1. You began Parsons in 1992 – what were you doing before that and what prompted you to begin your own agency?

I worked in television for eight years and wanted to be an environmental reporter and make an impact in that way. When I realized I wouldn’t be able to do that there, it became clear that it was time for me to do something else. I worked in community relations for an event - a wheelchair race. Although I was laid off afterwards, I felt the event was too good to let go. Promoting disabled people was a wonderful thing to do. I actually started Parsons as an events PR company. Two years in, I had the opportunity to do the Northwest Flower and Garden Show. It gave Parsons the name recognition we needed. From there the agency did a broad range of work, including work for Sunset Magazine and Sunset Books.

After about ten years of general public relations work, I began to feel that there had to be more – a greater meaning to my work. My love of the environment has always been strong, and I decided to switch my focus. Doing public relations for Built Green was the beginning. That was four years ago.

2. It’s clear from Parson’s PR website where its focus, commitment and heart lies – in sustainability efforts. Is there a conceptual difference between Green and Sustainable?

I see them as being the same. It’s all about authenticity and integrity. It’s about lifestyle and choices and consciousness and realizing our choices can have a positive impact – such as the kind of paint or paper you choose to use. At Parsons, we consciously chose to buy paper locally.

3. Whatever it’s called, it’s big and getting bigger. Do you think that’s true across the country or are we in the Pacific Northwest more attuned to green issues and taking action?

People in the Northwest have been aware for a long time. I think the West Coast in general has been, but I see it in other cities across the country as well, such as Chicago and Austin. On the West Coast, we have key support from public figures such as San Francisco’s Mayor Gavin Newsom, Governor Schwarzenegger of California and Seattle’s Mayor Greg Nickels.

4. Parsons Public Relations prides itself on doing work that makes a difference on a local and global scale. What does that look like?

Two things. We’re selective of the clients we take on. We want to work with people willing to do the actual work around sustainability and who are not just “green-washing” in order to make money. I like to say that Parsons is doing well by doing good.

Also, we have Parsons GoodWorks. Our project is helping to save leatherback sea turtles in Costa Rica. The project found us. An environmental group said that it wanted to build a center for the protection of sea turtles and needed $50,000. We felt that we could easily help raise that amount of money. Now we’re working to raise $250,000 to save three kilometers of coastline where the sea turtles lay eggs. On a local level, we’re involved with the Children’s Home Society and Farestart.

5. Do you think there’s a particular way to promote green housing or green anything?

One of our clients almost fired us because we were too green. In a marketing effort it’s not the first thing you’re going to be totally about, but in public relations it is. There’s a lot of interest in green, and it can be a selling point to consumers. It comes down to promoting what a green lifestyle means, which often requires educational efforts to show why green is healthier and more community-minded.

6. Tell us about some of your clients and how you work with them. For instance, you helped rebrand Gregory Broderick Smith Real Estate to Urban Visions, in part by challenging the company to spotlight its green commitment.

Making a real estate company look green was not an obvious approach to take. The commitment to be the first and go with it was the strongest way to go and to do their website and brand themselves that way. You can see it at www.urbanvisions.com. No arm twisting was necessary. The website demonstrates their commitment to sustainability and being a member of this community. For us, it was fantastic to challenge them to really show their commitment.

7. Staff members voice their favorite sustainability practices - like buying local produce or unplugging appliances after using them – on the Parsons website. How else do your agency and staff decrease the company’s ecological footprint? Are any other agencies as green-tuned as yours?

I don’t know about other agencies, but we really do try to be a good adviser by constantly challenging our clients to be green while walking our own talk.

Some of the things we do - we buy a TerraPass for carbon offsets. We have a special subscription with our electricity company where all our electricity comes from 100% renewable sources. We recently did a green remodel of the offices. We use recycled cartridges and ink. As I mentioned, we purchase our paper from a local source. We encourage everyone to do these things at home as well – there’s no difference between work and home in this respect. It becomes a way of being.

8. What’s your prognostication of where green/sustainability PR efforts go from here?

We’ve got a lot of work to do. Green and sustainable are the hottest things going and are rapidly becoming a mainstream part of conversation. Increasingly, it will no longer be a choice to be green - green is the way of the future. As public relations professionals, we have a great opportunity to be part of the movement and to take our clients with us.