April 22^nd was Earth Day.  As with any flagship day it certainly brought us to rethink our relationship with the planet.  We all agree that mother nature is expressing her discontentment with our not-so-civilized ways of treating the planet.  Devoted researchers and great spokesmen travel the world to highlight the urgency of the matter and the potential future repercussions of pollution, resource waste and depletion, biodiversity, and other important environmentally related topics.

Xclamation has recently conducted a quick environmental poll through social media to find out what people consider being the most important environmental issue.  The question was simple: “What environmental issue is most important to you?” with possible answers being Water Conservation, Climate Change, Energy, Land use and Resource Depletion.  Although the list of possible answers could have been much longer, the results are quite interesting.

In first place, with 37% of the votes, is Energy.  Although other environmental issues have had their share of exposure and debate, energy is clearly a major concern for North Americans.

It is followed by Resource Depletion at 22%.  As it is brilliantly presented by Jason Clay in his TED conference “How big brands can help save biodiversity”,  resource depletion not only affects farmers’ crops and forces the displacement of villages, it also threatens the production of many consumer products and has a dangerous influence on biodiversity.  Resource depletion, like many other environmental issues, has several repercussions that further need to be addressed.

In third place comes Water Conservation with 19% of the votes.  This issue is very important to Xclamation. North Americans often blindly waste an exaggerated amount of water every day.  The issue is so close to our hearts that we have put together an awareness and solution program called Aquanomy, which encourages residents to adopt water-saving practices . We are confident that Aquanomy will soon get a followership not only composed of residents but also of municipality representatives who wish to use the program to educate their residents.

Then comes the popular and often misunderstood Climate Change with 15% of the votes.  We’ve heard a lot about climate change through important voices such as David Suzuki and Al Gore.  With great reason, it is being addressed by many governments and organizations that seek to better understand it, foresee potential menacing outcomes and rewind our pollution effects.

Finally, 7% of votes went to Land Use.  Although land use is directly linked to biodiversity and resource depletion, it is not getting the most attention by media and therefore, it is not popularly discussed as an important environmental issue.

All in all, we are bound to our planet in many ways and consequently, we are all responsible for its state and its up keeping.  No matter what environmental issue is of most importance to you, adopting eco-friendly habits at home, at the office and outdoors, as well as supporting sustainable development is simply a must.  If you are a marketer, environmental issues provide tremendous opportunities to engage your audience and deliver lasting brand contributions.  Whether you choose to team up with your friends and followers through social media and⁄or events, the possibilities are endless and may become a brand’s game changer.

That said there’s no need to be a marketer to take action. We can all do simple things in our everyday lives which can bring positive outcomes. Things like taking a few minutes to fix that water leak, avoiding using plastic bags, considering using public transportation or starting an enviro-council at your workplace. The list just goes on… Think of what action you can adopt today.  Little actions add up to great outcomes.