As a marketing agency owner, I’m reminded every day about what is and isn’t possible. Some days I feel empowered and optimistic and other times the horizon doesn’t look as bright. This mix of emotions and shifting goals is what real entrepreneurship is about, that seductive combination of uncertainty and potential, blended into a tantalizing brew.
When it comes to setting goals for RMG, I’ve always said that I want my business to reflect my intrinsic values. I believe that business can be a force for good in the world, even if we aren’t a big brand like Patagonia or a huge advertising agency like Havas or Publicis.
As far as being sustainable, it would be easy to tell ourselves that we are too small to make a difference. But that defeatist attitude won’t serve any useful purpose and will only keep us from making an impact, regardless of the size of our footprint. We want to make sure our company operations reflect a commitment to environmental responsibility. As business leaders we should do our part to reduce waste and make a positive impact on our local community.
So let’s switch the narrative and talk about the ways we can (and are) achieving tangible sustainability goals. In the case of sustainability, being small can be an advantage. It means we are agile, able to make changes more quickly and easily pivot our policies and operational structures. Here are some of the ways we are embedding corporate social sustainability into our agency’s daily rhythm and making a difference one step at a time.
1. Working with Like-Minded Clients
I wish I could say all of our customers come to us because we are a certified B Corporation or because we prioritize giving back to environmental causes through our membership in 1% for the Planet. But that’s simply not true.
Clients find us primarily because of our expertise and experience in paid media, SEO and holistic marketing strategies. They want us to help them move the needle on their marketing goals.
Working with a sustainable agency is often perceived as a “nice to have” vs. a “must have.” However, when we do align our values with those of our clients, it feels great and often leads to a more productive relationship.
Typically, we’re able to build better communication channels, understand and relate to the mission of their organization more deeply, and generate a greater sense of trust with their internal teams. Here are a few ways we are working towards shifting our ratio of sustainable clients:
- Prequalifying Prospects: We’re in the process of putting together a list of prequalifiers for new business prospects. An important question to ask would be “Do their values align with ours?”
- Giving Back In-Kind: One thing we already do here is offer a portion of our billable hours through in kind services to local or regional nonprofits whose mission we support. Two recipients of our in-kind SEO services have included New Hampshire Businesses for Social Responsibility and The Seacoast Science Center.
2. Encouraging Digital Responsibility
While we are not web developers or web designers we often find ourselves working in tandem with these types of partners when clients hire us for SEO or paid media services. There are a myriad of ways to apply responsible practices to make the websites where we’re driving audience traffic more sustainable. Those techniques often dovetail with the technical SEO recommendations we make to improve website performance.
In the paid media arena, we’re constantly faced with either/or decisions related to privacy practices, accessibility, tracking and the ever-evolving dominance of algorithms. With the advent of AI search and other AI marketing initiatives, we now see that the servers powering these tools will soon dominate the Earth’s energy resources.
As digital marketers, we must acknowledge that we are part of that reality. Here are some of the areas we focus on to make our digital marketing recommendations more responsible:
Faster Site Loading: Our SEO site audits reveal page load speed rates (among other metrics) that directly affect whether or not a website meets search engine criteria. Where possible, we’ll suggest to web developers that they prioritize moving a client’s website to lightweight, fast-loading CMS platforms over traditional, clunky ones. Not only is this better for the planet, but it also improves SEO and user experience.
Green Web Hosting: A while back, RMG chose to change our web host to SiteGround, a hosting service listed at the top of green hosting lists. Wherever possible, we’ll recommend a similar switch to our clients and agency partners.
Efficient Technology Tools: Some of our go-to project management tools include Notion, Canva, Harvest, Gusto and Termageddon. These platforms allow us to meet our sustainability goals in varying ways:
- Notion – is considered sustainable as it’s an “all in one” app that replaces the need for multiple tools.
- Canva – achieved carbon neutrality for its global operations and, following a 2020 pledge, is actively working towards a net-zero carbon footprint by 2040.
- SEMRush – integrates eco-design principles into product development and operation of the platform. They also incentivize customers to practice CSR programs and contribute to a better world, together.
- Gusto – By automating compliance and payroll, we save, on average, 152 hours per year, compared to manual payroll processing.
- Termageddon – helps us stay updated with the latest privacy and data compliance policies.
Cleaning Up Inboxes and Drives: We’ve initiated quarterly “Digital Declutter” days where we delete large and redundant files, and massive email chains that are just sitting on servers sucking power.
3. Everyone’s Ideas are Welcome!
Just because I’m the boss doesn’t mean I have to come up with all the smart ideas. On the contrary, I’ve learned how important it is to welcome the contributions of those around me. This includes our approach to sustainability. I’m by no means an expert in this space and I’m always on the lookout for solutions to help all of us do better. What I’ve found is that achieving sustainability doesn’t always require a massive overhaul; sometimes it’s just about making smarter choices. These are examples of ways we do business that keep us moving in a sustainable direction:
- Employee-first policies: RMG is an employee-centered company with benefits and policies designed to keep our employees healthy and happy, here at work, and at home. We offer hybrid and remote work options, unlimited PTO, professional development, group health insurance, family leave and a bunch of other team-centric commitments that everyone who works here seems to appreciate. As a result, we’re commuting less, spending more time together, doing projects more efficiently, and taking more time away with friends and family.
- Team Decisions: In 2025, due to changes to the SNAP program made by the current administration, we made a team decision to focus our energies on giving back to food-related nonprofits. This type of mission alignment matters to the nonprofits we serve, it keeps my team inspired and builds our portfolio in the sustainability space.
- Local Gatherings: We stay connected to our local community through events happening right here in our neighborhood and within our region along the Seacoast of NH. Recently, we attended a neighborhood networking gathering down the street from our office where we met up with other businesses in the West End of Portsmouth. And we get together quarterly with our fellow NH-area marketing friends at The Agency Side where we share agency-focused stories in a fun, collaborative atmosphere.
- Long-term Partnerships: Because we aren’t technically a full-service agency, our business model relies on external partners to fill in the extra puzzle pieces in fields such as web dev, design and video production, for example. Since RMG’s early days, I’ve tried to give this work to local partners to lift our shared economy. I’m so grateful that many of these relationships are still solid all these years later.
"Working with a sustainable agency is often perceived as a “nice to have” vs. a “must have.” However, when we do align our values with those of our clients, it feels great and often leads to a more productive relationship."
Choosing Good over Perfect
Despite the fact that I am a first-born daughter and a card carrying Capricorn Sun and Scorpio Moon, I choose good over perfect when it comes to sustainability. Perfection is overrated and can muck up the wheels of even the best intentioned team.
Sustainability is a spectrum with no actual finish line. Along the way we owe it to ourselves to be honest about what’s working and what’s not and what we can and cannot do. If someone comes to me to say that a piece of technology is broken, I’ll try to find someone to fix it. If one of my team members asks for time off I’m going to try to give it to her. But it won’t be possible 100% of the time.
We have to do the best we can under all circumstances. Staying informed, sharing ideas, setting realistic goals and keeping communication channels open and honest is a great start. The rest remains a work in progress.
