A Commitment to a Greener Agency
Melissa Garrity | Art Director
I think it’s time to turn over a new leaf when it comes to responsibility in marketing. I’m talking about taking an earth-friendly and responsible approach to every marketing project. You wouldn’t think of marketing as having a big environmental impact, but consider this. Paper is one of the most widely used tools of the trade in marketing and advertising. With roughly 85 million tons of paper and paper being used in the United States alone each year, there is a gross need for businesses to step up and curb usage. Project briefs, purchase orders, meeting agenda outlines, project proposals, sketch pads, mock-ups and of course… the final printed piece – Brochures, Annual Reports, Catalogs etc. all figure into this equation. It is important as an industry (agencies and clients together) to lead the charge in becoming more eco-friendly and find ways to lower our impact on the environment, use of natural resources and carbon emissions.
Recycling paper accounts for more than a third of recyclables collected in the US with a recycling rate over fifty percent. This is a great start, however – what if we also made a conscious effort to use less?
You’ve most likely seen the FSC logo on many printed pieces. FSC (Forest Stewardship Council) was established in 1993 as an independent, non-governmental and non-profit organization (www.fsc.org) with a mission to promote conscious management of the world’s forests. FSC certification is widely regarded as one of the most important initiatives of the last decade to promote responsible forest management worldwide. The FSC provides standard setting, trademark assurance and accreditation services for companies and organizations interested in responsible management of forestry with the end result of protecting our eco-system.
As an agency within an industry that utilizes a lot of paper on a daily basis, it was important for us to be on the front-end of this FSC initiative. Drastic changes have been made within our agency to consciously recycle and more importantly reduce our daily consumption of paper. In the past two years, we have not only reduced the amount of paper we have used by half, but we have quadrupled the amount of recycling initiatives done internally. We’ve taking this a step further by developing an ECO-FRIENDLY project process for our clients that minimizes the environmental impact of their project.
We have identified five key directives for every project in our first generation of “Green projects”:
1) Paperless project management that utilizes 100% electronic, forms, records and files.
2) Minimal “hard copy” deliverables including comps and proofs. Use of PDF and other digital review of creative.
3) Limited travel, delivery and courier services to reduce the amount of fossil fuels used during the project.
4) FSC certified production
5) Recycling of all project materials and digital archive.
At the heart of the effort is the selection of FSC certified papers and printers for final production. At Abbey Mecca, we utilize a management system that enables us to maintain an electronic “paper trail” from project start to finish. By utilizing electronic tracking and communication we can still effectively manage our projects internally, as well as communicate and track information externally, to our clients and vendors without any environmental impact.
Not only has our “Green” initiative resulted in a lowered environmental impact, but it has improved operational efficiency. Here are 5 easy steps you can take to make any marketing project more earth-friendly.
1. Mandate all your print pieces be FSC certified
2. Reduce paper use and increase electronic communication
3. Decrease hardcopy deliverables
4. Reduce travel, delivery and courier services whenever possible
5. Create mandatory recycling programs in your department and company
If you have questions or would like more information on “green” projects, please email me at ignite@abbeymecca.com
~ Melissa