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We get it. You have questions — about our team, how we’ll work with, and as part of, your team, and what we can do. Here are some FAQs we get, and if you don’t see yours reflected here, reach out via our contact form and we’ll get back to you in 48 hours.

I have more questions →

Parallel FAQs

  • A great question, dependent on so many factors. If you want to know the trends, most companies tend to start their contracts at 30 hours a month. It’s a sweet spot to get enough value from our partnership, get to learn how we’ll work together, and have the ability to move up from there as work accelerates and you see the value.

    We’re not interested in over-staffing companies, so we’ll have some in-depth conversations to really understand your company, your sustainability team (if you’ve got one!) its challenges and needs, and your ambitions. We’ll come up with a tailored proposal that gives you a taste of what we can work on month to month and we can refine from there.

  • Absolutely every client we’ve ever worked with — even sister companies within a larger brand — are all totally unique. That’s the challenge, and the fun of our work. But there are major commonalities.

    As a team, we humbly boast a cumulative [X] years in the buildings industry. Our staff have been: interior designers, sales reps, architects, manufacturer sustainability managers, global heads of sustainability, VPs of communications, non-profit program developers — and so forth.

    [Any project lead assigned to your company has proven their ability to competently lead your company.? maybe in team section? want to refine]

  • Not a problem. We’re designed to fit into any permutation a company has. Sometimes we’re the whole damn sustainability team, sometimes we’re taking things off of your overworked Director’s to-do list, other times we’re in the middle — consulting on strategy and taking projects across the finish line. We’re here to help, whatever that looks like for your company.

    Together we’ll take a look at what your company has, and where its gaps are. Do you have an amazing team but lack a major strategy? Maybe you need our Navigate process to start? Do you have a powerhouse team of 2 — but they really need some help on the little tasks that are overwhelming them so they can focus on higher-level needs.

  • Absolutely not! We love working with other consultants out there, bringing the best of what we do alongside their skillsets. We have a network of collaborators ourselves — from EPD experts, to industrial designers, that we can bring in on projects because we believe in learning from each other’s skillsets and being efficient. We often find ourselves working closely with consultants at our client companies, whether they are marketing consultants, life cycle assessment, or some other skillset.

    We believe in focus at Parallel: do what you do best, where you do it best. We don’t want to own the entire building materials industry.

  • We’ll give you an idea in your first proposal, based on who’s available and the mix of team skillsets. Our staff are all built environment experts, and ready to learn. [something else about team experience etc].

    What’s important to remember is that the beauty of Parallel is that we all pitch in on every project. So you may only see one, or a few of us — but you’re always working with all of us.

  • One thing to note: we don’t need to compete with FTEs! We work easily alongside them.

    Here are a few of the reasons you’d consider working with Parallel’s “fractional staff” model.

    (1) Efficiency: Hiring (and firing) is long, complex, and filled with a whole lot of uncertainty. Can this person really jump into your LEED responses? Can they lead your sustainability strategy? We’ve got a whole company behind each person staffing you and the assurance that they can get the work done. Sure, they’ll have to learn your supply chain and product specifics — but they can do that more efficiently because they know the right questions to ask.

    (2) Team Approach: Sure, you’ll have a team lead — but you have the experience of an entire time of diverse experts from the buildings industry. That’s, well honestly, it’s impossible to find in an FTE. So many companies have to solve sustainability challenges like it’s the first time it’s been done. We’ve probably worked on that challenge before, and we’ll help you leapfrog the problem, and your competition.

    (3) Cost: Sometimes you need a whole lot of work, and sometimes you only need a little. It’s a little harder to flex with FTEs. [expand on this].

    (4) Continuity. Ever lose a staff member, and you lose a wealth of information (and emails?) along with them. We’re not going anywhere, so as staff come and go we can keep cruising on our work and provide a thread that will let your strategy move forward.

  • We get this question a lot! So imagine you’re onboarding staff, but that staff already knows all the right questions to ask to hit the ground running? That’s what we’ll do. You’ll tell us what we need to know, but you should also know that Day 1, we’ve come prepared with a clear list of what we’re trying to understand to best support your and your objectives. We know the right questions to ask, to get to the most efficient outcomes.

    [Reword this answer].

  • Zippy. Every company is different and we’ll need to get to know your products, your supply chain, your team — but the great thing is, we’ve done this before. We know what to ask, and how to most efficiently get up to speed.

    We know how to communicate with your suppliers.

    (anything about expecting up-front time focused on learning/onboarding, then deeper into projects + work)

    [Write more]

  • Not a problem. That’s the beauty of working with us. Work ebbs and flows in sustainabiltiy. Have a big conference coming up? We can ramp up support and bring in more of a marketing focus. Anticipating a lull? We can drop down our hours for a couple months.

    [More from Annie + Kaare here. What would requirements be to do this? Rules? Amount of notice? How flexible is this?]

  • We wish this was an easy answer. What we can say is that we’re highly equipped to get you an answer, and get you that label ASAP.

    Getting a Declare label depends on how much information you already have at-hand, and quickly we can get any gaps in information from your internal team, and your supply chain — it’ll also depend on how simple or complex your product contents are. It’ll also depend on what tools you’re using for data management and communication, and we’ll be able to help you quickly upgrade those systems if we see there’s a big opportunity to save time, energy and money in the process. If your product is a piece of wood or a steel tube, it’s likely to be a lot quicker than a window assembly or carpet tile.

  • Finally, something we have to say no to. We are here to train and support manufacturers and be a part of their team. We can help you prepare your Declare label, HPD or EPD and have done it for thousands, but we can’t act as objective third party certifiers or verifiers.

    Good news? Our sister company, Verico, is wholly separate, and can do this work (almost with their eyes closed). If you’d like to contact them about verification services reach out to hello@verico-audit.com

  • [Kaare + Annie to fill in this answer.]

  • Here, there, and everywhere. Parallel has staff across the continental US.

    A few cities + towns you’ll find us in: Philadelphia, Chicago, Minneapolis, Twisp (you might need to look that one up), Boston.

    Beyond our day to day connection opportunities, we get together in-person twice annually for staff retreats, and connect at client meetings and industry events.

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