Organizations know they have to do it. The standards are in place, the protocols are outlined, and the expectations are rising from customers, regulators, investors, and communities. But in boardrooms across the country, business leaders may still be asking the same question: how?
Sustainability is not a checklist; it’s a transformation. And this is the very space Emerald Built Environments has claimed with certainty since its founding in 2008.
“Companies don’t just need to know what they are supposed to do to decarbonize; they need to understand why it matters and how to do it efficiently,” says Matthew Setzekorn, President of Emerald. “We help them connect those dots.”
Emerald is a consultancy, yes, but not in the traditional sense. CEO Laura Steinbrink describes their work as operating at the intersection of business and buildings. “We are sustainability consultants who work from both ends,” she says. “We are data-driven, technically rooted, and strategically aligned with our clients’ core goals. And that blend? That’s what may help create long-term value.”
At its core, the company combines building science with business strategy to address the very real confusion clients often have around green building certifications, decarbonization metrics, and environmental performance. Emerald starts with listening. They treat every engagement like a partnership, one grounded in trust, tailored planning, and data-rich execution.
One standout example came from a recent client, a developer creating a set of industrial spec buildings. After the first one was completed, the client wanted to know how it would stack up against net-zero and decarbonization goals. Emerald stepped in post-construction, analyzed the building’s performance, and started asking the forward-looking questions the client had not known to ask.
The result? A replicable prototype. “We helped them anticipate what their future tenants, big box stores, logistics companies, were going to ask,” explains Laura. “Then we used modeling software to test how the same building would perform across different states. This allowed them to go to market saying, ‘We can support your sustainability targets, no matter where you build.’ That’s a competitive advantage built from insight and foresight.”
This example highlights Emerald’s central value proposition: empowering clients to make strategic decisions based on evidence, not assumptions.
“We don’t just hand over a stack of sustainability recommendations,” says Matthew. “We align those recommendations with business goals and highlight how each step can support long‑term success and well-being, whether it’s through ROI, occupant well-being, or risk mitigation.”
That alignment is central to what Emerald calls The Emerald Way, a process rooted in listening, strategizing, implementing, and validating. Every engagement begins with a collaborative foundation: how the team will work together, communicate, and report progress. From there, they move into problem-solving with a sharp eye for data and a deep understanding of systems, both building and organizational.
Laura, who brings leadership skills from her intensive background within executive roles and a degree in sustainable business, understands how organizational culture, internal workflows, and upstream decisions impact environmental outcomes. “A lot of companies don’t even know how to ask for what they need,” she says. “We help them reframe the problem, and then build the systems to solve it.”
Her approach is complementary to Matthew’s technical foundation. With a background in engineering and early specialization in energy modeling and commissioning, Matthew brings rigor to the numbers and an innate understanding of high-performance building requirements.
Together, alongside their team of like-minded professionals, they contribute a wealth of expertise that enriches the industry. This collaboration of various backgrounds and skills anchors Emerald’s value: practical approaches to sustainability that can make a meaningful impact.
And that’s the key. For all the urgency surrounding climate targets and ESG commitments, Emerald doesn’t lead with pressure. They lead with purpose.
By clarifying the why, demystifying the what, and enabling the how, they are helping companies not just check boxes, but change trajectories. And in an industry often defined by complexity, that clarity is both refreshing and valuable.
