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Health - Environment - Sustainability

Understanding and Achieving Your Clients Degree of Green®

May 2014National Healthy Homes Conference

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Agenda• History of GDC• Greenwashing• Green Credibility & ROGI• Healthy Home• Customer Trends• Degree Of Green

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GDC History• 1992 Milwaukee project

• Learned about MCS, EI & Sick Building Syndrome

• 1993 Launched SBS• Customer base 95% MCS, 5% “aware”• 2009 Launched GDC• Customer base 50% MCS, 50% “aware”

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Green Washing Defined

• Greenwashing comes in many forms:– Do as I say…– Biodegradable– Internal biased decisions– “Natural” – Locally-made– Single attributes

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Green Washing - examples• Large retailers

– Clothing– Home Improvements – Manufacturer

• Organic food story• Building products:

– Bamboo floors– CFL’s

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Green Washing - examples• VOC’s

• Definition• exempt chemicals• Environment vs. Human Health

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Green Credibility and ROGI• Lack of clarity on “green” definition leaves door

open to marketing claims• Be careful about claiming “green” for things that

have little real impact• People buy “green” for two reasons

• Improved bottom line• Improved quality of life

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Emergence of the Healthy Home

Green Fatigue-If everything is green, then nothing is green• Green is personal and everyone’s definition is different

• LOHAS consumer is demanding healthier alternatives

– BPA– Phthalates– Tainted building materials– Formaldehyde in building materials

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Growing Customer Base• LOHAS:

• 15-20% of the US population

– 290 billion spending power• Expected to double twice in the next 10 years• Women primarily are the driving decision makers

-- by large percentage in consumer and 50% in business markets

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Growing Customer Base• Chemical Sensitivity/Environmental Illness

• According to NIH… MCS is a chronic, recurring disease caused by a person's inability to tolerate an environmental chemical or class of foreign chemicals

• Estimated 25% of the US population, although most don’t know it

• Massive exposure• Life changing event• Low level exposure over a long period of time

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• What is it? A rating and review system incorporating the 27 reasons a products can be called green.

• Why invented? Customers asking about what is “more green”. Bamboo vs. Cork, etc.

• How do we use it? Utilizing our questionnaire, we can determine a customers personal Degree of Green, then guide them to the correlating products.

Degree of Green® System

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Client Examples

Customer #1

Customer #2

Customer #3

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Human Health

• Chemical Sensitivities• Allergies, Asthma• Autism• Low or No toxin is KEY

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Environmental Health• Global Climate Change Issues

– VOC’s, Ozone, Etc.• Energy Efficiency• Reduced Carbon Footprint• GREEN• Passive House• Beyond Energy Star

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Sustainability• Deconstruction • Recycled materials

• Countertops/cabinetry made from recycled paper or plastics

• Drywall made from paper cups

• Bio-based materials• Plant oil paints• natural linoleum & cork

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TOTALS

1-2-3

4-5-6

7-8-9

10-11-12

13-14-15

16-17-18

What is your personal