Every communication has some impact on the environment. Whether we email or send a letter, post a website or mail a brochure, we consume energy and resources. There are environmental tradeoffs in every choice we make.

Consider this: The electricity needed to produce 440 pounds of paper—the amount of paper each of us typically consumes every year—is the same amount of power required to operate one computer continuously for five months.

So, what is our response? How do we conduct business in a way that lessens our impact on the environment—short of just lying down and doing nothing?

Well, as it turns out, my mother’s advice to me as a child was right in more ways than I would have guessed: “If you haven’t got anything nice to say, don’t say anything at all.”

You’ve seen the eco-warning at the bottom of email messages from some well-meaning eco-conscious senders: “Think before you print.” With some 247 billion emails sent each day*, a better suggestion might be “Think before you write.”

More than ever, businesses need to make every communication effort count. We must print with purpose. Design deliberately. Build websites with objectives in mind. Know our audiences. Focus our messages. Publish with a plan.

Interestingly, our approach to communication has always been intentional — even in our blog we strive to post something of value, something that might spark an idea or prompt an action.

When I started Perdue Creative 20 years ago this month, our tagline was “Creative services from the right side of the brain.” Funny how some things come in and out of fashion—like design and communication trends. And some things stand the test of time—like a mother’s sound advice.