Springline Group Offers Roadmap to Sustainability

The Springline Group has been consulting businesses in Fayetteville for five years but principals recently realized they’ve been doing more than just consulting.

They consulted on 11 projects in 2008 (see list) with clients such as the Beaver Water District, Green Graphix and the University of Arkansas Applied Sustainability Center.

But when the economic downturn caused a bit of a slowdown, President Amy Robinson said the group decided to take some time to evaluate their goals and hone their message.

Sustainable business planning for green companies has always been the group’s main focus, Robinson said.

“We wanted to make sure we were capturing that and putting it out there in a way that people would understand,” she said. “We’re consultants, but we’re much more than that.

“We’re interactive with our projects and we’re team oriented,” Robinson said.

In other words, the group doesn’t believe in just telling a company how to be more sustainable, they show them how to get there.

They offer sustainable business planning, project management and facilitation through the appreciative inquiry method, a process that engages all individuals within an organization in improving its performance.

Sarah Lewis, an ecosystems professional, described the process as providing companies with a roadmap to a sustainable business plan.

A company might want to adopt a new, sustainable way of thinking but they have no idea how to get there.

“That’s something this group is aware of, that people need assistance from point A to point B,” she said.

When working with a client, Springline holds brainstorming sessions with multiple stakeholders to identify goals and come up with solutions.

They recently worked with start-up company NextGen Illumination, which is looking to bring high-performance LED technology to the market.

They brought experts in business, sustainability and technology together in one room while the company laid out its business idea.

Chris Callahan of NextGen Ilumination said Springline put together a “very enlightening” discussion group.

“It was very helpful for us to be able to move to the next step,” he said. “They’re a very professional organization that knows their clients and knows what tools are available to their clients.”

The group also worked with Beaver Water District to incorporate water education in public schools.

They developed “Building Blocks to Water Education” and are guiding the implementation of five programs that will reach over 1,500 per year as well as generate positive awareness for Beaver Water District.

Robinson said Springline’s work comes out of a passion for the environment and a desire to help innovative companies establish in Arkansas.

“There are so many great ideas, we want to make sure those come to fruition, whether it’s an existing company or an entrepreneur with a good idea,” she said.