As the festive season of holiday deals, feels, and inflatable lawn decorations takes hold, it’s important to remember this is also a time of giving back.
Being a Programmatic Direct Mail company means sending out millions of pieces of marketing mail on behalf of the brands we work with each month. And while we know the revenue and performance impact is overwhelmingly positive, we’ve also taken steps to ensure our impact on the planet is equally positive. That’s why we’re so proud to share that we’ve partnered with veritree to plant two verified mangrove trees in Kenya for each one used in our services—a two-for-one deal. That brings us to a total of 24,000 trees in the seven months since we began our efforts, which has resulted in 4,435 tons of CO2 sequestered and 4.2 hectares reforested.
Here’s more on how we’ve accomplished this and how your brand can get involved.
Why this cause
At PebblePost, the idea of “home” is core to everything we do. But “home” is more than just the address where we receive mail. It’s the people, places, and ideas that make us feel warm, safe, and loved. Including this big blue ball we inhabit. Supporting this idea comes with the responsibility to reduce carbon emissions while also supporting local communities and regenerating nature.
Our “sustainable-by-design” solution offers eco-friendly formats and inks, Forest Stewardship Council-certified paper from responsibly managed forests, and reforestation efforts to offset the trees used in the delivery of Programmatic Direct Mail. Our partnership with veritree—launched just before Earth Day this year—allows us to make more informed decisions regarding these reforestation efforts and verify the positive impact created.
Why veritree
As a data-driven platform that enables marketers to understand their campaign performance, we were drawn to veritree’s similar quantitative and verifiable approach to helping brands understand their environmental impact.
Veritree uses blockchain technology to give partners a fully integrated platform to support field-level data collection, site planning, inventory management, and impact monitoring. In this way, their system was built to gather data throughout the lifecycle of a restoration project to provide greater transparency into the entire process. You can track the progress of PebblePost and veritree’s reforestation efforts here.
How you can help
Programmatic Direct Mail is already an extremely efficient advertising channel, requiring only one-tenth the amount of mail compared to traditional direct mail to achieve the same return on ad spend. As PDM continues its growth as a channel, overall paper volume will decrease as spending shifts from more traditional tactics. In the meantime, PebblePost will continue to explore new ways to make this increasingly important channel more sustainable. Like-minded brands can also put a greater emphasis on the environment in the following ways:
- Sourcing environmentally sustainable materials, such as paper, which is 100% recyclable and will biodegrade on its own no matter what, and ink with a water-based coating
- Ensuring direct mail vendors adhere to and partner with businesses that meet print sustainability certifications such as Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) Chain-of-Custody (COC) Certification and best practices as best they can
- Optimizing PDM campaigns towards decision-ready consumers. Engaging these audiences with compelling offers and calls-to-action (CTA) framed in a creative design can mean reducing the amount of marketing mail you send by up to 75%
- Considering a partnership with veritree to support tree-planting projects all around the world in an authentic, measurable way—you’ll be in good company not just with PebblePost but with major brands like CapitalOne, Hyundai, and Samsung.
This holiday season, consider the gift of giving back to the planet. Read more about our sustainability efforts and how you can get involved here.
