With the 40^th Anniversary of Earth Day upon us I am reminded of Earth Day’s as a kid.  It was the day when we got out of class early in elementary school to do some sort of earthy project, whether it was cleaning up the playground or getting to pick out a little evergreen tree that we could plant in our yard at home. It was always fun stuff and it planted a teeny thought in our heads to be planet conscious and in some way or another we celebrate and appreciate the planet.  It is a pretty groovy place after all. 

It all started in 1970 with 20 million Americans participating in the event suggested by Senator Gaylord Nelson.  Next came a variety of PSA’s (we all remember the one with the single teared Native American surrounded by trash), the aforementioned educational celebrations, peaceful protests, and the most recent popular “Go Green” movement.

I’ll admit an odd feeling in my stomach occurs when I think of this whole green aspect of marketing and advertising mostly because there has been such a negative connotation associated with it because companies use it to increase profits.   But either way you look at that equation and no matter what your view is…Earth Day is a simple way to be aware of our carbon footprints.

And now a few MABU-esque bits of Earth Day info because yeah…even advertising agencies can be eco-friendly

• Since the beginning, many companies have ensured truly green marketing occurs.  See how the ad & marketing industry has done thus far plus check out 10 Green Marketing Milestones here.
• The amount of energy to post a Tweet is approximately 100 joules of energy (0.02 grams of CO2 emissions).  Check out this link for what that means exactly for Mama Earth.
• Greenwashing is a term used for companies who use Earth Day as a marketing opportunity.  The good news is none of our clients hopped on that bandwagon nor did we encourage it.
• Our clients are often government or professional agencies that have plans to or have already implemented programs that include renewable energy, recycling practices and other earth friendly opportunities.
• While recycling is almost a cultural norm nowadays, we at MABU continue to hone our recycling efforts to become better at managing our own agency’s carbon footprint. In the near future, when our recyclable waste bins are full…out the door they’ll go to the recycling hub of Bismarck. Good news for all I’d say!

Happy Earth Day!