BeeP Blog

What an honor to be invited as guests of Arizona State University’s Global Institute of Sustainability to the most advanced, energy efficient space for humans of any government building designed yet. The new NASA base, co-designed by William McDonough+ Partners, will support just over 200+ scientists studying earth-climate models, as well as a group of scientists for the Stratospheric Observatory for Infrared Astronomy (SOFIA), an airborne observatory housed inside a 747, one of the most advanced astronomy studies underway.

The event was so top secret we can’t name attendees, but if you look closely you might recognize a few  of the most important names in sustainability design and leadership today.

95% of the building’s energy is sourced from renewables- solar, wind and on-site geothermal pumps. The site-specific location is incredible, with tons of natural light that follows the sun’s arc (only 40 days of the year will even require artificial light) and the ability for the ‘earth astronauts’ (I love calling them that!) to adjust the air/heat to their own individual comfort level.  I won’t steal my team’s thunder, so many more details will be announced soon, and a dedication ceremony is in the works.

For more on this spectacular achievement, please take a look at the NASA Ames Sustainability Base: http://www.nasa.gov/externalflash/sustainability-base/

Last weekend 2,500 Very-Serious-About-Sustainability-People (can we call ourselves ‘VSASPs’?) came together in Portland for the 2011 Net Impact Conference. About 100 conference participants came to listen to our panel ‘Marketing for Good: Creating a Career with Impact,’ which was tailored to give budding marketing and communications professionals insight into how to use their skill set to create positive local and global change. Our moderator, Jenifer Morgan, is the super-smart, well-written and well-spoken Digital Editor of the Stanford Social Innovation Review. Hopefully I, along with the rest of the panelists, didn’t scare anyone off because this was our career unrobed – the full Monty of Marketing!

I was there on behalf Blue Practice, representing the studio-sized agency’s perspective on the topic, and was joined by new friends Neha Gupta of the Community Housing Partnership and Rob Kaplan of Brown-Forman Corporation.  Jenifer’s questions were marvelous, full of spice, and went something like:

Jenifer) If you could go back in time and meet your younger self, what would you tell him/her?? What should you have known?

Jessica) First, it is all about who you know. My advice is to cultivate a personal network and get to know people who are important to your business, industry, professional growth, etc. It’s these people who have helped me in my successes, as clients, as co-workers, as advisors, as sources of inspiration, advice and…new business! Second, ASK FOR WHAT YOU WANT. Don’t be shy or embarrassed to be very explicit in asking for support or help especially. And most importantly, work the two together. I wish I had figured this out earlier in my career. Years into a technology PR career, I was wondering out loud with Chris Shipley, who was then running the DEMO conference, what a girl had to do to get an invitation to the invite-only AGENDA technology conference, the ‘big deal’ conference in the tech sector. ‘Send me an email and you’re in!’ Chris said. So that was my ‘aha’ moment when I realized how important it is to ASK for things and not wait to be invited.

Other stories from the trenches included:

Jenifer) Your most surprising moment career-wise

Jessica) Getting fired from Tesla Motors and being escorted to the parking lot, and

Jenifer) What prepared you best for your current career?

Jessica) Hmm…I don’t know, growing up on a farm I guess…

(along with other more serious and meaty career pearls of wisdom)

All in all, Net Impact was a great opportunity to interact with both established do-gooding professionals and with a new generation of emerging social architects.  I was truly impressed with how savvy the attendees were and was left inspired and hopeful of what these many young change-makers will accomplish.

It takes courage, as a company, to stand up and lead towards a different way of doing business. At Blue Practice we are lucky enough to represent the kinds of change-makers that are willing to take that first step, and for that we are incredibly thankful!

For these and many more reasons, it was an inspiring week at Greenbuild 2011 when Blue Practice client Construction Specialties (C/S) unveiled the building industry’s first-ever ingredient label for building materials. C/S teamed up with leading design firm Perkins+Will to develop the label, which details the complete make-up of a product, highlighting critical lifecycle information and potential human health impacts. This intensive effort, launched at Greenbuild 2011 in Toronto, Canada, is a collaborative step toward market transformation through increased disclosure on the part of building product manufacturers.

As the industry stands now, no disclosure on the part of building product manufacturers is necessary regarding the chemicals and ingredients in products. However, with this label, C/S and Perkins+Will hope to transform the market and nudge it towards more transparency around the make-up of the materials that surround us every day. The EPA estimates that Americans now spend about 90 percent or more of their time indoors and so we are increasingly exposed to the chemicals in these products. If more companies disclose what is in their products, everyone who touches the product, from the architect / specifier to the person who is charged with removing the product at the end of its life will be able to make more informed decisions.

While there is a vulnerability that comes with being first, C/S believes there is a business case for offering the world the ingredient and product information they obtained through the Cradle to Cradle certification process. Their Cradle to Cradle Certified(CM) Entrance Flooring product Pedisystems PediTred® G4 has the distinction of being the first product to carry this historic label. The company plans to attach similarly designed labels to other entrance flooring products as well in the belief that C/S customers will value this information. Competitors may have new insight into C/S’ leading products’, but that is the price the company is willing to pay to lead the way forward towards a more transparent and healthy industry.

Leading also has it’s benefits. Blue Practice was able to secure some wonderfully in-depth and rich coverage for the company. No one could deserve it more. Please read on for the clips here:

Fast Company: http://www.fastcompany.com/1784776/a-nutrition-label-for-building-products
Huffington Post: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/andy-mannle/new-ingredient-label-for-_b_995254.html
Forbes: http://www.forbes.com/sites/toddwoody/2011/10/05/new-label-to-promote-green-building-materials/
Contract Magazine: http://www.contractdesign.com/contract/PerkinsWill-Constr-6192.shtml
Inhabitat: http://inhabitat.com/top-green-products-found-at-greenbuild-2011-in-toronto/
Green Source: http://greensource.construction.com/blogs/thegreensource.asp
GreenBiz: http://www.greenbiz.com/blog/2011/10/11/nutritional-label-building-materials-other-tools-transparency