With our focus being print marketing, brands can be hesitant to test into direct mail. Why, might you ask? Sometimes it’s perceived to be less efficient and environmentally friendly than digital marketing. However, we’re here to debunk that myth.
It’s commonly perceived that digital marketing is sustainable because there is less labor involved in marketing online than the manual labor of creating paper and print to launch a campaign. However, both channels have their benefits and drawbacks – with print having just a few less drawbacks when it comes to the environment.
Key Stats about Paper & Print:
- – Paper can be recycled up to seven times.
- – The paper, pulp and print sector is one of the lowest industrial emitters of greenhouse gases, accounting for 0.9% of European emissions in 2021
- – Since the 1990s, the average water intake per ton of paper produced has decreased by 42%.
- In 2021, around 90% of the water used in the European paper industry was returned to its source.
Key Stats about Digital:
- – The world generates more than 68MM tons of e-waste every year (source: UN via Bloomberg) and of that, only 22% is collected and recycled.
- – Businesses and individuals are increasingly using ‘cloud’ services. These mega data centers store almost everything we do online, including our web searches, our social media posts and our online statements.
- – The ICT industry accounted for 4-6% of global electricity use in 2020, which is more than 2% of global greenhouse gas emissions.
- The electronic waste problem is also colossal and growing. In 2019, the industry was responsible for a gigantic 53.6 million metric tons of e-waste across the world.
- That’s equivalent to the weight of 350 cruise ships.
- E-waste is expected to increase to 74.7 Mt by 2030 and reach as much as 110 Mt by 2050, unless we change our practices.[2]
- The electronic waste problem is also colossal and growing. In 2019, the industry was responsible for a gigantic 53.6 million metric tons of e-waste across the world.
- – In 2019, just 17% of global e-waste was collected for recycling. In fact, recycling activities are not keeping pace with the global growth of e-waste. Non-environmentally sound disposal and treatment of this waste stream poses significant risks to the environment and to human health.
Often, marketers think digital is a better investment from a sustainability perspective. However, this is a common misconception. In fact, the channels are pretty similar when it comes to environmental friendliness – with Print arguably being more sustainable. There are an abundance of factors that impact the carbon footprint for digital – energy consumption of Data Centers, end-user devices, internet infrastructure, lifetime of digital devices, email server efficiency, transmission networks, and more. In turn, the carbon footprint of a printed piece consists of paper production, printing process, distribution, end-of-life (how a piece is recycled), design, and size. Good news: there are solutions and best practices in place for all of these.
So, what should you do?
We wholeheartedly believe in the power of an omnichannel strategy – but it does begin with Print. Last month, we talked about complementing your Direct Mail touch points with Digital. It’s a must in today’s digital age! This month, we are recommending you complement your digital with direct mail while making the world a better place.
Sources: Twosides.info, Device42, Chat GPT (Personal communication, January 2024)