How Gensler is Redefining Sustainability in the Building Industry

02:41 - The Evolution of Sustainability in Building Materials 
04:01 - How Collaboration Drives Industry Transformation
13:09 - The Ripple Effect: Sustainability Beyond Buildings 
15:14 - Why Stories and Data are Key to Sustainable Materials

Erik Barth is a Senior Associate Architect at Gensler, a global design and architecture firm with 57 offices and over 6,000 employees worldwide. With over seven years of experience at Gensler, Erik serves as a Regional Design Resilience Leader, focusing on sustainability and innovative approaches to designing with materials. He is also a leader of the Gensler Mass Timber Collaborative, a firmwide initiative that brings together experts from across the company to share insights and advancements in mass timber design. Through monthly roundtables, this group explores innovative applications of mass timber across projects globally. Erik’s expertise lies in integrating sustainability—what Gensler terms "design resilience"—into architectural projects, emphasizing the importance of collaboration, transparency, and material innovation.

Erik explains how the building industry’s approach to sustainability has evolved over the past 10-20 years. While the focus was once primarily on operational efficiency, there is now a growing emphasis on the materials used to construct buildings. This shift has been particularly prominent in the last five years, driven by factors like ESG reporting and the demand for healthy, environmentally friendly spaces.

"The mindset has shifted from how buildings operate to what we actually make them out of." – Erik Barth

Breaking down traditional silos between manufacturers, designers, contractors, and owners has been key to advancing sustainability. Erik highlights Gensler’s Product Sustainability Standards (GPS) initiative, which focuses on standardizing the measurement of environmental and human health impacts across 12 critical material categories.

"In order to reimagine the way we design and source materials, all parties have needed to work together to create change." – Erik Barth

The principles of sustainability in the building industry are influencing other sectors. Erik notes that while building products are a piece of a global supply chain puzzle, their sustainable practices can ripple into industries like consumer goods, fostering broader environmental benefits.

"The environment doesn’t know the difference between a product going into a building and one going into a running shoe." – Erik Barth

Manufacturers play a pivotal role in sustainability by telling the complete story of their materials—from sourcing to end-of-life. Erik emphasizes that these stories must be backed by robust data to resonate with architects, building owners, and occupants.

"Having a holistic story of your material and being able to communicate it effectively is a powerful asset." – Erik Barth

Have more questions for Erik Barth? You can connect with him on LinkedIn.

The Smarter Building Materials Marketing podcast helps sales and marketing professionals find better ways to grow leads, sales and outperform the competition. It gives insights, examples, and shares stories about how to create a results-driven digital marketing strategy for building products and construction companies of any size. SBMM is co-hosted by Venveo’s Founder, Zach Williams and Venveo’s CEO, Beth PopNikolov.