This post, perhaps, should have been titled "How to Do Something Green...." There aren't many companies that have gone entirely green without the prospect of finances going in the red.
Whether you want to deliver the warm and fuzzies in a PR campaign or you actually do care is not a subject of this post. However, there is a right and wrong way to do something green. Preferably, you can assign someone or even create a task force with specific goals. For example, the company will do something green and we will leverage it for some PR.
Have this group or person discover and focus on a specific objective that will be compelling in a PR sense and that will be measurable. "Within the past year, _____, Inc. has reduced the amount of paper consumption by 30%." Or, "______, Inc. uses 100% non-toxic _____ in it's product X."
Finally, telling others to do something green is not the way to go in most cases. My Starbucks coffee cup this morning says two green things. 1. "This insulating sleeve is made from 60% post-consumer recycled fiber." 2. "Made with 10% post-consumer recycled fiber." The is no, "please recycle." And even more importantly, no "please reuse." Here, even Starbucks may be unwilling to sacrifice an environmentally friendly green effort for a "green back" effort, as refills of drip coffee are 50 cents compared to fresh cups starting at around $1.40. I did notice, however that the white lid has what I think is a symbol for recycling.
Bonus: Lose the "Please don't print this email" blurbs.
