Environmentally Friendly POP Strategies
Being Green isn’t easy – but it’s getting easier.
 Many
retailers are constantly looking for ways to reduce their overall carbon
footprint – from electricity to recycling programs, it has become mainstream to
have some form of an environmental conservation program in place.
POP programs are not – or at least should not be – any different.
While it is true that many POP programs rely heavily on printed materials, there
are many things that retailers can do to help with their overall environmental
impact:
• Take an overall approach. Once you get into the full environmentally friendly
concepts, you will find a much larger world of ways to make a positive impact.
Transit distance to store locations, ink compositions, material selections all
make a difference. Ask a lot of questions.
• Recycle Everything. Put in place programs at the stores that make is easy for
store personnel to recycle old signage, cartons and all other materials used
during a campaign.
• Know your stores. Print only what you need. Many POP providers demand overage
printing – increasing costs and environmental impact. Leverage technologies to
ensure you are printing only what your stores need.
• Use both sides. If you can plan promotions ahead, you may be able to use
both sides of your printed material for different campaigns, reducing overall
materials usage.
• Review your marketing plan. Eliminating one sign will of course help – but if
it’s that easy to remove a sign, you need to review your marketing plan overall.
Work with a POP supplier that can suggest permanent or semi-permanent fixtures
using changeable copy or similar methods. These reduce re-print costs in the
long term and may reduce your carbon footprint as a bonus.
• Document success. One of the main errors many retailers fall victim to is a
“implement and forget” mentality. Most programs require at very least some form
of regular follow up. Practices change, knowledge improves and as time goes on,
you need to tailor the overall program to suit your company’s objectives.
• Re-use the signs. Donating old signs to schools to be used for kids art
programs (make sure that the promotions on the sign are for kid-friendly
products)
Making an effort is what counts on environmental issues. Small but
impactful steps will go a long way to improving your carbon footprint while
increasing awareness within your organization and marketplace. |
