Health - Environment - Sustainability Understanding and Achieving Your Clients Degree of Green®

1. Health - Environment - Sustainability Understanding and Achieving Your Clients Degree of Green® May 2014 National Healthy Homes Conference

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

3. 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”

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

5. Green Washing - examples • Large retailers • Clothing • Home Improvements • Manufacturer • Organic food story • Building products: • Bamboo floors • CFL’s

6. Green Washing - examples • VOC’s • Definition • exempt chemicals • Environment vs. Human Health

7. 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

8. 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

9. 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

10. 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

11. Degree of Green® System • 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. • 

12. Client Examples Customer #1 Customer #2 Customer #3

13. Human Health • Chemical Sensitivities • Allergies, Asthma • Autism • Low or No toxin is KEY

14. Environmental Health • Global Climate Change Issues • VOC’s, Ozone, Etc. • Energy Efficiency • Reduced Carbon Footprint • GREEN • Passive House • Beyond Energy Star

15. 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

16. What is your personal • 1-2-3 • 4-5-6 • 7-8-9 • 10-11-12 • 13-14-15 • 16-17-18 • TOTALS •