Design professionals need to face the facts: The home improvement industry has massive effects on the world’s environment — from processes used for materials, to waste production and disposal. Interior designers, both as individuals and as businesses, have the potential to make a huge impact on preservation of our environment for future generations, because interior design professionals are the ones selecting which materials, products and methods are used in their everyday work. As a designer, you can play a vital part in reducing some of the negative environmental impacts. 

Change starts by making a conscious choice, and to help you take a step toward more Earth-friendly business practices, we outlined 3 ways Houzz Pro can empower your business to reduce its ecological footprint and support the global fight against climate change:

1. Houzz Pro helps save precious resources like trees and fossil fuels.

Increased efficiency has many ripple effects. Houzz Pro seamlessly tracks key project and business activities and ensures fluid project management, whether you’re in the office, at home or in the field. By speeding up your projects, you reduce disruptions as well as associated emissions and fuel costs, because you no longer have to rely so heavily on your car. If enough design professionals make this small change, think of how much gas could be saved and the amount of carbon emissions that could be reduced. 

And when it comes to marketing your business, you can forget the paper. With the new Email Marketing tool in Houzz Pro, design professionals have the power to launch campaigns, reach leads and stay in touch with clients, all while saving some trees. With this digital marketing tool, you can rest easy knowing that every newsletter, company update and client communication you send will not contribute to the uprooting of any trees, nor will it waste any paper that might then end up in a landfill. 

Every action matters. Shifting your design business management to online and mobile platforms can have a positive impact, and imagine if that becomes multiplied by hundreds or even tens of thousands of professionals and clients around the world. When everyone is on the same digital page, think of the tremendous positive impact on the environment.

2. As an all-in-one business solution, Houzz Pro saves time — your most precious resource. 

When you’re working on a client’s home, it is not hard to think about the bigger picture — that we also have one big home for all of us: our planet. As environmental issues are becoming front and center in our daily lives, ignoring major global climate crises is no longer acceptable. If every design professional could consciously save energy in ways big or small, collectively we could make a great difference in decreasing the amount consumed by our industry. 

 Switching to Houzz Pro, an all-in-one interior design business management solution, could help you reduce your carbon footprint throughout your business processes. It lets you communicate with clients virtually and handle all your paperwork — from proposals to contracts to change orders — in one central place, reducing the paper burden. 

Houzz Pro unlocks the ability to access and use shared data stored in the cloud in real time, with no lag. Because you can do everything in one place using Houzz Pro interior design project management software, from time tracking and document sharing to using 3D design tools and sending invoices, the amount of time spent scrolling across multiple software solutions and waiting for data to load across multiple databases is greatly reduced. Imagine: less paper chasing, printing and archiving of design documents, and more efficient online management of your business from leads to close!

3. Houzz Pro results in better, more effective communication, which means fewer mistakes and redos.

As you know, interior design is a complex business, and clients often have many questions or changes that are hard to remember, especially on site. Houzz Pro’s tools for change orders, task management and time tracking will help design professionals scale their businesses with fewer resources. Plus, with the Life-Sized Walkthroughs tool, professionals can easily convey their designs to homeowners by turning their 3D floor plans into life-size views that provide accurate visuals of the end product. This reduces the amount of potential misunderstandings and mistakes which can help to avoid rework and prevent unnecessary spending, ultimately lowering the amount of waste. 

By integrating email accounts, video calls, e-calendars and daily logs, the Houzz Pro client dashboard helps you communicate faster and more effectively with clients, no matter where you are in the process of a project. And better communication means more accurate budgets, positive outcomes, and happy clients! It's like having a personal digital assistant with a minimal ecological footprint. With Houzz Pro you’re more likely to get it right the first time, reducing waste and saving the scarce resources of our planet.

The climate is changing. Is your business changing too? Join the movement toward sustainability and try Houzz Pro all-in-one solution free to help you go green today.