PR strategies for tech startups going green

Every year on April 22nd, people around the globe celebrate Earth Day to showcase their stance on environmental protection and advocate for change. Some businesses choose to unveil new initiatives and show what they’ve been doing to protect the planet. With a new era of conscious consumers, adding “sustainable practices” to the mission statement won’t cut it anymore if you don’t practice what you preach. 

So, here are five tips for communicating your green initiatives to the public this Earth Day and every day, no matter your niche. 

Spruce up your key messaging 

It’s tempting to jump on the bandwagon of sustainability advocates or eco-friendly startups making the headlines, but not all sustainability trends will align with your product or service. The key to sending the right message is to stick to sustainability initiatives that actually make sense to your tech startup and don’t just share this message once a year, around Earth Day. Instead, foster an ongoing conversation with your audience.

Focus on the positive impacts your efforts have on the environment and show your audience and the media why they should care. Once you find the sweet spot, integrate your green stance and goals into your key messaging and sharpen this messaging from sales to the marketing and IT department. You could also clarify these details in your company’s whitepaper, and create an FAQ for your website. One thing about journalists – they do their research and will ask the hard-hitting questions when covering news about your startup. 

Transparency is also a big part of going green and true change happens not only outside a business but inside as well. So, if your company’s solution isn’t green, but you are aware of its impact on the environment and want to make a change, be prepared for questions on how you are addressing your carbon footprint. Highlight what you’re doing behind the scenes – whether that’s decreasing food waste in the office or adding EV charging stations to the office parking lot.  

Strengthen your connections

Sustainability has become a buzzword for tech startups speaking about future development, and breaking through the noise is definitely more challenging now than ever before. Nonetheless, there are ways to get your voice heard and that’s by making the right connections. 

If you’re an EV startup, for example, that’s just launched a new line of chargers, look for interview or commentary opportunities with environmental journalists or collaborate with other well-known companies on a campaign that could facilitate change in the automobile space. This could give your startup more credibility and on top of that, access to new audiences. 

A great place to network and get a better understanding of the environmental and sustainability milestones that should be on your radar is at conferences like the Global Summit, SOCAP, and World Economic Forum Annual Meeting. This is the ideal arena to be in the know of, make a genuine effort to educate yourself, or even take the stage and show how tech startups such as yours are doing their part. 

Engage in conversations that matter

The digital era certainly has its perks. Social media platforms like Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn, and Instagram are a hub for news, activist movements, and environmental campaigns. Be aware of the conversations that are happening on these platforms, but also get engaged and share your perspective. In other words, It’s not enough to keep up, you should actively show how your business is connected to these larger issues.

Understand the sustainability issues within your vertical, whether that be in niche food sites, renewable energy outlets, or lifestyle magazines. This will help you respond better to ongoing conversations and give you a better understanding of which journalists are writing about in your area of focus. 

There’s no point in pitching your news about your startup’s latest line of air condition purifiers to a journalist that usually writes about water waste. Without an interest in your specific niche, you’re spitballing. Put together a sustainability media list to get a better idea of who it is you will be pitching your sustainability angle to, what their interests are, and their latest work. 

Share data stories that are impactful

If you don’t have news to share, mine your own data to tell a story with statistics. Data-driven stories are the news angle you never knew you had – the diamond in the rough – and you don’t need to be announcing anything new to push out this kind of story.

Throughout the course of running your business, your tech startup has been sitting on data that no one else is able to produce. If analyzed properly, it could be used to comment on industry trends and present unique measurable information. Just remember that these stories should be your own, not a Google search. It’s also a great opportunity to incorporate imagery and graphs and let visuals back up your findings. These should be straightforward. Imagery already speaks a thousand words, so there’s no need for the cliche lush greenery pictures showing bright flowers. 

Be authentic  

PR has an incredibly important role to play in the perception and adoption of change. At the end of the day, it’s about banning together and encouraging everyone to step up to the plate. The eco-friendly tech startups that will stand out will be those that stick to authentic, value-based green PR strategies, and walk the walk in their sustainable practices.