Blog Action Day | Why You Need Environmental PR

Update 10.17.07 Final Results are in from Blog Action Day

20,603 Blogs Participated

23,327 Blog Posts (Google Blog Search)

14,631,038 RSS Readers

Today is Blog Action Day – as of this moment 15,861 blogs with a combined RSS reach of 12, 697,713 readers display posts about the environment. In researching BlogWorld & New Media Expo speaker blogs, I found Copyblogger Brian Clark’s Blog Action Day post, “The Butterfly Effect and the Environment: How Small Actions Can Change the World.” Because Brian writes about butterflies, I’m adding one of my images here to show how social butterflies can be – like bloggers?

Read the Blog Action Day Press Release

Why You Need Environmental PR

After watching Al Gore’s “Inconvenient Truth” for the first time over the weekend, I’m still in a mild state of shock. Last Friday, Forbes.com ran a story called “The Inconvenient Truth About China”- the story continues.

No matter where you stand politically – and let’s be clear this is not a political blog – the environment’s health affects our water, our economy, our lives, our weather, our quality of life, and our future.

Can the environment really be in that much danger? How could Manhattan, San Francisco and Amsterdam float away? Will millions of people be without water? To get the answers, you’ll have to watch the movie. But, hopefully, you’ll do more than that. Taking action to protect the environment is our collective responsibility. But, how can you integrate protecting the environment into your marketing and PR strategy?

Test out one of these suggestions . . .

Churches and Non-Profits

Form an environmental justice group – our church sells green bags for groceries and recently presented a program on “Our Precious Water” to help us all conserve resources and gauge the purity of our local resources. One of our biggest takeaways: a small amount of motor oil dumped in a storm sewer can contaminate millions of gallons of water.

Businesses

Investigate the availability of renewable resources in your vendor lines. For example, one of our clients offers products made from high yield renewable hardwood taken from trees that mature two to three times faster than hardwood trees grown in colder climates.

Ask your employees to reuse water containers made specifically for reuse, like glassware or sports bottles. Drinking out of a plastic water bottle sold in stores is contaminated after the first use and is often of no better quality than tap water.

Print your business communications on unbleached recyclable paper with soy inks.

Publicize your efforts and encourage your industry or company to be a leader in environmental awareness.

Partner with an environmental awareness group as an information or a fund-raising sponsor.

Marketing and Public Relations Practitioners

Refer to this comprehensive environmental public relations guide by our European colleagues at Confédération Européenne des Relations Publique

Watch “Inconvenient Truth” for ideas on how to:

– make a complex issue simple and actionable

– present concepts in a variety of media: charts, animation, video

– personalize the story by explaining the motivation for action

– weave in your history to the issue

Entrepreneurs

I personally like Brian’s suggestion – quit your job and work from home.

How do you help save the earth? Join in our conversation or . . .

Donate to Blog Action Day’s environmental charities.

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