Thanks to growing climate concerns and evolving consumer interests, there’s plenty of reason to take a stand on Earth Day. No matter what kind of business you are in, showing your commitment to helping the environment is a great way to connect with your customers and employees on April 22 and beyond.
Whether they’re choosing a place to work or a place to shop, consumers are more focused than ever on environmental causes. In Deloitte’s latest Gen Z and Millennial Survey, 90% of these generations make an effort to protect the environment, although most don’t believe that the government and businesses are doing the same.
Here’s where you can prove them wrong. But all aspects of your Earth Day campaign have to align to make the biggest impact. Rewards will help you increase engagement and reach whatever campaign goal you set — improving employees’ confidence in your company values, generating leads, growing customer loyalty, or just building goodwill and a reputation as a purpose-driven business.
The key, however, is that your rewards have to align with your campaign message if you want it to be successful. You may instinctively start searching for swag made from recycled materials, but consider a more effective alternative: Online gift cards make a great complement to your Earth Day communications about the environment.
READ MORE: 2023 Business Trends and What They Mean for Rewards & Incentives
While businesses have found lots of different eco-friendly products to send to their customers or employees, the mere act of sending them has an environmental impact. According to MIT, freight transportation is responsible for 8% of all global greenhouse gas emissions, and of that, 65% comes from road vehicles like trucks and vans. Using physical rewards as part of your program will only contribute to that. By switching to online gift cards, your rewards can be delivered via email — with no cost and no emissions.
Sending physical items to customers and employees also creates waste, thanks to packaging made of paper, cardboard, and plastic that typically ends up in landfills. The amount of packaging waste has become an ever-increasing problem since online shopping grew exponentially during the pandemic. Even if you opt to send traditional gift cards, you will still create waste in the form of envelopes and the plastic of the gift card itself, which are often not recycled. Digital rewards, however, require no packaging, since they’re delivered instantly via email, and they can be redeemed online or in person using a mobile wallet.
Not only will you avoid waste and emissions by sending digital rewards, you can also, with the right tool, give recipients the option to do even more good for the Earth. By distributing your campaign incentives with a platform like BHN Rewards, you can give employees or customers a choice of the reward they want. That can include a selection of online gift cards, as well as e-donations to environmental organizations such as the Clean Water Fund and the National Park Foundation.
Online gift cards and e-donations aren’t just great for the environment — they’re also great for you as the sender. First, employees and customers prefer to receive gift cards as rewards, making them more effective at encouraging engagement and action. In addition, digital rewards are quicker and easier for you to customize, manage, and track than any kind of physical swag or gift card.
Check out these other consumer trends and preferences to consider when building a successful rewards strategy!
Hannah is a reformed journalist who has more than 15 years of experience and now focuses on content marketing for innovative tech companies.
Hannah is a reformed journalist who has more than 15 years of experience and now focuses on content marketing for innovative tech companies.
