The what and why behind rebranding.
For several years, our board and our Engagement & Outreach Committee (formerly Membership & Marketing Committee) have been discussing the possibility of refreshing our brand. The conversation started with the need for a new website because – Wow was our website out of date! Then the conversation flowed to the need for updating our event registration & membership processing system as well because – Gosh there has to be a better tool out there! And then we discussed a new name and logo because – Hey we do a lot more than LEED (I mean, have you heard about our green schools work and our energy policy work?). Initially, we planned to make the brand refresh an action item of our updated strategic action plan, which was to launch in 2020. And then COVID happened, so we delayed a bit and here we are getting ready to roll out a new name, new brand and new website in 2023.
We are excited about the new name – Missouri Gateway Green Building Council – for a few reasons. First, it goes back to the roots of our organization, incorporated in 2001 as the St. Louis Regional Green Building Council, which quickly became USGBC-St. Louis Regional Chapter when we signed on as one of the first six Chapters of USGBC. In 2010, we merged USGBC-Missouri Heartland Chapter to become USGBC-Missouri Gateway Chapter. Green Building Council keeps our ties intact to USGBC as a USGBC Community. And Missouri Gateway ensures our name is welcoming to and encompassing of the entire St. Louis metropolitan area, including Southern Illinois as well as the former Missouri Heartland Chapter territory from our Mid-Missouri Branch in Columbia & Jefferson City to our Ozark Branch in Springfield, MO. To reflect this, our new URL is www.mogreenbuildings.org. Get it? MORE Green Buildings. Missouri Gateway Green Building Council also streamlines the name and allows us to include the entire text of our name in the new logo.
And speaking of our new logo, the mark continues to incorporate a river theme since the St. Louis region and all of Missouri is reliant on our rivers for economic development and commerce as well as recreation and beauty. The three colors, three lines and three sections of the logo also represent the triple bottom line of sustainability (economic, environmental and social) and tie directly to our new tagline, which succinctly defines our work and translates our mission: Connecting people, places, and planet.
We are still YOUR green building community in the St. Louis Metro area and most of Missouri (excluding Kansas City and northwest Missouri). We still believe Green Buildings Are Better for our health, for the planet, and for the bottom line. And we are still here providing quality green building education and networking opportunities . . . Connecting people, places and planet for a better, greener, healthier future.