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There are plenty of reasons to cut down energy use, reduce waste, and otherwise ‘green’ a business. Firstly, of course, there’s the environment, and the money saved on utility bills can also be a pretty strong incentive to reduce your corporate carbon footprint. And then there is the positive effect on your reputation. That can be incredibly useful.

According to a recent Nielsen report, up to 70% of consumers state that their purchasing choices are influenced by company ethics. Being socially and environmentally responsible- and letting potential customers know about it- has never been more important.

If you’re thinking about running a greening campaign, here are a few things you can do to make sure you get the greatest possible marketing result:

1. Reach out to your contacts

Before formulating goals and targets, ask what environmental issues your Twitter and Facebook followers are most concerned about. This will let them know you’re listening and appreciate their input, and also provide a ‘heads up’ that you’re thinking about these important issues.

2. Connect with trusted sources

Once you’ve got goals, turn to environmental groups and green interest sites and start some conversations about the best ways to achieve them. Engaging with trusted sources imparts trust in turn, and you might just get some great ideas to help make your campaign work.

3. Timeline your plans

Sharing success is good but sharing the process is even better. Sketch out social media updates to go live from the first day company policies change right through to the point where you can see measurable results. Let social networks know how the campaign is going- you’ll get more kudos and might just pick up some extra followers along the way.

4. Create a progress page

Ask your web development team to develop a couple of graphs or interactive widgets to track progress. For example, display a rough estimate of energy usage this month versus the same period last year or a graphical visualization of the number of trees saved by paper recycling. These are great for social sharing and the page may also attract links from other sites.

5. Make a detailed case study

This should include figures, ideally relating to both savings and carbon or other environmental benefits. It’s well worth taking the time to get this right and make it look sharp, because you can use the material in many different ways.

The case study is both a celebration of your good work and a way of demonstrating your position as thought leaders. It can be released to the press both online and off, used as the basis for a conference or webinar presentation, published as an infographic, discussed at trade shows, and included in annual reports.

6. Use key takeaways liberally

Let’s say your company cuts electricity consumption by 21%. That sounds high but is not unrealistic- the Deutsche Bank HQ in Frankfurt claims they reduced theirs by upwards of 50%- and it would make a positive addition to advertising materials, shareholder reports, and company branding efforts.

Don’t hide key results away in the News or Blog section of the company website. Think front page!