Turning Transparent in a Green World

Twittering for Sustainable Products

Is Twitter for the birds or is it a viable way to get your sustainable product into the public's searchable eye?

Before you judge it as a time waster, go to Twitter (you have to sign up) and then search #green and see what comes up. You'll also see #________________ in the sidebar. Many groups are beginning to use Twitter to see what others are doing and to group their ideas together. By putting a # sign in front of a predetermined word or phrase, 'tweets' can be collected into one group.

Confused, ok, search for "sustainable building products" and see how many are using that phrase. Now search for "green building products" and see what pops. Try other combo to get the idea.

The #_________ acts just like that key phrase you just used, except it ties all the tweets together using the the #_____ phrase instead of using the key words.

While going through this exercise, I also located #greenbuilding of which I have added to my list to follow.

Do you have a favorite #__________ that you like to follow? Let me know at Mary.Hunt@GreenBuildingPages.com

Sustainable Packaging - how green is yours?

A tip of the hat to Environmental Leader for this tidbit which predicts that sustainable packaging will grab 32% of the market by 2014. For the full article go here.

Paper and paper-based packaging are the largest sectors with more than 40% of the global packaging market. That's another reason why the LACCD is paying so much attention to companies who wrap their products in materials that can be recycled. The packaging coming into the district on building products and materials is separated, then sold back into the material supply chain.

 

Are you in the process of redesigning your packaging to be part of the 32%? Check out JoAnn Hines, the Packaging Diva. She has decades of experience and will help you carry your sustainable message through, as well as make your package as sustainable as your product. Give her a call or follow her on twitter along with the other 4000 who do.

Welcome ThermaSteel Panels

ThermaSteel Panels has joined the Green Building Pages ranks. It manufactures foundation, floor, wall, roof and ceiling components for residential, commercial and industrial applications as well as infill or curtain for high-rise construction. It's a pre-insulated light gauge steel framing, utilizing galvanized steel and EPA (both 100% recyclable).ThermaSteel carries and Energy Star Rating and UL, ASTM and others.

ThermaSteel came to Green Building Pages on the recommendation of the Los Angeles Community College District. As soon as the ThermaSteel team answered the triple bottom line questions on Green Building Pages, Green Building Pages sends their link back to Lilian the LACCD procurement specialist. Now Lilian has all the answers to anything she needs to know at her fingertips (as does everyone else at LACCD). 

But that's just a starting point...

Lilian heads up the interiors procurement operations and acts as the filter for all products coming into the LACCD, but she doesn't specify products and materials that will be used to build the buildings. That job goes to one of the 150 or so architectural and design firms contracted with the LACCD. 

Educating the architects to use Green Building Pages and also flag the firms on new products is Amber Olson. With this same link, she can share ThermaSteel's LEED Credit opportunties in energy performance, controllability of systems - thermal, thermal comfort - design, recycled content, innovation and design.

Thank you ThermaSteel for making the transferring of knowledge through LACCD so easy.

The New Bottom Line in Sales

Ahh the infamous bottom line question that strikes terror in any newbie sales person - you polished your shoes and your presentation yet before you can crack a smile or a proposal your prospect asks, "So what's the bottom line"?

 

Anyone in sales training will give you a dozen different ways to sidestep the money question and get back to the job of pre-selling your product. Since the market is turning green, however,  there is new way to answer...

 

Q: What's the bottom line?

A: That depends on how you want your triple bottom line to look.

 

The prospect will either "get" what you're offering right away or they'll stare at you with a dumbfounded expression, either way you should be ready to show them how your product is going to save them money, save the environment and be a good neighbor to those they do business with around the planet. It takes the "features and benefits" conversation to a whole new Life Cycle Assessment level.

 

If your product can compete wellin all three areas of the triple bottom line, economics, environment and social equity (and can prove it) you've hit the trifecta of new market sales. You will Win, Place and Show others what a sustainable product looks like in green economy.

 

If you're really savvy you'll have your sustainable future story together as well - how can you guarantee that this product is no fluke, that it will continue to improve and make their triple bottom line better in the process. You'll also have a promotion plan together to help them help you cross promote the product's use.  It's no longer a grab-your-commissions-and-run world.

 

If you're a sales and marketing manager can your sales force answer the triple bottom line questions as easily as they can answer product specifications and installation concerns?

 

Do you have a  Sustainable Sales Training program? Let us know.

 

Dear Fellow Revolutionaries...

Happy Earth Day - if you haven't pulled yourself away from the screen and felt the sun on your face, do so now, I'll wait. Seriously, take a moment to walk in the sun and reflect on all that you've accomplished for the sake of this spinning ball.

Because of you and millions of others, the tipping point for awareness has been reached. The next two years will consist of refining the direction and rules of this firmly entrenched movement.

My grateful thanks goes to all who have lead the way providing the framework to help business make a controlled turn and our future more sustainable.

Turning more than transparent...

Each major furniture manufacturer started the same way, usually with one man needing to create something that was unique, functional and would stand the test of time.

When Robin Correl sits down at his lathe he turns out pieces that make you think twice before sitting down. You may just want to stand there and stare in appreciation. He says he "embodies the spirit of the client".

Because he's a one-man show, Robin's furniture has a very low environmental impact. That makes getting high sustainability scores easy to obtain, easier than trying to manage a multi-million dollar supply chain anyway. Maybe that's not such a bad way to go. Is that cheating or is that pointing us into a new direction for furniture the same way that growing your own vegetables is gaining momentum.

I'll let the eco-philosophers debate that one, for now I just like seeing furniture that you never tire of and would carry a wow-factor for a bedroom or a board room. Yes, we all have to turn green, but we don't have to be boring about it.

ANSI Sustainable Workshop: two days and no conclusions except...

If you couldn't attend the ANSI Workshop last week, you can read every document covered the ANSI event wiki. (Don't you love transparency?)

Some takeaways were on the "tell me something I didn't know" level and others are beginning to point us in direction of general agreement. See all presentations, ANSI Sustainable Product Standard workshop here and highlights below.

CLOSING SUMMARY By Joe Bhatia, ANSI President and CEO

• We need various viable options
• There is no one organization that covers everything that's needed
• The solution must be a private-public partnership
• There isn't a one-word answer for what is green and what isn't so we need to allow for gray
• The solution must be economically viable
• The solution must seek social goodness.
• A standards-based approach is a good idea
• It must be scientifically based
• Good performance should be rewarded and baselines moved up.
• Consensus matters, but not to the determent of "lowering standards"
• Being an ANSI accredited standard means that it will mesh with the global ISO standards and be part of the 313,000 other standards that ANSI has on it's database.

BREAK OUT SESSION HIGHLIGHTS

• "Need for multi-pronged approach - government regulations to set the floor and voluntary leadership standards to raise the ceiling. Variety, multiplicity of approaches provides competition and rigor, but adds to confusion"
• Marketing matters - but shouldn't be the determinate of a great standard. "The buying public has very little real knowledge about the credibility of standards or process used; they go on impressions of reputation and how often they see the standard (i.e. how well the standards organizations markets itself)"
• GUIDANCE for credible standard criteria...
  • Harmonized definitions of terms
  • Have an overarching body to provide guidance (gov and private sectors)
  • International in scope
  • Have an inclusive set of the right stakeholders at the table
  • Balance achievement against lowest common denominator)
  • Measurable, science-based that do not stifle innovation
  • Evaluate demand and ensure reasonable scope
• Attributes and weighting
  • Include environment,economy, social welfare
  • Determine a common set of attributes for all products
  • Transparent reporting with end user determine the weighting
  • Or weighting determined by stakeholders
• Multiple attributes lead to more credible standards and improved confidence
• Single attributes are easier to understand, but more complex to coordinate and could lead to green wash as one attribute is heralded and others ignored.
• Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) is still confusing and needs to be defined.
• How to measure environmental and societal outcomes determined by lists of how to measure, what to measure and what is the baseline for measurement.

Validation is a great thing. As I look down this list of confusion it's nice to know that Green Building Pages already covers the issues and helps you search for the best answers furing this transitional times.  

Did anyone attend the sessions? What were your impressions of next steps?

Where are You on the Sustainability Curve?

The market is quickly moving from the "We're Green" stage to "We're Sustainable;" at which point buyers and citizens of the world alike are saying, "Prove it"!

This week in LCA land (Life Cycle Assessment)  Apple is conducting a full LCA on their products. Apple computers aren't building products, but if an electronic device can conduct a Life Cycle Assessment, doing one on a building product should be easy. At the very least it flags that LCA's are a thing of the present, not the future. According to this article:

"Life Cycle Assessment takes into account every phase of a product's life, including the mining of the raw materials; manufacturing of the product; packaging; missions related to transporting it to market; the power consumption during the product's use; and the energy required for eventual recycling."  

Greenpeaceis pushing Apple to publish their environmental footprint. It will be interesting to see if they begin using their highly visible tactics to motivate other big companies.

In New Zealand, penalties for the following greenwash claims can include fines of up to $60,000 for individuals and $200,000 for a company

• making claims that are vague ("green" or "environmentally friendly")
• overstating the environmental benefits of a product
• using environmental images to imply environmental benefits that don't exist
• using business names ("The Absolutely Green V8 Car Company") that imply green credentials that don't exist.

 

Here in the U.S. the EPA provided guidelines as well. Corpwatch gave out greenwash awards. The GreenWashingIndex provides example after example of what isn't working in the market.

 

Where are you on the scale? Just starting out? Sustainable before it became a trend? Let us know what you did to get your company moving in the right direction.

Put Your Company on the Cap and Trade Map

Before you read any further, go here. Is your company listed?

The Environmental Defense Fund(EDF) has over 1200 companies and their case studies listed. It's as informative as it is compelling and inspiring. Job hunters can quickly see who will be the leaders in the next market. The companies listed "get" what this next market is going to look like and are poised to play on its terrain.

The site is hosted by LessCarbonMoreJobs.org and according to a write up in Environmental Leader it provides,  "the locations, products, services and contacts as well as select case studies and worker profiles for companies in 12 states: Michigan, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Indian, New Hampshire, Arkansas, Tennessee, Colorado, Georgia, Missouri, Virginia and Florida..." 

With Carbon Cap and Trading getting locked into place, having a Life Cycle Assessment(LCA) conducted on sustainable products is a given. The numbers have to come from somewhere and an ISO LCA is the most recognized place to start.

Yesterday I spoke with an LCA consultant who admitted that already companies who conduct LCA  audits are over booked with requests.  

This is another example of play now or play later, but you will play if you want to stay in the game. The choices are to get moving now, while everyone is scrambling to figure it out or do it later after the competition is way ahead and you're left to play catch up.

Market Case Study: EcoTimber

Our thanks to Dan Harrington, Director of Product Development at EcoTimber. Dan oversees design, sourcing and factory relations which include environmental and technical specifications. For the past eight years he's worked with EcoTimber as it grew from 3 people to 25 and became an eco-force of it's own. Dan@EcoTimber.com

EcoTimber won the Benchmarketing Sustainability Award for Installation, Use & Maintenance. For a complete look at EcoTimber’s triple bottom line facts click here.

BUILT IN INTEGRITY

EcoTimber started off in 1992 when Jason Grant, Aaron Maizlish and Eugene Dickey came together to sell and promote "good wood." They visited and vetted each forest for diversity and social equity long before FSC [Forest Stewardship Council] became the adopted label by many environmental groups. Today EcoTimber promotes FSC certified wood, but still continues to vet the process with their own on-site visits.

GETTING STARTED

The fledging founders began with a sustainable idea - harness the marketplace to support sustainable forestry. They used their own capital and that of friends to launch the concept and then in 1995 they received over a million dollars which included monies from the MacArthur Foundation. It was the first and only investment into a for-profit business that the foundation has ever made.

During these early days, no one really knew the benefits of sustainable wood. EcoTimber owners got the word out by spending lots of time talking to architects, architectural communities and to large influential corporations. They had good success and landed accounts at Nike, Banana Republic, Whole Foods, Patagonia and Disney, but it eventually spread EcoTimber too thin.

MIDCOURSE CORRECTIONS

Serving multiple products lines and markets became too difficult. In 2001, they  sold off all the inventory, keeping only the flooring and selling it with the brand to Hayward Lumber. Fast forward six years - two new investors  bought the EcoTimber flooring from Hayward and have been taking it forward ever since.  Lesson learned? Focus, focus, focus on one thing - flooring.

ECO-INSTRUMENTAL PARTNERS

Dan reports that they work with many architectural firms, and  that Gensler has been very active in specifying the FSC wood.  "Gensler goes the extra step to make sure contractors follow through and buy what is specified. Not many firms do that," Dan admitted," but Gensler does a good job of hammering it home."

PACKAGING SOLUTIONS

"We've gone to recycled cardboard and limited plastic," says Dan. "We want to improve and use even less plastic, but right now we have to protect the product from moisture and that's the only thing that will work. We're looking for plastic that will biodegrade eventually. We try to keep the cardboard at a minimum and use a simple sticker at the end of the wood vs. coating a big box with ink. The customer often doesn't see the packaging anyway. They order it online or from a dealer and by the time it arrives at their home or worksite, decorative packaging isn't needed."

CONSUMER/SOCIAL EQUITY

"We did some focus groups and found that 'saving the rain forest' came in second to health issues," says Dan, "Consumers want to know that their products are formaldehyde free and won't endanger their children. Even so, we don't slack off our original mission. We still vet the sites ourselves and don't work with factories which don't pay attention to social issues or workers rights. Customers appreciate our authenticity and level of first hand knowledge.” Dan added, “While the forest is our mission, we did change our tag line to reflect our customer’s needs and our policy regarding the use of toxic chemicals that might off-gas in the home. It went from “Quality Woods from Environmentally Sound Sources"  to  "Healthy Forests. Healthy Homes."

WHAT'S YOUR MARKET EDGE?

"I think it’s our integrity and knowledge. Customers trust the information we give them and they like having products that are in stock and ready to ship," says Dan.  

WHAT'S HOT RIGHT NOW?

Hand scraped flooring and strand woven bamboo," he said.  And yes, he assures me, it is scraped by hand by fair-wage workers in the US.  The bamboo is shredded and then resin infused (with no urea formaldehyde) to create a "tropical hardwood at a bamboo price." EcoTimber is working with a bamboo supplier that will have its FSC certification this spring.

WHAT IS ONE THING CONSUMERS NEED TO KNOW?

"I wish people did their research on standards, there is a proliferation of them out there and many are muddying the water. We've done some on the homework on our website, but ultimately the end buyer has to demand it," Dan stressed. "FSC is the best of the many forestry labels that are popping up, but it isn't perfect. Companies who buy small amounts of FSC wood can use the label in their advertising... showing the label does not mean that all the wood they carry is FSC certified. The only way a customer can have that guarantee is to ask for FSC wood and then look on the invoice and make sure the line item identifies the wood as FSC certified. We hope that as more people understand what FSC stands for the more they'll understand why so many environmental groups back it." 

Dan Harrington is a 36 year old dad of two kids, ages 2 1/2 and 4 months. Some day he'll tell them stories of how he worked to save the rain forests through sustainable tourism and then eco-commerce.