Bragging Rights: How Do You Market Your Sustainability Solutions?

Many companies have rapidly jumped on the green bandwagon, and buyers and decision-makers need to know how to differentiate between the real deal and greenwashing.

Our experts advocate that you:

Stay top of mind with your target audience and place as much emphasis on education as you do on marketing.
Craft messages that are clear and simple.
Use data and case studies whenever possible to build credibility.
Stay engaged in the community, attending conferences, learning from, and partnering with other leaders in your field and complementary businesses.

"We strive to describe sustainability in our work in generally understood terms such as the LEED tiers and California’s Title 24 energy-efficiency standards. We included this language when announcing design-award recognition. We designed one of the first schools to be certified by the Collaborative for High-Performance Schools (CHPS) and are currently designing two more CHPS-certified schools. The CHPS program maximizes the health, well-being, and performance of students, educators, and staff. And, it conserves energy, water, and other resources to minimize greenhouse gas emissions and reduce operating costs.”

Richard Berliner, AIA, LEED AP, Principal, Berliner Architects

"We recognize that there is a yearning for honest environmental stewardship. People respect and gravitate to companies that act responsibly. We strive to be sustainable out of conviction, seeing the promotion of our sustainable practices as an opportunity to spur those around us on to similar action. We believe in simply doing what’s right, and if our choices and actions inspired others to do the same, we would be grateful. We would love to see more suppliers in the textile, furniture, and interior design industries take the initiative to improve their products. But of equal importance, we would love to see more consumers demanding better made, more sustainable products.”

Iwan Nassimi, Executive VP, Nassimi

"Our message is focused on helping companies manage waste sustainably. We take a holistic approach to sustainability and meet clients where they are. We don't use hyperbolic language in our messaging but rather focus on the waste hierarchy to find the highest and best use for materials. Providing facts and results helps distinguish progress from greenwashing.”

Anna Dengler, Senior Sustainability Advisor, Great Forest

"I try to avoid any greenwashing by being as accurate and honest as possible when discussing it with clients or media. I encourage people to make the first step toward sustainable building first, such as adding insulation or changing their windows. I try to look at promoting sustainable building through two quotes that I have always believed in: ‘Don't let perfect be the enemy of the good,’ and ‘A journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step.’”

Wayne Turett, RA, Founder and Principal of The Turett Collaborative

"We promote sustainable design as we always have, long before the sustainable design movement took shape. Our message is a strong now as it was then, that through our sensitivity to design, we incorporate the fundamentals of sustainability that inherently conserve resources and provide healthy environments to live and work.”

Vince Myers, AIA, LEED AP, President, DIGroup Architecture LLC

"When I approach an architectural project, nature is at the forefront of my decision-making process-- it is the center of all that I do. From the choice of the materials to the overall design, I sincerely aim to preserve the natural environment. As a leader seeking to create a better environment for generations to come, I don’t believe I need to greenwash my work-- especially growing up surrounded by nature and experiencing the effects of climate change in Taiwan."

Keng-Fu Lo, managing director of the Chain10 Architecture & Interior Design Institute

"On completed projects that obtain LEED certification, we promote the achievement, client-permitting, and highlight the specific sustainability features. We are especially proud of the newly updated Pritzker Hall on the UCLA campus. Designed by esteemed architect Paul Revere Williams, FAIA, and opened in 1967, we renovated the building to meet current seismic code and exceeded Title 24 energy requirements, resulting in LEED Platinum certification. We preserved a historically important mid-century building, updating it to be seismically safe and incredibly efficient by adding windows and modernizing lighting and mechanical systems.”

Jenna Knudsen, AIA, LEED AP BD+C, Managing Principal, CO Architects

"As a company, ego tends to take a back seat...If a project earns a LEED rating, whether on an affordable-housing project or hospitality, or other typology, we promote that in our portfolio and awards submissions. When project resources extend to landscape architecture, we'll push for native and drought-tolerant plantings, which have become the rule instead of the exception in California. The language around green building should be the norm, not the exception. We look forward to when clients require sustainability like they require parking.”

Scott Sullivan, AIA, NCARB, Principal, Relativity Architects