Most businesses are motivated to go green because they want to protect the environment; however, green practices can also provide your business with a public relations boost. Here are eight ways going green can benefit your public relations strategy.

1. Improve Brand Loyalty

One of the best ways to improve your sales forecast is to increase customer retention. To increase customer retention, you need to build brand loyalty. Going green can motivate environmentally conscious consumers to remain loyal to your brand, rather than switching to a competitor offering a cheaper or newer product.

2. Increases Employee Engagement

Eco-friendly practices tend to result in better working environments, which can result in employees who are happier, more productive and more motivated to promote your brand. The Green Business Bureau has found that 96% of employees indicated that sustainability programs improved their relationship with their employer. Motivated employees are better brand ambassadors and will do a better job of promoting your brand to consumers.

3. More Opportunities To Promote Your Business

Your green initiatives give you something new to say about your brand to consumers. Every time you go on TV or social media to tell the world about your environmentally friendly practices, you have an additional opportunity to get your company noticed by consumers.

4. Get a Foothold in Emerging Markets

The push to go green is creating new markets and changing old ones. Making the effort to engage in green practices can help you tap into these emerging markets before your competitors do. Your technical SEO might also be improved by showing your green practices.

5. Keep Up With Regulations

Companies that are reactive, rather than proactive in staying on top of environmental regulations often must spend more money to make their operations compliant. Staying ahead of the game can both improve your public image and save you money.

6. Take Advantage of Tax Breaks and Incentives

Many states offer financial incentives to businesses that engage in certain green practices. Examples of these types of incentives include tax deductions for reducing energy use, subsidies and tax credits for fuel-efficient vehicles, tax credits and grants for sustainable energy installations, and incentives to reuse or recycle equipment. Some states only have a few programs, while states, such as California, offer hundreds of incentives.

7. Increase Resale Value

If you think you might want to sell your business someday, going green can increase the potential sales price. There are several reasons for this. First, green businesses tend to be more profitable and more profitable businesses are more valuable to buyers. Second, most buyers do not want to invest a lot of money in upgrading a business to meet current environmental regulations. A business that is already up to snuff will be more attractive to these buyers. Third, green practices improve public image and a better public image makes a business worth more money. Finally, consumers are trending towards preferring eco-friendly companies. Buyers are willing to pay more for a company that has committed to a practice that is trending upwards with consumers.

8. Get a Leg Up on the Competition

Companies who have committed to sustainable practices have demonstrated as much as an 18% higher return on investment compared to companies who have not. Given that this trend is likely to continue, it makes sense to build sustainable practices into your business strategy now, rather than wait and potentially allow more innovative competitors to pass you by. You want to build a reputation as a company who went green because it was the right thing to do and not because everyone else was already doing it.

Green practices have their own intrinsic value for businesses. However, they can also make a business more profitable and improve their public relations.