Sustainable Businesses Practices - What can we do for a greener future?

How can businesses become more sustainable and secure a greener future?

A recent survey conducted by the government of New Zealand found that as many as 90% of Kiwis said they would stop buying products or services if they heard about a company being irresponsible or unethical. With the impact on the environment and our surroundings evermore at the forefront of our minds as consumers, the onus is now on businesses to lead the way into a greener future. 

What’s in it for the businesses you might ask? Well the first and perhaps most important advantage is attracting custom. Numerous studies have shown that consumers and other businesses prefer to deal with businesses that are socially and environmentally responsible. Working green and sustainable practices into your marketing strategy can help you appeal to a wider audience, and can be what sets you apart from competitors that might match you in other areas. On the other hand, being involved in practices that are not deemed environmentally friendly can have the adverse effect of damaging your reputation amongst customers, competitors, investors and the general public. Going green could also save you some money, as studies suggest that an energy efficient office can actually reduce costs, with some indicating this can be as high as about 20% saving on energy bills.

One of the biggest ways that companies can reduce their carbon footprint is by reducing their reliance on paper products and printing, and making the shift to digitalise. This is true for in-house practices such as organising documents and filing, but perhaps more importantly for external practices such as advertising and marketing. It takes around 24 trees to make 200,000 sheets of paper, in addition to the excessive water use in the mixing process, the plastic used to wrap bundles of paper for transportation and the chemical dyes used in producing ink. And that’s just on the production side of things. What happens to all of those bundles of magazines and newspapers once people have finished with them? Although Kiwis are more aware of their environmental impact, can we trust that they are always being recycled properly?

That’s why it is so important for businesses to make a change; say no to traditional print media, and instead opt for greener digital advertising and marketing. Of course there are magazines and newspapers out there that replant trees, but it takes 10 to 20 years for a seedling to grow into a usable tree. And of course there are businesses that recycle and reuse their paper. But are these reasons enough to continue with this out-dated practice? Not when digital marketing offers a much greener and more sustainable alternative, in addition to the many other advantages it has over traditional print advertising; such as a wider audience, lower costs and an increase in customer engagement and interaction. 

That’s where we come in. We’re ready to help businesses reinvest their advertising dollars from local print media into evergreen digital content, through the medium of video podcasting. We know how much local businesses spend on local print media, and we want to offer a better return on that investment, whilst contributing to a greener future for New Zealand. 

If you’d like to find out more about what we do and how we’re investing in a more sustainable future get in touch - info@beseenmore.co.nz