Oracle, Hewlett-Packard, MCI and Tyson Foods are among the charter members of the newly launched EcoLogical Mail Coalition, a group working to cut down excess promotional direct mail.
Members contribute to the Coalition’s “Red Flag Database,” a business-to-business file identifying outdated contacts. Marketers pay a fee per match against the database. To date, the file contains information on individuals at nearly 6,000 businesses throughout the United States, including more than 200 of the Fortune 1000.
The group estimates that millions of dollars are wasted each year in lost time and materials, as corporate mail center staffs sort through and dispose of the huge volume of promotional direct marketing mail sent to individuals no longer employed there.
“We spend more than 60 hours each week processing thousands of pieces of Standard Mail, which creates huge inefficiencies for the company,” said Matthew Foster, manager of internal distribution for Oracle, in a statement. He believes the group will help his company reduce excess mail by at least 15% in its first year.
A major financial services corporation discards almost 88% of the more than 40,000 pieces of advertising mail it receives each month, said Tom Watson, National Waste Prevention Coalition coordinator.
“More than 68 tons of unwanted mail is disposed of every year from this company alone,” said Watson in a statement. The company estimates that it spends more than $75,000 annually to process that mail.
The Coalition is offering charter memberships for a limited time with membership fees waived for the life of the membership. Additionally, a tree will be planted in honor of each new member. For information, visit http://www.ecologicalmail.org/charter or call 800-620-3975.
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