Practically Green
This week’s Green Gal Next Door is Susan Hunt Stevens, the founder of Practically Green, a digital sustainability game platform encouraging change. I had the pleasure of interviewing Susan about how PG is changing the sustainability landscape one game point at a time. (See the video interview here.) We all know how people love games. Look how successful the game, Angry Birds is. So, Susan figured out a way to make being green fun. All you have to do is log on and rack up points for the Earth. Sounds simple, right? As you recall, Practically Green is no stranger to Green Talk. A couple of years ago, Susan guest posted on the site when PG was just a mere babe. It is fun to look back on her prior post to see how PG has grown in just two years.
What is Practically Green?
As Susan explains in the video, Practically Green’s platform encourages change similar to a weight watcher system. You receive points for climbing up the sustainability ladder. In fact, for all of us A types, it can be down right competitive. When I received my initial score when the site was first created, I was pissed. I received an 8 out of 10. Moi? Well, I put my game face on to increase that score. In addition to the competitiveness angle, there is also a social networking component to foster camaraderie. Trying to go green is still a lonely endeavor when you are the only one embarking on that trip.
The Beauty in the Versatile Platform
The beauty of Practically Green is its versatility for both a consumer as well as a business platform. As of this date, the platform is used by various companies to encourage change within organization.
What Did I Learn from the Interview?
My intent on interviewing Susan was to learn how she came up with the Practically Green’s platform. But Susan is so fascinating that I had to pick her brain. Sorry, Susan. She thought it was only going to be a five minute interview, but I kept asking questions. (Are you surprised?) So, I decided to break up the interview into three different segments:
- An overview of Practically Green and how it came to be. (See video below.)
- How Practically Green can help your businesses or not for profit to green your bottom line. (Think pitting the accounting department against the marketing department. Who do you think would win?)
- Lastly, what it is like to run a start-up, which I thought was so interesting.
Join the Conversation:
- Have you used Practically Green and if so, do you find that you have made many changes.
- Do you think gaming can change the face of sustainability?
- If you are using PG, what changes would you make to the platform?
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Anita Kline says
I think that gaming can change the face of sustainability as it makes change fun. The worst part of changing anything in your life is that it is can be a dull, painful and tiring process, and that is why many people fail. But by putting some kind of entertaining aspect to the entire process (through gaming) all of a sudden it isn’t about changing – it is about winning. And that is certainly something I can strive for.