SUSTAINABLE SPOTLIGHT: “Simply Sustainable offers a carefully-curated selection of environmentally friendly and healthy interior finish and construction products to suit all building styles and budgets.” Co-owners and mother and daughter team Mary Jane Augustine LEED AP, WELL AP (left) and Lia Nielsen LEED GA, WELL AP are shown with 11-month-old Sage (Lia’s son) in the Simply Sustainable showroom.

By Jean Stratton

Earth-friendly concerns are becoming more and more important to people as they contemplate not only the universal environment we all share, but their own individual habitat. What does this mean in terms of product choices — household or construction, indoor, outdoor — also budget, location, carbon footprint, etc.?

Increasing numbers of options are available, all leading both to opportunities and challenges. How best to determine one’s own obligation to the stewardship of the Earth and the most effective ways to implement it?

Simply Sustainable in Lambertville is ready to help.

“Our mission is to create healthy, beautiful and sustainable spaces — whether residential, commercial, or institutional — for our clients,” explain co-owners and mother and daughter team, Mary Jane Augustine LEED AP, WELL AP and Lia Nielsen LEED GA, WELL AP. “We provide the products, interior design, project management services, and procurement assistance necessary to achieve our clients’ health and wellness, and aesthetic, and functional goals.”

Wide Range

Its newly renovated and expanded showroom at 67 Bridge Street features a wide range of environmentally-friendly (green) products in many areas — from countertops and cabinetry to paints and finishes to fabrics and flooring to window treatments and wall coverings.

After a 40-year career as a construction lawyer, Augustine decided to embark on a new adventure with her daughter, Nielsen, a construction manager and sustainable products expert who had founded Simply Sustainable in 2014. Augustine joined the business in 2017.

“I was always interested in the importance of sustainability, focusing on it, and educating people about it,” explains Augustine. “People are becoming more aware of this, and more involved and knowledgeable about sustainability. This is so important to everyone, and at Simply Sustainable, we can help you with all the information you need about each product.”

“There are new advances all the time,” she continues. “We are constantly researching and continuing our education. We research how the product is made, where it is made, what the working conditions are for the workers, and how far it has to travel. We are also always looking for new products, and we go to green trade shows. Our green products come from all over the world, but we do focus on those from the U.S.”

ENVIRONMENTALLY-FRIENDLY: “We offer environmentally-friendly countertops, cabinetry, fixtures, flooring, tile, fabric, paint, stains and coatings, and sustainable construction materials,” explain Mary Jane Augustine LEED AP, WELL AP and Lia Nielsen LEED GA, WELL AP, co-owners of Simply Sustainable. Shown is their Lambertville showroom.

Health Benefits

Another thing they keep in mind, adds Augustine, are the health benefits from green products. “They are important for everyone, but especially for people with asthma and allergies.”

She and Nielsen also point out that green products are not more expensive than those that are not environmentally-friendly. “This is a major misconception. Sustainable products are not a luxury you cannot afford. We constantly need to educate people and combat the misinformation about cost.”

Nielsen, who continues to work in construction management, always wanted to be in the construction business, she explains.

“Our family has a background in construction, and I knew it was what I wanted. I also saw the need for sustainable products, and this became more and more important to me.”

Growing up in Princeton, Nielsen went on to earn a business degree at Boston University, and then attended the Rinker School of Business Construction at the University of Florida, where she studied construction management and sustainability. She is both a LEED green associate and a WELL-accredited professional.

LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) is the international standard for green buildings. The WELL Building Standard, a companion rating system to LEED, focuses on building interiors and the health and wellness of building occupants. WELL places particular emphasis on healthy and environmentally-friendly building products.

Orchestra Conductor

As a construction manager, Nielsen worked on the LEED Platinum Bank of America Tower in New York City and the Frank Gehry-designed Peter B. Lewis Science Library and the Frick Chemistry Laboratory at Princeton University. In 2010, she joined noted green architect Jason Kliwinski in establishing the Green Building Center, which she continues to co-own.

“A construction manager is like being the conductor of an orchestra,” points out Augustine. “It’s overseeing everything to make sure it all runs smoothly.”

In fact, Simply Sustainable works on projects with three affiliated companies which are also based in the Bridge Street building. These firms provide green building consulting, such as LEED and WELL certifications (the Green Building Center); architecture (Designs for Life); and construction management (Enter Green Solutions). Simply Sustainable clients have access to all of these businesses.

As LEED-certified and WELL-accredited professionals, Augustine and Nielsen are able to advise clients in many areas of their residential needs. While they also work with commercial projects, the focus is residential. “We can help in all areas, including lighting and helping with design and organization, and we also work in all rooms. Interior design has become an increasingly important focus of our work,” they point out.

Unexpected Materials

Recycling is very important, they add. “We look for products that incorporate recycled materials. We also look for products to sell that can themselves be recycled at the end of their useful lives. A ‘circular economy’ uses the same base materials in different forms over and over again, with the goal of reducing the amount of raw materials that have to be added into the manufacturing process.
“We have rugs made from nettles, some countertop materials made from recycled glass, other countertops and also decorative tiles that incorporate recycled metal shavings, and others made from layers of compressed recycled paper. We have various flooring products made from unexpected materials such as scraps from the furniture manufacturing process, recycled wine corks and hemp stalks; also, upholstery fabric made from the selvage of the sugar cane plant; and wallpaper made from recycled newsprint.”

Some of these products incorporate pre-consumer materials and some have post-consumer materials, they explain further. “These terms refer to the component materials of a product rather than to the product itself. Pre-consumer means that the material has not previously been used in a product sold to consumers. Think fabric scraps in the trash can of a garment factory or wood scraps on the floor of a furniture manufacturing facility.

“Post-consumer means that the material has previously been incorporated into a product that has been sold to consumers. For example, used blue jeans and old carpeting, both of which are used in making an environmentally-friendly insulation material that we sell. Regardless of whether a component material is pre-consumer or post-consumer, the goal is to keep it out of the landfill by incorporating it into a new product.”

Spacious Setting

As customers enter Simply Sustainable’s attractive two-story showroom, they will notice many samples of handsome products throughout the spacious setting. All made from recycled materials, they are smooth to the touch and pleasing to the eye. Tile flooring and the varied countertops are among the most popular items, report the owners, but the overall wide assortment of products is appealing to the increasing number of customers, who come from Princeton and all over the area.

In addition, paintings from area artists are displayed on the walls, and available for sale.

Both Augustine and Nielsen are very encouraged with the positive customer response and the reaction both to the showroom and the importance of sustainability.

“I love the variety and all that we offer,” says Nielsen. “I look forward to seeing our services go from construction to turnkey. I mean, we can do everything from the concept to giving you the key to the front door.”

And Augustine says she appreciates the added pleasure of working with her daughter. “We are so fortunate, and every day is a new adventure. The possibilities are endless, and we are truly making a difference for people.”

Simply Sustainable is open Wednesday through Saturday 10 a.m. to 6 p.m., Sunday 12 to 4 p.m., and by appointment. For further information, call (609) 460-4787 or visit the website at besimplysustainable.com.