Here are some greening tips we hope anyone running a campaign will follow. They can save you money, help you grow support from constituents, may earn you media attention and of course they help to respect the health of the environment. Remember to green your campaign authentically. There is a lot of greenwashing out there that is entirely unacceptable and tarnishes the important eco-efforts of others.

Green Tip 1:  Go green as early as possible
Start your commitment to run a green campaign right from the get go.  Make it a public pledge, consider dedicating a volunteer to establish, track and promote your eco-friendly actions. Make a plan on how you will continue your earth friendly practices & committments once you are elected.

Green Tip 2:  Clarify your focus
Because the environment can be a broad topic, you need to research and understand what the key environmental issues are for your area and for the city and identify the topics that you are committed to addressing.  Be sure to always include questions to voters about environmental issues that concern them as part of your communications.

Green Tip 3: Walk the Talk

• Consider purchasing renewable energy for your office
• Install various energy & water conservation devices
• Include native species planting in your landscaping.
• Track your transit and purchase carbon offsets OR make a donation to a local community organization to support a carbon neutral campaign
• Serve local food , organic beverages/wine at your meetings and campaign events
• Ensure your mtgs and events are zero-waste by not using disposable serving supplies and if you must use disposable, use paper fibre products with a green cart on hand to ensure they are composted.
• Always use either 100 percent post-consumer recycled paper or paper that is FSC-certified to be from sustainably managed stock.
• Carpool, walk, ride your bike, take public transit for your travels. You can go a step further and offset the carbon emissions for your event guests .
• Avoid voter giveaways unless they are practical and good for the environment. There are many local suppliers of eco-friendly shopping bags, reusable water bottles for example.
• If you are supplying your campaign team with t-shirts, ensure they are responsibly, ethically and environmentally friendly made.  BurlingtonGreen purchases our organic cotton t-shirts from Me to We where proceeds support tree planting and the Free the Children program!

Green tip # 4: Less is more….

Many campaign materials are restricted in their use to just one campaign. Lawn signs, billboards, posters, stickers, brochures and buttons are generally marked with the candidate’s name, meaning these one-hit wonders will more than likely end up in the trash. Try to design your materials so they can be reused in the future (i.e. do not include date, single issue focus etc) and have them printed with earth –friendly materials.

If you feel you must give out flyers, again, print them responsibly and during door to door chats, ask if they want one. If not, pass it along to next person.

Lawn signs: IF you determine you must use them, be strategic in their placement so you can use less of them. Purchase post-consumer and recyclable plastic with reusable frames.

Green Tip 5: Going green is good for the economy …
Your messaging should inform voters that there is not a choice between the environment and the economy.  Make it clear that you pledge to apply a TBL (triple bottom line) approach to your decision making and policy development recommendations. TBL balances the consideration of economic, social and environmental factors with any given issue. Provide examples of how investing in green technologies is good for the environment and the economy.

Green tip 6: Pass it on
By demonstrating tangible leadership, you will establish your credibility with voters and environmental interest groups. Connect your green campaign message with voters by sending them news updates about your efforts to go green. Include tips from the lessons you have learned with your fundraising letters and relevant direct mail. Monthly emails describing your progress to use less paper, decrease your carbon footprint or help improve a local stream or park will remind voters and the media that your campaign is determined to improve the health of the environment. Make sure your greening efforts are visible. For example: printing the recycle or FSC logo on your print materials lets readers know you are committed to live and lead more sustainably.

Green tip 7: Dedicate donor funds to your greening efforts
Monitor and summarize your various greening actions and when soliciting funds to support your election campaign, seek donations to directly support your green expenses. It may make you stand out from others and open up doors to eco-friendly suppliers that we all want to support locally. Avoid aligning your campaign in any way to sponsors who do not support environment friendly practices.

Green tip 8: Celebrate your eco-actions and follow through with your commitments Establishing environmental credibility by operating an authentic green campaign is vital.  Stand up for and promote your eco-leadership by including the positive actions you have taken throughout your campaign via your media releases and public communications. Most importantly, ensure your campaign efforts are only a reflection of the principles you will lead with throughout your term in office and beyond.

Some ideas have been collected from: http://standardcarbon.com/resources/?p=83