Speaker: Speaker: Marie Chieppo, Ecological Landscape Designer at EcoPlantPlans, LLC

My Educational Programs / Sessions @ Cultivate

Sustainable Development 101: How to Enhance and Grow Your Product Offering
Tuesday, July 18 • 11:00 AM - 12:00 PM
We know sustainable products are a growing business opportunity, but what is the best way to go about incorporating alternatives into your business? Better yet, what’s the risk if you don’t? While there is no one-size-fits-all solution, there are a few key elements that can help when considering and prioritizing activities to accelerate your sustainable product value offering. We’ll take a closer look at specific examples represented in the value chain and apply various lenses to help provide guidance on ways to maximize product messaging. This presentation is a practical overview on identifying opportunities for sustainable product design and best practices for overcoming key barriers to integrating alternative solutions in your growing operations. We will explain five of the key principles on how to maximize your product value and offer real-life case studies.

About Our Speaker:

Marie Chieppo, Ecological Landscape Designer and Accredited Organic Land Care Professional at EcoPlantPlans, LLC
MARIE HAS BEEN TENDING TO ECO GARDENS FOR MORE THAN 20 YEARS. Marie Chieppo is a native plant designer and horticulturalist who works with nature to create beautiful landscapes with maximum function for living organisms. For 23 years she has incorporated thousands of native plants in residential, commercial and public settings. Marie has a Masters in Public Health degree which led her to her position as the researcher for the Editor in Chief at the New England Journal of Medicine. In the realization that being outdoors was where she desires to be, she became a Master Gardener in 1999.

For the next 19 years, through her business EcoPlantPlans, LLC, she and a crew of skillful women, designed, installed and maintained beautiful gardens and landscapes. After earning an advanced certificate in native plant design and horticulture, at The Native Plant Trust, she joined the Sustainability Committee at the Association of Professional Landscape Designers and became certified as Landscape Designer through the Garden Federation. Most recently, she became an Accredited Organic Landcare Professional though the Northeast Organic Farmer’s Association’s (NOFA) Organic Landcare Program.