The plan also featured elements for education and activities. The Green Newspaper served as the primary teaching resource as the publisher delivered lessons on environmental issues to students in schools around Japan. Additionally, it included lectures and conversations on recycling and sustainability, as well as open events where participants could see how to plant paper.
The plantable newspaper project reached 4.6 million people, brought in more than $700,000 for the publisher, and garnered more than 80 million yen in press coverage that was not limited to newspapers but also created a buzz and plenty of ideas online. The effort demonstrated the newspaper industry's capacity to reach sizable segments of the public and to draw attention to environmental issues thanks to the over four million copies that are disseminated daily across the nation. Other initiatives have emerged in other parts of the world, including India, while some businesses in the United States have started to produce plantable paper for a variety of uses, including notecards, stationery, wrapping paper, etc.
One of Japan's leading advertising companies, Dentsu Inc., which collaborates with "The Mainichi," came up with the concept. The Japanese daily's green newspaper is not its first attempt at sustainability. Due to a prior advertising campaign promoting water contributions for populations in need, its dedication to environmental conservation is already widely recognized. "The Mainichi doesn't just provide information; it also addresses worldwide issues."
With a national circulation of over four million copies per day and earnings of over eighty million yen, or over $700,000, the environmentally friendly newspaper has achieved great success. In order to increase kids' knowledge of environmental issues and instil in them the value of recycling, the campaign has also incorporated schools. Because recycling waste materials—and paper in particular—will help reduce the amount of CO2 emitted by conventional waste disposal methods.
The special edition was first released on May 4, 2016, in honour of "Greenery Day," and it was printed on 100% biodegradable paper using plant-based inks. Its pages were exclusively devoted to environmental news. Each page included a seed that, when planted, would develop into a flower that would attract butterflies and other pollinators. Some of the replicas could even grow edible herbs! The newspapers had instructions for whoever picked them up: shred the old, useless papers into smaller pieces, then plant them in the ground. The written word is made much more appealing by the addition of plantable pages, given that branding is 185% stronger in print advertising than digital.
The idea was first developed by Dentsu Inc., one of the biggest advertising companies in Japan, which collaborates with Mainichi, the company that publishes The Japanese Daily. The basic value and focus of the publisher is environmental sustainability. Their purpose actually claims that "the Mainichi doesn't take action only through knowledge but also by solving global challenges."
Before The Green Newspaper, The Japanese Daily had several environmental initiatives.Their reputation has been established via prior marketing initiatives, such as a water donation drive for communities affected by drought and unclean water.
Their green newspaper has seen tremendous success. It currently has a daily circulation of more than four million copies, and its revenues exceed eighty million yen, or more than £500,000.
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