Parallel’s All-Hands-In Approach Brings Sustainability Within Reach for Any Company
By Egotist / /
SMS Collaborative, a leading force in integrated sustainability staff solutions in the manufacturing and design industries, rebrands as Parallel
The Sustainability Management & Strategy (SMS) Collaborative, a leading force in sustainability support solutions in the manufacturing and design industries, announces its rebrand under the new name, Parallel. The rebranding marks a significant milestone for the growing company and reflects its commitment to shifting sustainability in all businesses from footnote to foundational.
“The name Parallel means ‘alongside one another,’ and it symbolizes what is so important to me about this company, and the reason I founded it over six years ago,” says Parallel CEO, Annie Bevan. “Sustainability can be isolating, and competitive even though we’re all theoretically pushing for the same change. Again and again we’ve seen that there are too few staff and overly-restrictive financial and time investments to support the forward-thinking initiatives that ultimately will allow these companies to thrive amidst a changing climate and world. We built this company to shift that paradigm, to make it possible for any company to have instant and ongoing access to the kind of expertise, network and capacity needed to accomplish their everyday and audacious goals.”
Parallel offers a unique integrated staff support model that allows any Parallel team member(s) to seamlessly become part of — or even lead — any company’s sustainability strategy and team. The model relies on leveraging the diverse expertise of the entire Parallel team and network. Parallel describes its company-specific services as the “micro.”
“We were constantly seeing these ”teams” of one sustainability staff, who are trying to manage global complex teams and opaque supply chains,” notes Parallel VP of Creative Strategy Alex Muller. “Those staff are expected to have every sustainability and change management skillset under the sun, and they can feel really alone and burned out trying to get long-term support for their work. I know — I’ve been there, all of us on the team have at Parallel. Bottom line, this isn’t a one-person job. This work requires strategy, persistence and creativity by a diverse team, and it feels amazing to make that possible for more companies.”
Alongside the micro, Parallel also invests in “macro” scale changes designed to remove industry-wide barriers, such as with its leadership of the neutral non-profit mindful MATERIALS, and its development of critical third party standards such as the ACT Label for the life sciences industry. Parallel’s collaborative spirit is also demonstrated through innovative partnerships under the Parallel umbrella, with organizations such as Bergmeyer, TrueNorth Collective, BuildingGreen, PROWL Studio, Metropolis, and others. Together, these two approaches, the ‘micro’ and ‘macro’, allow them to accelerate impactful sustainability demand, and support clients to meet the market with ease.
“As a mission-driven company, our business objectives are deeply influenced by our intent to accelerate sustainability and to support the people working hard to drive positive change,” says Rebecca Baker, Parallel’s VP of Operations. “This new name and brand captures the way we operate — by working to support specific companies in their journey, while also building ecosystem-wide solutions. It captures the idea that we believe in setting and pursuing long-term vision, while also taking swift action now. It captures how we work together as a team and with our clients, side by side. All in Parallel.”
Parallel’s new brand was designed by MCAD grad, Peter Ty of Peter Ty Design, and the rebrand effort was led by Parallel’s VP of Creative Strategy Alex Muller and Design Lead, Minnesota creative, Taylor Friehl.
“SMSC had always been completely behind the scenes so our name was really secondary to what the company offered,” says Parallel Design Lead, Taylor Friehl. “It described what we did, but not who we are. This new identity opens up so much and it’s been a blast to dive into the possibilities. It says yes, we can get anything you need done in sustainability, but we don’t have to look and feel like the typical corporate blues and greens to be taken seriously. We are fun and we approach challenges differently. Solutions for sustainability and a successful strategy have to be both technically rigorous and creative.”
Parallel’s growing client roster, including Construction Specialties (CS), a family-owned building products company, is as excited as the Parallel team about the rebrand.
“SMSC has made sustainability feel like a thriving hub, and not an isolated island, at CS. They’ve always been in the background of our company and so many others, driving change. We call it the ‘SMSC Hype Train,’” says Kendra Martz, Sr. Product + Sustainability Manager at CS. “I’m thrilled to see them going more brand-forward with Parallel. It fits their mission so well — delivering sustainability support side by side with the people doing this work at companies. I’m excited for more people to learn about their approach and get on the ‘Parallel Hype Train’!”
For more information about Parallel and its services, visit workinparallel.com.
ABOUT PARALLEL
Parallel isn’t just another sustainability consulting firm. It’s a philosophy that as a team, side by side, we can take on our toughest shared challenges. Parallel delivers business-tailored and industry-wide solutions to accelerate sustainability in the built environment and life sciences industries. Through a unique, integrated staffing model ramping up company sustainability capacity overnight, and building groundbreaking new services and standards in partnership with aligned changemakers, Parallel is here to break the mold — so we can all shape a better future, together.
[GIF and images courtesy of Parallel.]
Comments