There's no doubt that the world has seen a surge in the amount of people who are concerned about environmental issues. This is great news for companies looking to engage their audiences and customers in sustainable practices, too. The question is: how do you best communicate this message? One way is by using carbon offsetting in your advertising campaigns. But what exactly does it mean? Let's find out!
What is carbon offsetting?
Carbon offsetting, otherwise known as 'carbon neutrality', is when you are able to reduce your company's carbon footprint by supporting projects that promise to reduce the amount of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere.
How can I find out the carbon footprint of my campaign?
A carbon footprint is a measure of the amount of greenhouse gas emissions caused by an individual, organization, event or product. The size of your carbon footprint depends on several factors:
Your type of business and how you operate it (for example, how much energy does your office use?)
How far away from home you travel to do business (a flight from New York to L.A. has a bigger impact than one from New York to Boston)
How much waste is generated in the course of running your business (if you print out tons of flyers every day, they'll eventually end up in landfills)
More and more websites and apps are helping people calculate their environmental impact.
You can reduce your company’s carbon footprint by buying “carbon offsets” from a project that reduces or prevents CO2 emissions. For example, planting trees or investing in renewable energy.
Carbon offsetting is a great way to help the environment and make a real difference for our planet. There are many different types of projects which you can invest in, including wind farms and hydroelectric power plants. These projects generate electricity using renewable energy sources such as solar power or tidal energy instead of fossil fuels like coal and natural gas which emit more CO2 into the atmosphere than other types of energy sources.
What projects should I support?
When choosing a project to support, there are several key factors to consider:
Is the project in line with your company's values? Whether it's a social cause or an environmental one, you want to make sure that the organization behind it embodies what you stand for. For example, if you're a company that believes in preserving the environment and protecting animals, look for projects that use solar energy instead of fossil fuels. Or if you are an ad agency hoping to inspire change in your target audience by increasing awareness about homelessness among young people, consider supporting organizations like Habitat for Humanity or Teach for America.
Is the project in line with your target audience's values? If this is important information for determining whether someone will be interested in purchasing from or working with your brand (e.g., millennials tend not to buy cars because they are environmentally conscious), then it should be taken into account when choosing which carbon offsetting organizations receive funding from advertising campaigns as well.
ClimateCare or the Ad For Good label are organisations that works with companies to make their ads a little greener and more conscious. They have a wide variety of green projects that are funded by carbon offsetting.
ClimateCare and the Ad For Good label are organisations that work with companies to make their ads a little greener and more conscious. They have a wide variety of green projects that are funded by carbon offsetting, such as protecting rainforests or clean energy projects like wind farms.
These two organisations also allow you to offset your advertising spend, which means that for every dollar you spend on an ad campaign, you can also offset carbon emissions. This makes sure that your ad does not contribute to climate change thought their display — which is good news for anyone looking to create an ethical advertisement!
Why should I do this?
You should offset your advertising campaign because
It's good for the environment. According to the Environmental Protection Agency, greenhouse gas emissions from a typical passenger car are equivalent to about 10 tons of carbon dioxide per year. That’s about equal to driving more than two million miles! Your environmental impact can be reduced simply by switching to another ad network that doesn't use fossil fuels like gasoline or coal.
It's good for your company's reputation. A green business is seen as being more trustworthy than a business that isn't environmentally friendly, according to research by Weber Shandwick and KRC Research cited in GreenBiz Magazine. Green Businesses are also perceived as “more innovative, healthier places to work, forward-thinking and cutting edge," according to the same report.
It's good for your company's bottom line: By buying offsets on behalf of employees who commute via plane or automobile (or both), you will ensure they have lower overall carbon footprints while at work; this means they can continue working without having their productivity affected by worrying about how much energy they're using during travel time each day/week/month/year...
It's easy to make your marketing effort more sustainable.
It's easy to green up your marketing efforts. First, look for opportunities to reduce waste by using fewer paper products and printing on both sides of each sheet. Then, find ways to save energy by turning down the lights or unplugging equipment when not in use. Finally, consider carbon offsetting a portion of your advertising spend with Offsetters! It will help you meet sustainability targets while also creating goodwill among customers who care about the environment—and make it easier for them to trust you again in future years (or months).
Conclusion
I hope this article has given you a better understanding of how to carbon offset your advertising campaign. It's an easy way to make your marketing efforts greener and more conscious, while making sure that your company doesn't contribute to climate change.