CRA- Go Green Go Paperless

A campaign by the Canada Revenue Agency (CRA), messages touting the environmental benefits of going paperless are falling on deaf ears. Tax payers were encouraged to file online and eliminate paper filing. A soft messages to “nudge” the audience to make desired choices. The  campaign used different messages ranging from no specific environmental messaging to strong environmental messaging – including a promise to plant a tree when switching to online filing.

Research on why paper maters

The results show that environmental messaging was no more effective than generic messaging. The nudge campaign having a negligible impact of about 1% increase in online filing.

Why aren’t the ‘go-green’ marketing slogans effective?

A)Many people prefer or need paper documents

B)Consumers have become better educated in recognizing the truthfulness of corporate environmental claims

C)Electronic communication has its own environmental impacts.