Walking the Talk Talking the Walk

ViewCraft is a unique consulting firm that helps organizational leaders understand and leverage the value of context to improve the sustainability of their operations.

We’re not “specialist” kind of consultants.  We’re generalists who see the leverage points and help you connect them in ways you never imagined. Since sustainability is about integration, we’ll work with you to build a systems perspective that helps you identify efficiencies and synergies that not only transform your operations and achieve cost-savings, but more importantly, provide you with a more informed and motivated staff; the best insurance policy against the risks of a rapidly changing world.

If you have decided to invest in the sustainability of your company this does not mean you immediately need to hire an in-house sustainability manager or set up a new team/department. You only hire a guide when you need help getting through unfamiliar territory, but then you usually don’t need them after a trip or two.  As the lead consultant, John Garn systematically works himself out of a job by integrating sustainability practices throughout organizations.

John Garn has more than two decades of skills and experience integrating green quality:

1989 Associate Producer of six-part video series “The Road to Sustainable Development”. Explored total quality environmental management systems at Xerox, Proctor & Gamble, and Ciba facilities. Marketed in the U.S. and Europe as a corporate training tool for sustainability.
1993 Developed the Sonoma County Green Business Program, initially focused on the auto repair industry. Goal to let consumers know which regulated small businesses are in full environmental compliance. In the first year brought over 100 auto repair businesses into full environmental compliance while reducing VOC releases from the Santa Rosa wastewater treatment plant by over 80%, bringing the city into attainment with air quality requirements.
1992 Served as green business consultant for the U.S. EPA Office of Enforcement and Compliance Assurance.
1994 Sonoma County Green Business Program showcased in the International Conference on Environmental Enforcement.
1997

Collaborated with CalEPA, the Association of Bay Area Governments and Alameda and Napa counties to launch the Bay Area Green Business Program. Expanded the Sonoma Green Business model to include print and wine industries, and added the “beyond compliance” elements of energy efficiency, water conservation, solid waste reduction and pollution prevention. Ultimately, became the green business program template throughout the nation
1997 Bay Area Green Business Program consultant – conducted all of the wine industry audits.
1997 Consultant for the Joint Center for Sustainable Communities– funded by the National Association of County Governments and the U.S. Conference of Mayors. Prepared reports and presentations for conferences on green business and sustainable communities.
1999

Sonoma County Green Business Program wins National Sustainability Award recognizing the program as one of 15 sustainable community projects in the nation. The award was presented by the U.S. Conference of Mayors.
1999

Appointed as Fellow for the Center for Small Businesses and the Environment.
2000 The U.S. Department of Commerce funded a UCSF international review of environmental programs for the global wine industry. After the review only one program for wineries was found-- the Bay Area Green Business Program. Asked to give a presentation to the Wine Institute on the BAGBP.
2001
Climate Protection Campaign		 Joined the team at the Wine Institute to write the winery chapters for The Code of Sustainable Winegrowing Practices, updated in 2006 and 2012. Founding Board member of the Climate Protection Campaign.
2002 Began delivering a series of Sustainable Winegrowing Program workshops for the California wine community.
2004 Co-authored the first comprehensive sustainability report on the California wine industry – “California Wine Community Sustainability Report 2004”.
2005
 Partnered with PG&E to develop and facilitate energy efficiency, green building and climate protection workshops for the California wine community. Have delivered over 40 energy efficiency workshops, reaching more than a thousand industry professionals.
2007
 Co-founded Community Pulse, a multimedia environmental feedback tool providing monthly, community-specific feedback on four environmental indicators – water and electricity use, waste generation, and CO2 emissions. Built communitypulse.org as a proof of concept for the Sonoma County Water Agency. Facilitated development of the Benziger Family Winery Farming for Flavor Program.
2009 Keynote speaker for the launch of the wine industry sustainability program in Chile.
2011
 Began development of Xweather iPhone app to track and record extreme weather events worldwide.

How can we expect to move our culture in a more sustainable direction if the majority of the public remains eco-illiterate? Huge amounts of money are left on the table when companies invest in key performance indicator tracking systems but fail to translate and share that information with employees, customers, retailers, distributors and other key stakeholders. Businesses can also be educators, not just marketers. And pursuing opportunities to communicate your approach to sustainability often creates benefits that may be more difficult to quantify but still have incredible value - increased employee retention, additional customer memberships, new distribution opportunities and so on.

At ViewCraft we try to contribute to a smart sustainability dialogue as much as we can, and share valuable resources we come across with our colleagues, partners and customers.

Here are a few examples: