Just what the world needs: another sustainability consultant.
Fair point. Hear me out.
Thirty years helping companies, NGOs, and governments measure, improve, and own their impact. I've seen the crazy stuff — and kept a client list to prove it.
Most of my work is building cultures of sustainability and communicating impact honestly. I've touched most of the rest along the way. No fluff. Strategies that map to the ROI metrics you already report on.
Services
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Pitch, Account Growth & Grant Support
For generalist agencies: expertise, strategy, writing, and pitch development for new-business and client-growth opportunities.
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Strategy
A seat at the strategy table, so the modern bottom line isn't a noble distraction. We build sustainability action plans and drive their execution.
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Fractional CSO
As much as you can handle, as little as you need. We get you started, or get you there. Retainers in 5-hour weekly blocks.
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Fractional CMO
Need a marketing officer, but only a little? For small businesses where sustainability is the heart of it. Retainers in 10-hour monthly blocks.
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Certifications
From B Corp certs and re-certs to required environmental certifications — we help untangle the tangled.
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Culture Mapping
A heat map for your organization. Where are the hot spots for engagement and change? Who are the champions? Where does the conversation need to start?
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Norm Audits
Our own audit protocol, built to make sure the sustainability strategy is uniquely yours — measuring the gap between what you say and what you do.
Level 1 — Scan · internal interviews, public documentsLevel 2 — Screen · internal policies and proceduresLevel 3 — Full · external influence and stakeholders - §08
Employee Engagement
Global or local, we help craft an engagement program that makes sure sustainability is authentic and participatory — not a poster in the break room.
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Stakeholder Engagement
From facilitating workshops to developing procurement scorecards and codes of conduct — the partnerships that actually advance sustainability.
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Impact Accounting
Data is a cultural artifact. We help organizations and communities measure, disclose, and mitigate their environmental impacts.
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Change Campaigns
Iron Eyes Cody shaped a generation for Keep America Beautiful. So did "Coke is Happiness." Campaigns
About me (John Rooks)
In the 90s, I earned a master's in writing and cultural theory. I've worked inside an environmental engineering firm, an ad agency, a compliance software start-up, and a life cycle assessment consultancy — I started NORM in 2003.
In 2013, with partners, I launched Rapport.io, a sustainability analytics platform for the SME market. In 2025, with partners, Forager-RS — an AI-enabled sustainability research system.
I've worked with Fortune 5 giants, start-ups, federal, state, and local governments, and NGOs large and small. I speak often at business conferences on where sustainability, culture, and business actually meet.
What's up with the name NORM?
For most companies, sustainability is still a business add-on — adjacent to the real work, not part of it. NORM is the opposite bet: that sustainability has to be an ingredient of the entire strategy, held accountable to the same ROI metrics as marketing, HR, legal, and accounting. Normal. Not a program. Not a campaign. Accountable.