Eco-friendly ways to run a local marketing campaign

Businesses of all sizes have to contend with the reality that many of their daily operations can produce negative environmental consequences. Implementing sustainable marketing practices isn’t just good for the planet, it’s also good for business: 76% of Americans expect the businesses they support to help combat climate change (BusinessDIT).

Given this important consumer expectation, businesses that build eco-friendliness into all aspects of their operations, including their local marketing campaigns, can position themselves as socially responsible. In this article, we’ll cover everything you need to know about making local marketing campaigns more eco-friendly.

Benefits of eco-friendly marketing

Thinking green when it comes to running local marketing campaigns has benefits for the planet and for a company’s bottom line. Since many traditional local marketing techniques don’t reflect today’s urgent environmental concerns, moving beyond highly polluting campaigns, such as mailers, can help businesses dramatically reduce their negative impact on the earth.

Given consumers’ increasing concerns about environmental issues, practicing eco-friendly local marketing can also help bolster a business’s reputation and brand image. Let’s take a closer look at the benefits of running eco-friendly marketing campaigns.

Reduce waste

Eco-friendly marketing means less garbage in the landfills. We’ve all had the experience of checking our mail only to find a huge stack of flyers, coupons, and brochures, all of which go directly from the mailbox to the garbage. At scale, this means the net effect of all of those local marketing campaigns can be a vast amount of needless waste.

One of the best ways businesses can reduce waste when it comes to local marketing is to use digital marketing materials instead of paper printed materials. Digital alternatives are preferable even to recycled printed materials, which still ultimately generate more landfill trash. If local marketing efforts do involve some sort of mailing, businesses should prioritize sustainable, biodegradable materials.

A major benefit of switching away from wasteful print direct marketing? Massive cost savings. Printing and postage costs can be avoided by focusing on digital marketing alternatives, which are more effective and can be more targeted than direct mail anyway.

Lower carbon footprint

By practicing eco-friendly marketing techniques, businesses can lower their carbon footprint. The effects of this have benefits both in the local community and in the world at large. Eschewing polluting local marketing practices can reduce an organization’s contribution to air pollution and global warming, two pressing environmental concerns.

Businesses can reduce their carbon footprint through eco-friendly marketing strategies. This can include opting for digital marketing channels more frequently, working with eco-friendly suppliers, and replacing traditional promotional products and corporate gifts with eco-friendly options made of bamboo or biodegradable materials.

Supporting local initiatives

Making a commitment to practice more eco-friendly marketing techniques can position businesses to support and partner with local initiatives when planning their marketing campaigns. By supporting local environmental initiatives, businesses can put their names behind organizations doing important environmental work. They can also bring attention to environmental issues and even benefit from the marketing that comes along with supporting an initiative.

For example, a local business might make a commitment to working only with local suppliers, giving both parties an opportunity to co-market each other’s businesses. Donating to local environmental charities is another way to offer support to a local initiative, which can have the effect of boosting the business’s local reputation as well.

Eco-friendly marketing methods

Small businesses may think they’re not impactful enough for their eco-conscious decisions to matter. In reality, the aggregate effect of more small businesses choosing eco-friendly marketing methods can be significant.

These initiatives can have multiple effects:

• Reduce the impact of marketing on the environment
• Help businesses align with customers who share their environmental values
• Save money

Digital ads

Switching to digital ads is one of the easiest ways to make local marketing campaigns more environmentally friendly. Almost two-thirds of ad spend today is digital rather than traditional, and that share grows more with each passing year (Statista). It’s easy to understand this trend: Not only does digital advertising reduce emissions, waste, and cost, but it’s also far more effective.

That’s because digital ads are uniquely capable of targeting specific audiences and delivering faster results for businesses. They are also far more trackable, offering granular insights into how each ad campaign is performing in real time.

Instead of spending tens of thousands of dollars on a poorly targeted direct mail campaign, businesses can promote their brands in a cost-effective way with digital ads. They can spend less to get in the digital inboxes of customers.

Working with a digital marketing agency can help local businesses spend their money in a targeted, effective manner, delivering meaningful ROI.

Reusable materials

When print materials are used, opting for reusable materials can reduce the impact on the environment. For example, using reusable, recycled, or biodegradable materials for print marketing campaigns can often keep those materials out of the landfill.

Reusing promotional materials is another way to limit their environmental effects. Any time a product or material can get a second life by being reused, waste is limited and potential cost savings can be realized.

Small businesses don’t need to eliminate print marketing altogether: Often, combining print and digital marketing strategies can produce a better effect than relying on just one or the other on its own. Instead, they can reduce their reliance on print marketing, substantially replacing it with digital, and switch any materials used in remaining print ads to environmentally-friendly options.

Social media

Any business who wants to promote their brand in an eco-friendly manner should be leveraging social media. Doing so can limit the production of emissions and waste in the marketing process.

Social media, through its propensity for virality, is uniquely able to help businesses get their message out to a large audience without the need to rely on more polluting marketing tactics. Social media empowers businesses to reach a large audience without the use of any physical materials.

In addition to the environmentally friendly nature of marketing through social media platforms, businesses can create content that boosts their online reputation. They can even incorporate messaging about their environmental initiatives in social media posts, helping prospective customers understand their brand values.

Eco-friendly local marketing FAQs

1. Why should small businesses care about eco-friendly marketing?

Because consumers care. With 76% of Americans expecting businesses to take action on climate change, eco-friendly marketing isn’t just a nice gesture — it’s a competitive advantage. Sustainable marketing reduces waste, lowers emissions, and helps businesses build trust with customers who want their dollars to support responsible companies.

2. How does eco-friendly marketing reduce waste?

Traditional local tactics — flyers, brochures, coupon mailers — often go straight from the mailbox into the trash. Digital alternatives eliminate that pile-up entirely. And when print is necessary, choosing biodegradable, reusable, or recycled materials dramatically cuts landfill impact.

3. Can eco-friendly marketing lower a business’s carbon footprint?

Yes. Shifting budget from print and physical promos to digital ads, social content, and email campaigns significantly reduces emissions tied to production and transportation. Businesses can also lower their footprint by using greener suppliers and offering environmentally friendly promotional items (like bamboo or compostable swag).

4. What are examples of eco-friendly marketing partnerships?

Local partnerships amplify impact. Businesses can:

• Work exclusively with local vendors to reduce transportation emissions

• Support environmental non-profits

• Co-market with sustainability-focused organizations

• Sponsor local clean-ups or green initiatives

These partnerships boost brand perception while helping the community.

5. What eco-friendly marketing methods work best for local businesses?

A few high-impact strategies:

Digital ads:
Cheaper, faster, more targeted, and zero waste. With almost two-thirds of today’s ad spend going digital, this is where most SMBs should focus.

Reusable or sustainable print materials:
If print must be part of the strategy, use recycled paper, soy-based inks, biodegradable signage, or reusable banners to reduce long-term waste.

Social media:
A completely emissions-free way to reach customers at scale. Plus, businesses can highlight their sustainability efforts to attract eco-minded audiences.

6. Are digital ads really more eco-friendly than direct mail campaigns?

Absolutely. Direct mail requires printing, production, packaging, and transportation — all high-emission activities. Digital ads reach the same (or larger) audience with none of the physical waste and far better targeting.

7. Do eco-friendly marketing strategies save money?

Often, yes. Digital advertising, organic social content, and partnerships with local organizations are usually more cost-effective than large-scale print campaigns. Eliminating unnecessary physical materials can cut thousands from a marketing budget each year.

8. What are the 5 principles of sustainable marketing?

Commonly defined as the 5 C’s:

• Consumer-centered: Solve real needs and consider customer impact

• Creative & cutting-edge: Use innovation to reduce environmental impact

• Community & connection: Build partnerships that strengthen sustainability goals

• Cause-oriented: Support purpose-driven initiatives

• Clarity: Maintain transparency in messaging and practices

9. What’s the difference between green marketing and sustainable marketing?

Green marketing promotes the environmental benefits of a product (e.g., “our packaging is recyclable”).
Sustainable marketing takes a broader approach, focusing on the entire lifecycle of the product or service — environmental, ethical, and social impact — and even how the marketing campaign itself affects the planet.

10. How can social media support eco-friendly marketing?

Social platforms let businesses:

• Replace physical promotions with zero-waste digital content

• Highlight sustainability efforts

• Build community around shared values

• Reach more people without increasing environmental impact

It’s one of the most eco-friendly marketing channels available.