The Environment+Energy Leader 100 is an annual list that recognizes the environment and energy “doers” who break trail in creating new solutions, programs, platforms, best practices and products to help their companies – or other companies – achieve greater success in commercial and industrial environment and energy management. See the complete list of 2022 Honorees here.
Meet MindClick's JoAnna Abrams. As CEO, she sets the course for the company and guides the team in the delivery of the company's product intelligence data, analytics, and reporting solutions. "I do this by engaging in ongoing communications with our customers," she says. These span ESG leaders for brands, owners and operators, design and construction executives, purchasing directors, design leaders, and the manufacturers whose products are used to build, furnish, and supply the spaces used by leading organizations to deliver their services.
"In the current 'ESG Tsunami,' as we like to call it, much of my time is spent in educating stakeholders as well as in co-development efforts ranging from the design of business process and technology solutions to the development of market strategies that accelerate progress towards net zero carbon emissions," JoAnna says.
Tell us about your environmental management challenge. How did you approach it?
JoAnna Abrams: About ten years ago, Marriott International’s CEO Arne Sorenson committed to "greening" the global supply chain. He recognized early on the impact of the supply chain and saw how Marriott as a global leader could help drive transformation, especially given that on average, 90% of an organization’s greenhouse gas emissions comes from the supply chain.
The challenges seemed overwhelming, starting with defining Marriott’s supply chain and what “green” meant. Drawing on my years of work for Toyota and experience with the Kaizen continuous improvement model, MindClick collaborated with Marriott and key partners -- manufacturers and designers, industry stakeholders including the US Green Building Council, and sustainability consultants -- to create a framework and rating system designed to drive continuous improvement year over year in the performance of interior furnishings products specified for Marriott’s hotels.
We started with products from 20 of Marriott’s vendors, and today more than 150 vendors are part of the MindClick Sustainability Assessment Program (MSAP). MSAP is an annual evaluation/rating of environmental and social impacts throughout each stage of a product’s lifecycle based on globally accepted standards. Our team collects data annually, conducts a rigorous audit and awards a “good, better, best” rating to green the supply chain.
We provide guidance, share non-proprietary best practices, and provide analytics to help manufacturers understand the operational changes they can make to address decarbonization, waste reduction and circularity, use of non-virgin materials, elimination of chemicals of concern, packaging and distribution optimization, and changes in product characteristics to support their customers’ ESG goals. Most exciting now is our expansion well beyond Marriott to help other organizations green their global supply chains with our supply chain Product Intelligence. We focus on supporting the Services Economy -- hospitality, healthcare, retail, education and more -- providing our Product Intelligence to track and guide contracting and purchasing in support of ESG goals. By opening up the channels of shared data and analytics between stakeholders and creating a collaborative problem-solving approach, we’re seeing the benefits in cost savings, incredible innovation, and thousands of examples of efficiency improvements.
Can you share a successful implementation or project that you have worked on? How did you manage it?
JA: The Hyatt Regency San Francisco Downtown SoMaand their management company Highgate Hotels completed a $70 million dollar renovation in February of this year, collaborating with MindClick to support carbon reduction and the heath of people and the planet. When the Highgate team committed to making sustainability core to this project, they ran into a significant challenge: understanding the impact of the products they were choosing. Using MindClick's Product Intelligence ratings, data and analytics for over 50,000 products, Highgate's design and purchasing teams carefully selected interior furnishings and fixtures that dramatically improved the project's environmental impact while also supporting diversity, equity, and inclusion in the supply chain, delivering beautiful interiors with a powerful impact and enhancing the guest experience and the health of people and the planet.
Notable specifics of the record-setting project include the following:
1. On average, 45% of the materials used in the flooring, fabrics, seating, and other products with a large footprint are recycled, sustainably harvested or rapidly renewable. In addition, nearly 100% of these items are free of toxins and certified as contributing to the highest levels of indoor air quality.
2. Materials were produced in facilities that are actively measuring and reducing the carbon emissions associated with manufacturing. Materials were also packaged with less material to support reduced transportation and storage emissions.
3. Packaging was used that was either made with 100% recyclable material or made of recycled content to eliminate or minimize landfill.
4. Materials were produced in facilities adhering to the highest standards set by the UN Convention on Fair Labor Practices and Human Rights and by manufacturers qualified as women, minority, LGBTQ, and/or veteran owned.
5. Materials were produced in facilities supporting local employment within the state of California.
MindClick-rated vendors contributed to this achievement across the categories of art and mirrors, case goods, fabrics, flooring, tables, outdoor furniture, upholstered seating, wall coverings, and window treatments. Vendors whose products made it possible include: Amtrend, Charter Furniture, Global Views, Koroseal Interior Products, Kravet, Majestic Lighting, Moore & Giles, Neil Allen, Royal Thai Americas, Samuelson Furniture, Shaw Contract, Valley Forge Fabrics and Wolf Gordon.
What trends do you expect to see in the market in the next few years?
JA: On average, according to the CDP, over 90% of an organization's greenhouse emissions is in its supply chain. Many sustainability leaders are overwhelmed by the complexity of supply chains and are struggling to find their way forward. However, business teams who work with the supply chain on a daily basis know full well that today's supply chains are filled with data and analytics. The flow of information is absolutely critical to a strong supply chain. Just as information is flowing well for other critical supply chain business intelligence, it can flow well for sustainability/ESG.
Those sustainability leaders who effectively engage their supply chain and design and construction teams will see great progress. The optimal approach is for sustainability/ESG leaders to set the goals, work with the C-suite to implement achievement of set goals as one of the measures of executive leader performance and unlock resources for operational teams to implement business process enhancements in support of those goals.
Have you read any books lately that have had an impact on you and your work?
JA: One of my escapes is reading and thanks to a recent vacation, I was able to dig into 3 great books: Stolen Focus: Why You Can't Pay Attention and How to Think Deeply Again, by Johann Hari; Caste: The Origins of Our Discontents, by Isabel Wilkerson; and Susan, Linda, Nina & Cokie: The Extraordinary Story of The Founding Mothers of NPR.
Stolen Focus helped reinforce the need for simplifying the complexity of the sustainability story and related initiatives in the wake of what we all deal with every day: the overwhelming amount of information, the speed at which it hits us, and the depth of misinformation out there.
Caste and Susan, Linda, Nina & Cokie served to underscore the ongoing need for systemic changes in business operations to support diversity, equity and inclusion, and highlighted the powerfully positive impact to our global community.
Is there anything else you'd like to add?
JA: I know I echo other sustainability leaders when recalling all those times the road ahead seemed too difficult, the resistance too strong. Every time I've wanted to give up, someone or some team has reached out to share their joy and pride at their adoption or implementation of an innovative solution to support their sustainability goals. Their enthusiasm and eagerness to do more completely offsets whatever setback I was facing. They inspire me to keep going, empowered by knowing that with our progress as an organization comes the support they need for their own innovative solutions, ultimately helping us all, which is the best possible reward.
Editor’s note: nominations are now open for this year’s E+E 100. Nominate a colleague — or yourself — for the 2022 E+E 100 today.