Building Sustainability Into the Bottom Line with Kathleen Egan of Ecomedes – Podcast Episode: S4, E8
Building Sustainability Into the Bottom Line with Kathleen Egan of Ecomedes
“At the end of the day, we have limited resources. This issue isn’t going away—so dismantling sustainability programmes is a short-term decision with long-term consequences.”
“We’re trying to accelerate innovation by helping sustainable products get to market faster—and make sustainability a sales advantage, not a cost.” Kathleen Egan, CEO and Co-Founder of Ecomedes
Discover How to Automate Sustainability Compliance - Full Podcast Episode
In this episode of Constructive Voices, host Jackie De Burca is joined by Kathleen Egan, the dynamic and purpose-driven CEO of Ecomedes. This platform connects sustainability data to real business outcomes in the built environment.
Check out the 56-second promo below:
Kathleen’s journey from Harvard MBA grad to serial entrepreneur to sustainability tech leader is compelling in itself—but it’s her mission to embed sustainability into every purchasing decision in construction that truly stands out.
💥 What triggered her shift toward sustainability?
💡 How does Ecomedes simplify compliance and empower sales teams with data?
🌍 Why is backing away from ESG investments short-sighted, even in politically uncertain times?
Kathleen doesn’t hold back in this engaging and deeply informative conversation.
“The only way to avoid greenwashing is through third-party certifications. Yes, they’re messy—but they’re necessary.”
“No one wants to deal with 100 certifiers, but everyone wants valid data. That’s where we come in.”
Key Topics Covered about Ecomedes & Kathleen Egan
From Oil Spills to Startups: How a San Francisco oil spill, global climate leadership, and political turbulence drove Kathleen to launch Ecomedes.
Aligning Profit with Purpose: Why sustainability and revenue don’t have to be at odds—and how Ecomedes proves it.
Greenwashing & Real Impact: The role of third-party certifications in cutting through the noise and ensuring credible ESG claims.
The ROI of Sustainability: Kathleen breaks down where the return is real—and where regulation must do the heavy lifting.
Policy Watch: Why regulations in California and the EU are far more than regional concerns for global companies.
The Role of AI: How Ecomedes is leveraging artificial intelligence to democratise sustainability insights across the construction sector.
“Half of a building’s carbon footprint is in the materials. The other half is in operations. You can’t manage what you don’t measure.”
“It’s time to stop with the token programs and move to real impact—starting with data from the meter and the materials.”
About Kathleen Egan, CEO & Co-Founder of Ecomedes
Kathleen Egan is an innovator, serial entrepreneur, and champion for sustainability.
She is currently the CEO and Co-founder of Ecomedes the largest B2B SaaS platform for efficient communication across the $1T building product supply chain and the Chairman of the Board of The 5 Gyres Institute, the leading non-profit working to reduce the harm from plastic pollution.
Kathleen has worked in Silicon Valley since 2000 and achieved four venture-backed exits: ProfitLogic, a price optimisation pioneer acquired by Oracle, Revionics, the leader in merchandise optimisation, acquired by Aptos, Quri, the first crowd-sourced app for CPG store compliance, acquired by TRAX Retail, and flyswat, an early web navigation tool acquired by NBCi.
She is passionate about communicating complex topics through art, producing a documentary, It Ain’t Pretty about sexual objectification and pay inequality in big wave surfing.
She pioneered making artwork from beach plastic in a series of mosaics. Her education is in engineering at Lehigh University and business from The Harvard Business School.
Kathleen lives at Ocean Beach in San Francisco with her son and husband where they love to surf, bike, ski, attend concerts, and watch whales.
“AI is already giving us 6x time savings internally. The next step is putting that power in the hands of designers and project managers.”
“Sustainability shouldn’t require a PhD. With AI, we can make climate-smart decisions as easy as clicking a button.”
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We’ve fought water for centuries, but maybe it’s time to live with it—and even on it.” – Rutger de Graaf
