• by Jess Nelson , April 21, 2017

Another weekend will be marked by mass protests in the United States as the scientific community and concerned citizens take to the streets Saturday for the Science March in Washington, D.C.

Inspired by the success of the Women’s March in January, more than 600 satellite marches are also planned across the world to celebrate science and promote evidence-based policy changes. Saturday also marks Earth Day, an annual celebration held every April 22 as a day of action to commemorate the birth of the modern environmental movement.

EJ McGowan, general manager at Campaigner, shared tips with Email Marketing Daily to support email list generation as an alternative to print waste. 

“Email is a sustainable marketing strategy because it uses more renewable resources than direct mail and reduces paper waste,” says McGowan. “The American Forest and Paper Association found that 68 million trees are cut down to make 17 billion catalogs and 65 billion pieces of direct mail, and transitioning to email can help reduce those figures.”

Snail mail advertising generates a significant amount of paper waste, and likely ends up in a landfill, according to McGowan. He recommends delivering marketing content, such as promotions, receipts and catalogues, electronically as a strategy to be more sustainable.

Marketers who send a high volume of direct mail can begin to cut down on paper waste by transitioning customers to electronic communication channels, such as email.

“Encourage customers to sign up for your email list by adding scannable QR codes on your print mailings or directing customers to your social media properties,” says McGowan. “Once they subscribe to receive digital content, reinforce that decision by sending an email that confirms the removal of paper mailings and thanks them for their contribution to protecting the planet.”

Consumers can also reduce their carbon footprint by avoiding the “print” button on their emails, and requesting that others do the same by including a line promoting sustainability in their email signature. Marketers should also develop email marketing campaigns with mobile users in mind, with large texts and easily clickable call-to-actions, to avoid the need to print emails.

As the #MarchForScience organizers say, “There is no planet B.”