Sustainability thought leaders are seeking experienced communications organizations to help get their vision and mission communicated both internally and externally, along with promoting new trends.
Tim Gnatek is President and Co-founder of Blue Practice where he manages media relations, corporate and employee communications, thought leadership programs, content generation, and creative campaigns.
As a former New York Times reporter, he was awarded the Frontline Fellowship to report on leading sustainability programs in Curitiba, Brazil and he is also a member of the executive board of TEDxMarin (Marin, CA) responsible for event strategy, adjudicate content and themes, along with selecting speakers, and assisting in year-round programming activities.
As Blue Practice celebrates its tenth year in business, which project in the last ten years has most positively impacted sustainability?
Sustainability is a continuum and we’re proud that we contributed to this effort over the last decade. Some of the projects we are most proud of focus on solar technology, electric vehicles, and promoting the sustainability movement with prominent individuals out in industry.
One of our first campaigns was SolarCity’s Community Purchasing Program. Through grassroots community outreach, we helped introduce the benefits of solar across California before the technology became widespread. This enabled Californians to see solar technology as an affordable option for their homes.
We also helped launch interest in electric vehicles (EVs) early on by promoting them on the TED stage, the pages of the Niemen Marcus catalog, and on the TODAY show.
One of our more fun and ongoing projects includes working with formative figures in the sustainability movement like William McDonough – famous for his Cradle to Cradle theory.
As sustainability continues to evolve, so will we. Building communications and advocating for sustainability advancements is one of the most important efforts we can undertake.
Which trends or issues are you most excited to help your client’s with now?
Our mission as a communications agency is to elevate the role of sustainability and support our clients by helping them build and promote their sustainability efforts.
There is an increasing importance on integrating sustainability and corporate social responsibility (CSR) into the management of a company’s supply chain and financial performance. This trend continues to grow. We believe it is the basis for showing the value that can be gained with net positive impact and by increasing accountability to the triple bottom line.
In terms of specific trends, we’re continuing to follow the adoption of circular economy and cradle to cradle principles within the built environment, product design, architecture, and supply chain. There is a fundamental shift happening in the way companies view the environment and the economy. We will continue being part of these discussions and grow alongside our clients.
In addition, one of the biggest trends is in helping sustainability leaders promote their vision, mission, values, and programs.
Recently, we launched an Executive Branding Program to enable thought leaders to build their digital platform and brand, along with promoting their real world experience. This program helps leaders better communicate with their audience on topics like CSR, Cleantech, environmental advocacy, and sustainability. Some of the tools in the program include – help with blog writing, expanding their social media footprint, building their persona, developing supporting content, curating media interviews, and providing assistance or promotion of speaking opportunities.
It’s important that we help promote the incredible and innovative work that is moving the world of sustainability forward.
Describe in more detail your slogan “Communications for a Sustainable World.”
Our founding principle is to promote the voices of people that are working hard to make the world a better place. Since 2006, we’ve worked together with companies that want to leave a positive global footprint or even better, no footprint.
This slogan is our way of communicating our purposeful and intentional approach to the work we do. In addition to providing a special sense of purpose at our agency, it also is a unique advantage in the communications field.
By staying engaged in the environmental sustainability community, we are better able to support our clients and the work they do. We take pride in raising their voices higher. We’ve been able to develop supportive relationships within our network by communicating with a common language and mastery of the sustainability world.
Can you talk more about some of the exciting projects in the areas of mobility, natural capital, and innovation?
Mobility is an exciting ride for us. Jessica, one of our co-founders was the first Vice President of Marketing for Tesla. I also for a short time was employed by Tesla before starting Blue Practice. Mobility is in our DNA. This can take on many forms as we have launched nearly a dozen programs in the electrical vehicle and biofuels space.
Mobility can also include urban designs for walking and park spaces like we did for the ParkScore program for the Trust for Public Land. As we re-think mobility and with the convergence of AI, sensor technology, and smarter city planning, there will be more programs and products focused on greater efficiency and purpose.
Natural capital is a relatively new accounting concept measuring the way a company uses natural resources like water and energy. As our most precious economy, natural capital remains under appreciated as a resource and taken for granted.
To get deeper into the trenches on this subject, we’ve worked with groups like the Economist’s World Oceans Summit, the United Nations Development Programme, and the wildlife rescue organization Wildcare on accountability for natural resources, advocating on all levels for the support and preservation of natural lands the creatures that inhabit those lands.
Innovation has always been a top area for us, even before our inception when I was a technology reporter. (Need an example of a project BP promoted)
I would recommend readers check out the information we have on our website www.bluepractice.com to learn more about these types of projects. There is a lot of great information there.
How have you worked with the Sustainable Apparel Coalition in the Design space?
We worked with the SAC team to help launch their initiative to design a framework by which key sustainability efforts could be measured and improved upon. The tool provides greater transparency across the retail industry and enables companies to choose more sustainable options for their design and manufacturing processes.
We helped design the SAC’s internal and external communications, as well as broke the story first internationally when they were ready for a global reveal. It was a great media relations campaign to work on and we were excited to help seed staff at conferences and events to share the new model with the world.
How do you partner with clients on Community Impact profiles?
Each company we work with has its own unique audience with a set of requirements for what they need to help them advocate, educate, and influence the communities most relevant to their work. This has given he Blue Planet team exposure to many micro and macro-communities, we otherwise might not have reached.
Community can be a traditional concept and follow a grassroots campaign with a broad approach. Community can also be a smaller community that is a honed audience within a niche category.
It’s important when we work with clients that we truly understand the audience they want to reach and build purposeful programs. We’ve helped with on-the-ground campaigns for broader messaging in the energy efficiency space to reach homeowners in various communities and we’ve worked with a marketing association for the nation’s largest utility companies so that they might share energy efficiency and SMART grid information with all their customers.
If readers want to learn more about how to get the word out about sustainability programming, where might they find more information and case studies?
Readers can learn more by going to our website www.bluepractice.com and reviewing the case studies we have out there. There is a broad range of topics that include work from some of the world’s biggest companies. Contact Blue Practice directly for more information.
Bio:
Kelly Eisenhardt is Co-Founder and Managing Director at BlueCircle Advisors, an environmental compliance and sustainability consulting and training firm based in Massachusetts (www.bluecircleadvisors.com.) In her role at BlueCircle Advisors, she is responsible for providing business intelligence, strategy and implementation of environmental, social and governance (ESG) risk programs. Her experience aligns well with her client’s needs for technology, compliance, and sustainability expertise by helping companies create and manage their corporate environmental and social responsibility programs.
To contact Kelly Eisenhardt, send emails to kelly.eisenhardt@bluecircleadvisors.com or follow her on Twitter @KelEisenhardt. For more information about BlueCircle Advisors and the company’s products and services, please visit www.bluecircleadvisors.com, on Facebook at BlueCircle Advisors, on Twitter @OurBlueCircle, and on the LinkedIn group at the BlueCircle Advisors group.