strategic use of QR codes helps reduce waste and track engagement.

Extoll the benefits of including QR codes in your presentations instead of bringing paper handouts as a complement (or even a redundancy) to your slide deck. More often than we would like to think, our leave-behinds are, well, left behind. The viewable or downloadable content linked through this common digital tool gives your client something they can more easily explore and save for later.
Ask if your client will accept QR codes in RFQ/P responses. (Note: Some prohibit their inclusion). These easy-to-generate, easy-to-scan codes can be used to link to cloud-based files, such as financial statements and other lengthy documents, saving paper and ink in printed proposals.
Allow a single business card to generate multiple leads. On a business card, a QR code can let a new connection download your contact information or learn more about you and your role in the business – all without you or your industry peers carrying around a stack of business cards (that will most likely end up in a drawer or the garbage, whether the contact info was captured or not)
Let a sign at your conference table do the talking. A sign or single sheet of paper with a QR code at your booth gives everyone passing by an opportunity to learn more about your firm, your services, or you. This is also helpful for times when traffic in the expo hall gets busy – interested attendees can scan the code, and even if they miss a chance to talk to you in person, your information is still accessible to them.

Cloud-based Collateral
Digitize your brochures – and anything else that would cost time and money to produce that could end up being tossed aside (or out) a few minutes or days after your existing or potential clients have it in their hands. Any marketing material you would distribute physically can be hosted online as an interactive PDF or webpage that clients can view, bookmark, or download at their convenience. Use links or QR codes to make accessing your documents fast and easy.

Promotional Products

Invest in sustainable swag. If you can avoid using single-use plastic and non-recyclable items as much as possible, your firm’s commitment to the environment will show in every piece of branded merchandise, from apparel to water bottles.

Here are just a few examples of items you can offer your employees to promote more eco-friendly work and give your clients to promote more eco-friendly use:

Shirts made from 100-percent organic cotton or post-consumer recycled fabrics
Notebooks made from post-consumer recycled fabrics or recycled paper
Coffee tumblers made from bamboo fiber, recycled plastic, or recycled coffee grounds
Reusable tote bags made from organic cotton, hemp, or recycled PET

Do an online search for sustainable promotional items and discover the wide selection of vendors and products available for something that is both different and resilient.

Sustainability Programs

Promote your sustainability programs and initiatives! From green building and design to environmentally friendly marketing practices, the steps you take to reduce your ecological footprint provides benefits to your organization and your clients, whether it saves costs, creates efficiencies, or delivers future-minded and community-focused solutions.

Sustainability efforts embody many of the common values within the A/E/C industry, such as service and integrity, demonstrating how our firms envision their impact on a local and global scale. Clients, across all industries, tend to appreciate the immediate or long-term savings realized by incorporating sustainable features into projects. There are a variety of innovative design and construction solutions to lower energy demands, reduce water usage, and prevent materials from being wasted.

Educating clients about these options and what your firm’s program has accomplished can show them your value and your ability to problem solve in a purpose-driven way.

Every Day Is Earth Day

Any opportunity to do or suggest something a little more conscious of the environment and a little less wasteful makes a difference. If we take a minute to think about it, we can make more sustainable decisions every day. If you print drafts to review (which is definitely helpful for some of us), do you need to print every draft or maybe just the Red Team? After reading all of this, are you thinking about printing this article? Because maybe you could just save it. And save paper – not to mention paper and ink costs – in the process.

Green Resources

10 Innovative Ways Companies Are Making Their Marketing Materials More Sustainable | BOSS

Sustainable Marketing: How Brands Can Promote Eco-Friendly Practices | Forbes

Sustainable Marketing Materials: A Guide | Stitchi

Sustainable Printing Practices: 8 Tips for Eco-Friendly Printing | Meridian

A Green Resource Close to Home:

Welcome to Take Care of Texas | Take Care of Texas

By: Mary Hazlett, Tetra Tech