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Greening the Mail 15 Ways Direct Marketers Can Shrink

Their Environmental Footprint

Kevin Lash

January 22, 2009

® Agenda

Reasons to Green the Mail Green 15 Best Practices Resources

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• Increased consumer awareness

• Media focus on “green”• Greater consumer expectations

Perception of mail …

Today’s Green Landscape

® Views

Need a green wake-up call?

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Fact: About 10 billion pieces of mail

and parcels are Undeliverable as

Addressed (UAA) each year, resulting

in enormous waste and unnecessary

expense for mailers.

® Best Practices

Green 1515 cost-effective best practices known to

deliver environmental benefits

Paper Procurement & Use List Hygiene & Management Mail Design & Production Packaging Recycling & Pollution Reduction

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Paper Procurement & Use

® Paper

1. Encourage your paper suppliers to increase wood purchases from recognized

forest certification programs.

® Paper

2. Ask your paper suppliers where your paper comes from

before buying it.

® Paper

3. Require paper suppliers to implement sustainable practices.

® Paper

4. Require your suppliers to document they do not sell

paper from illegally harvested or stolen wood.

® Paper

5. Evaluate the paper you use and look for opportunities

to increase greenness.

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List Hygiene

® List Management

6. Follow DMA guidelines Maintain Do Not Mail list Maintain Do Not Rent list Use services to reduce unwanted mail Give customers the option to modify

or opt out of solicitations from you

® List Management

7. Maintain ‘clean’ mailing lists by using

USPS tools and merging and

purging.

® List Management

8. Use modeling or segmentation to target customers and mail efficiently.

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Design

&

Production

® Mail Design

9. Test downsized direct mail and printed marketing pieces

where appropriate.

® Mail Design

10. Explore production methods that reduce waste.

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Packaging

® Packaging

11. Ask suppliers about environmentally preferable

packaging options.

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Recycling

&

Pollution Reduction

® Recycling

12. Purchase paper and packaging made from recycled materials with

post-consumer content.

® Recycling

13. Use email and the Web

to reduce communications

that leave a paper trail.

® Recycling

14. Ensure that environmental labeling is clear,

honest and complete.

® Recycling

15. Participate in a campaign to

encourage waste paper recycling.

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Resources

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Deliver: delivermagazine.com

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Tools from USPS Manage your address files with CASS™ system

and DPV® systems Address Element Correction (AEC) I & II are

services that can be used when CASS Certified™ address-matching software cannot match an address to the ZIP + 4®

National Change-of-Address Link (NCOALink ) and Address Change Service (ACS™) helps ensure you have the right address for customers who have moved

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www.the-dma.org/envgen/

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"The future? It's in the mail." -Postmaster General John Potter