In 2023, more than 145 billion emails were sent in France (Data & Marketing Association France, 2024), an impressive figure that raises an important question at a time when ecological awareness is growing: what is the environmental impact of these mass mailings? Indeed, if email has become an essential communication tool for companies, its use is not without ecological consequences. Each email, whether a simple notification or a complex marketing campaign, contributes to the global carbon footprint. So how can we reduce this impact? The answer to this question becomes all the more relevant as consumers' expectations in terms of ecology evolve and companies increasingly integrate corporate social responsibility (CSR) into their strategies. However, too few of them address the issue of eco-responsible emailing. It is high time to adopt new practices to reduce the carbon footprint of marketing campaigns, especially since this allows them to optimize their performance!
The environmental impact of email campaigns is often underestimated. For example, a company sending two email campaigns per week for a year can emit up to 3.2 tons of CO2, or a round trip from Paris to Los Angeles by plane for one passenger (18,200 km – Estimate made by Niji on myClimate.org). In addition, storing 300,000 emails produces approximately 180g of CO2 per year, or as much as watching six episodes of Game of Thrones in streaming (Calculation made by Niji based on a study by ADEME, 2023). However, this significant impact is due to many factors hidden behind each email. Factors that we do not spontaneously think of, but which do indeed have their weight. For example: sending an email consumes energy, the amount of which varies depending on the internet connection method; consulting an email involves manufacturing and using receiving terminals, as well as loading pages. This is without counting the hosting of emails and the data needed to send campaigns, or the depreciation, recycling or destruction of the computer equipment used to produce, store and process these emails, which also play a role in their overall carbon footprint.
To limit this environmental impact, several concrete actions can be implemented. First of all, it is possible to choose eco-responsible routing tools. Favoring servers based as close as possible to the company and its contact database reduces the distance traveled by the data when sending the email and loading it. Some routing solutions host their data on eco-friendly servers, including those with certifications.
Next, cleaning and segmenting your database is crucial. By keeping the contact database up to date and removing inactive ones, those generating error or failure messages, and unwanted addresses, you not only reduce the volume of emails sent, but also improve the relevance and effectiveness of campaigns.
Eco-design of emails is also an effective strategy. Lightening the HTML code, limiting the length of the message and the number of superfluous visuals not only helps reduce the environmental impact, but also improves the deliverability of emails and makes the message more impactful for the recipient. Favoring simple designs, using energy-efficient colors and fonts, and making emails compatible with dark mode are simple but effective measures to implement. Optimizing the weight of visuals is also essential. It is preferable to choose the right visual format, favoring JPEG and avoiding heavy GIFs for example. It is also possible to remove unnecessary metadata from an image and replace certain visuals with text with hyperlinks or emoticons, which further reduces the weight of the email without distorting its message and by reinforcing the clarity and effectiveness of the message.
Using templates and optimizing email creation tools also helps limit the time it takes to create the email and therefore the energy spent. Reducing the number of tests before sending, reusing visuals already hosted and deleting those that have not been used for a long time are also effective practices.
Finally, let's not forget that substance is just as important as form! Today, communicating about the company's CSR actions to promote responsible practices and encourage subscribers to adopt eco-responsible behavior is crucial. Integrating sentences encouraging people to delete the email after reading it or to switch their smartphone to dark mode in the footer of the email can be a real lever for taking action. Other incentives can be more specific: for a brand in Retail, it is possible to remind people of responsible actions (sorting instructions, return of returnable products) or to offer members of its loyalty program to support an environmental action (by converting their points into trees planted for example).
While each of these concrete actions seems to have a negligible impact on the scale of a campaign, it is their accumulation that allows for real energy savings and an improvement in long-term performance. Indeed, in addition to reducing their carbon footprint, they make campaigns more effective, improving deliverability, message relevance and target engagement. Adopting eco-responsible emailing practices is therefore not only beneficial for the planet, but also constitutes a real lever for more efficient and effective marketing. It is high time for companies to take this turn, and to combine environmental responsibility and marketing success!
0 Comments