AHFA Sets 2nd Sustainability Summit
October 8, 2009
The American Home Furnishings Alliance has scheduled the 2009 Sustainability Summit, AHFA's second, for Dec. 2-3 at the Proximity Hotel in Greensboro, N.C.
The program, co-sponsored by Cargill's BiOH polyols business unit, will provide essential marketing intelligence for companies planning to develop or promote eco-friendly home furnishings collections or products in 2010. Presentations will be targeted to presidents and CEOs, as well as to marketing and environmental executives at manufacturing, retail and supplier companies. Companies do not need to be members of the AHFA to attend.
Headlining the opening day program is Miriam Arond, director of the Good Housekeeping Research Institute, which recently launched the Good Housekeeping Green Seal after 18 months of development. Arond's appearance at the Summit is her first presentation on the Green Seal--an engagement she accepted, in part, because of the Institute's interest in eventually adding furnishings to the product categories eligible to apply for the Green Seal.
Bringing up-to-the-minute consumer insights to the 2009 Summit will be Suzanne Shelton, president and CEO of the Shelton Group. Her firm's ongoing consumer research reports, including four national studies each year, are shattering the stereotypes of "green" consumers. For her Summit presentation, AHFA has commissioned custom research to help home furnishings companies focus on motivating mainstream consumers to make sustainable choices. The research will explore what eco-friendly attributes consumers recognize and value. In her presentation, "Beyond the Green Bandwagon: Creating a Believable, Actionable, Profitable, Green Strategy," Shelton will translate the research results into take-home tips to help companies develop effective messaging for environmental products.
The industry's ability to "certify" the environmental attributes consumers consider most relevant will be the focus of "The Promises and Pitfalls of Eco-Labels," presented by Heather Gadonniex, a LEED-certified professional and principal at MindClick, a sustainability consulting firm. Gadonniex will untangle the existing web of certifications, rating standards and labels and describe the "Environmental Product Declaration," a type of label that originates from ISO 14025 standards and is based on scientific data generated from a product lifecycle assessment.
In "Descriptive or Deceptive? How to Avoid the Risks in Green Marketing," Christie Grymes, a partner in the Washington D.C. office of Kelley Drye and chair of the firm's Consumer Product Safety practice group, will help companies identify successful environmental marketing strategies that fit within today's dynamic regulatory context. Grymes advises clients on making truthful and non-misleading claims related to green seals and logos, recyclable and recycled products, sustainability initiatives, third-party certifications and other environmental attributes.
The program, co-sponsored by Cargill's BiOH polyols business unit, will provide essential marketing intelligence for companies planning to develop or promote eco-friendly home furnishings collections or products in 2010. Presentations will be targeted to presidents and CEOs, as well as to marketing and environmental executives at manufacturing, retail and supplier companies. Companies do not need to be members of the AHFA to attend.
Headlining the opening day program is Miriam Arond, director of the Good Housekeeping Research Institute, which recently launched the Good Housekeeping Green Seal after 18 months of development. Arond's appearance at the Summit is her first presentation on the Green Seal--an engagement she accepted, in part, because of the Institute's interest in eventually adding furnishings to the product categories eligible to apply for the Green Seal.
Bringing up-to-the-minute consumer insights to the 2009 Summit will be Suzanne Shelton, president and CEO of the Shelton Group. Her firm's ongoing consumer research reports, including four national studies each year, are shattering the stereotypes of "green" consumers. For her Summit presentation, AHFA has commissioned custom research to help home furnishings companies focus on motivating mainstream consumers to make sustainable choices. The research will explore what eco-friendly attributes consumers recognize and value. In her presentation, "Beyond the Green Bandwagon: Creating a Believable, Actionable, Profitable, Green Strategy," Shelton will translate the research results into take-home tips to help companies develop effective messaging for environmental products.
The industry's ability to "certify" the environmental attributes consumers consider most relevant will be the focus of "The Promises and Pitfalls of Eco-Labels," presented by Heather Gadonniex, a LEED-certified professional and principal at MindClick, a sustainability consulting firm. Gadonniex will untangle the existing web of certifications, rating standards and labels and describe the "Environmental Product Declaration," a type of label that originates from ISO 14025 standards and is based on scientific data generated from a product lifecycle assessment.
In "Descriptive or Deceptive? How to Avoid the Risks in Green Marketing," Christie Grymes, a partner in the Washington D.C. office of Kelley Drye and chair of the firm's Consumer Product Safety practice group, will help companies identify successful environmental marketing strategies that fit within today's dynamic regulatory context. Grymes advises clients on making truthful and non-misleading claims related to green seals and logos, recyclable and recycled products, sustainability initiatives, third-party certifications and other environmental attributes.
Companies Mentioned:
 |
