Prime Data (Aurora, Ontario), a Canadian leader in digital-era direct-mail products and services, has become the first company to eliminate the carbon footprint of a typical direct mail piece. Its new service, CarbonNeutral Direct Mail – From Tree to Mailbox, is “the world’s first net-zero carbon direct-mail service that offsets all emissions ‘from the tree through to the mailbox,’ ” said the company. The program was created through the results of a 2021 study commissioned by Prime Data to account for the full scope of direct-mail emissions. It included not only the company’s employees’ commute to work and their production facility, but also the papers they use, and the emissions reported by Canada Post.
“A year ago it was anyone’s guess what the carbon footprint of a letter and envelope were,” said Steve Falk, CEO of Prime Data. “With the study results, we better understood the impact of the paper, the production, and the delivery to mailboxes. With that, we are able to take the first step and start a carbon-offset program. At the same time, we’ll be reducing our carbon footprint where we can.”
Falk added that a growing number of organizations are setting Environment Social and Governance (ESG) targets with the goal of addressing the impacts they make on the environment. “Fundraising organizations, banks, healthcare, and financial organizations can now better understand the impact of their mail programs and have carbon-neutral options. Prime Data has publicly shared its data and the results of its study so that others might follow in their footsteps and build upon this foundational work in the sector.”