As Universal Companies’ full-time sustainability specialist, Lisa Sykes has plenty of work on her chlorine-free, post-consumer content plate. Many spas and resorts are greening their facilities, from basic strategies such as installing energy-efficient light fixtures to more sophisticated projects like using onsite renewable energy sources. Many of them have hired sustainability consultants to help them approach their environmental goals, but sometimes getting into purchasing decisions can be tedious and very time-consuming. This is where Universal Companies wants to assist its clients and their sustainability consultants, helping them with sustainable product selection, label reading, and setting facility standards.
No one knows Universal Companies’ environmentally friendly products better than Lisa Sykes. Part of her job is to rigorously examine products and encourage vendors to reformulate, redesign, and implement their own green strategies. This task involves efficient label-reading, investigating marketing claims, and asking the right questions. The in-depth process is conducted annually on each product to ensure accurate information. Sykes also implements environmental measures internally, writes informative articles for publication, moderates and contributes to the Spa Sustainability group on LinkedIn, and serves as the company’s liaison to the Green Spa Network and LOHAS.
An organic gardener, vegetarian cook, and technical writer, Lisa provides authenticity to her job. She holds a Master’s degree in English and a Certificate in Sustainability Studies from the University of Massachusetts-
About Universal Companies – Universal Companies is the leading single-source supplier to the spa industry, providing thousands of products to help day spas, resort spas, medical spas, and independent practitioners manage and grow their businesses. An early innovator in the spa industry, Universal has forged strong partnerships with hundreds of manufacturers to create unique and effective products that meet the needs of the business owner or spa practitioner. Universal Companies prides itself in “simplifying”
