MindClick Leads the Charge Towards Sustainable Hospitality Design

There’s no question that global climate change and environmental degradation have a huge impact on design today. Interior designers are increasingly focused on supporting healthy interiors and the environment, but it can get complicated when there are myriad product options. Now, thanks to a partnership between Marriott and MindClick, designers working in the hospitality sector have a resource to grow their knowledge of today’s design best practices and network with suppliers creating the products of tomorrow.

The Marriott Sustainability Assessment Program, or MSAP, was originally born out of an idea to simplify the confusion that exists around the various certifications and eco-labels that can be applied to products, explains MindClick CEO Joanna Abrams. It was also intended to give specifiers a base on which they can compare products and manufacturers. The outcome was a rigorous metric that assesses the environmental impact of products throughout their lifecycles. Suppliers submit their wares to MindClick, which then rates the products based on how environmentally and holistically healthy they are through a point system. Impacts covering sourcing, manufacturing, packaging, distribution, guest health and hotel operations, and product disposal are evaluated.

“The hospitality industry is one that is definitely impacted by changes to our environment,” says Abrams. “Sometimes people feel helpless, or like it’s too big of a problem to be solved by any individual action. Our goal with MSAP is to enable designers to make an impact and to support the important role they play in encouraging wellness and sustainability.”

MindClick went even further by bringing high-performing suppliers directly to designers through the brand’s Design for Health Education Series. Through a collection of five webinars, workshops, networking events, and Q&A sessions, the Design for Health Education Series breaks down how to incorporate MSAP into the design firm’s work. It facilitates relationships between suppliers and specifiers that may not have previously existed, as well. 

“There are many misleading perceptions related to sustainability efforts,” says Baskervill senior interior designer Cindy Loinette. “One of those misconceptions is that the more sustainably conscious a product or approach is, the more expensive it will be. What we learned from speaking with our suppliers directly is that several of these sustainable solutions are of equal or lesser cost. Our appreciation for the work our suppliers do to help us curate beautiful and environmentally friendly designs has definitely increased because of this education series.”

“The Design for Health Education series has been a great opportunity for us to tell our story to designers,” says Kimball Hospitality director of sales, Bernie Knies. “The value of the face-to-face interaction through the webinars and workshops can’t be overstated.”

This year the Design for Health Education series will expand to host showroom workshops in New York, Los Angeles, and Fort Lauderdale, FL. Visit MindClick’s website to learn more about the MSAP program and contact Lara Shortall to register for the Design for Health Education Series.