Hiring a Sustainability Consultant
Green consultants, eco-consultants and sustainability consultants are the ‘new’ black. It’s arguably one of the most fashionable new careers to get into. However, it’s pretty loosely defined and as such, difficult to quantify what a good sustainability consultant is/does. It can be difficult to determine the ‘real’ consultants from the fake Elvis’s.
Here’s a quick breakdown of each specialty and below that, a good four step process to hire one.
Green Consultants/Eco-Consultants - Typically help people green-up their homes through recycling, lighting retrofits, selling green cleaning products. Very basic skill set, green consultants usually aren’t certified and the competency in the field varies widely.
Sustainability Consultants - A step up in skill level from green/eco consultants, sustainability comsultants usually work on commercial buildings, or large residential projects. Sustainability consultants usually carry some certifications. For example, I am an Energy Star Partner, Certified Green Building Professional, EcoBroker. Again, like green consultants, the skill level here varies widely.
Four Step Hiring Process:
1. Forget about certifications - As much as I am proud of my certifications, they really don’t mean a thing on a project. Focus on a consultants compentency and not whether they passed a test and got a certificate.
2. Ask Qualifying Questions –
- ‘How many projects have you completed?’ You want someone who’s done at least 3 projects in your specific area. If you own an apartment complex, don’t hire a consultant that hasn’t completed at least several apartment building projects.
- ‘Do you accept referral fees/kickbacks from vendors/contractors you recommend?’ Make sure they don’t. If they do, how can you be sure that they are giving you a 100% honest recommendation?
- ‘Do you bill hourly or by project?’ Hourly billing will add up fast. Better to pay by project, this way you can email/call anytime you want.* [Side note - I only bill by project as I want my clients to feel free to call/email me whenever they have a question. In addition, if new info comes up on my end, I want to be able to email or call them without any hesitation. This makes the client/consultant relationship more productive and less expensive.]
- ‘What is your working definition of sustainability?’ Sounds superfluous until you find out that the consultant wants to use eco-friendly materials at ANY cost. Again, the key here is to make sure the consultant has your goals in mind, not theirs.
3. Kick the tires - Google the consultant and see what you find. Are they full-time or do they sell make-up on the side? Are they seen as an expert in their area? Do they teach or do speaking engagements? What are other people saying about them? Trust your gut and go with the person who seems the most competent and reliable.
4. Sunday morning test – [This is my favorite]. Email any prospective consultant at 6am on a Sunday morning and see how fast they get back to you. Major issues tend not to occur during normal business hours so you want a consultant who gets back to you fast. As an example, this past thanksgiving, the refrigerator at a relatives house conked out about 7 hours before 11 people were about to show up for dinner. All appliance repair companies were closed so we had to make alternate plans (coolers, bags of ice, etc.). Think of the loyalty and goodwill any appliance repair company would have garnered had they been able to help us asap. In fact, it begs the question as to why there isn’t a repair company that is only open nights, weekends and holidays? Imagine the business they would receive…
As always, I welcome any questions you have.
