Mark Petruzzi, ERG’s standards director, has over 25 years of experience in the product sustainability field, with expertise in leading market transformation initiatives, strategic engagement, partnership building, and third-party certification. He has devoted much of his career to advancing the use of credible life cycle-based sustainability standards, certifications, and ecolabels—work that has involved extensive research, standards development, stakeholder engagement, and management of divergent perspectives around human health, social, and environmental impacts. He has promoted sustainable procurement in government agencies; K-12 schools and higher education; and the healthcare, food service, hospitality, and sports sectors. Increasingly, Mark has been applying his product life cycle experience to support companies in achieving their circular economy or extended producer responsibility goals. In his work for federal and state clients, he has reviewed draft legislation and RFP language, submitted and responded to comments, and interpreted final legislation and executive orders for sustainability requirements. 

Mark previously served as a consultant to the Sustainable Purchasing Leadership Council, where he provided guidance on SPLC’s work to critically evaluate and publicly recommend credible sustainability standards, certifications, and ecolabels. He was also previously senior vice president and director of certification at Green Seal, Inc., where he advanced the strategic agenda of Green Seal, Inc., including the development of credible, transparent product sustainability standards with third-party certification to guide purchasing for manufacturers, purchasers, and consumers. Mark represented Green Seal on a variety of external sustainability initiatives, including those led by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and SPLC. 

Mark is also an experienced communicator. He enjoys writing to clearly convey technical information to non-technical audiences. He has served as editor of Green Seal’s Choose Green Reports and as a columnist for Lodging magazine, Facility Cleaning Decisions magazine, and The Dispatch newspaper. Mark holds an M.S. in civil and environmental engineering and a B.S. in mechanical engineering from The George Washington University. In his free time, he enjoys CrossFit, comic books, and regaling his children with details of his latest sustainability projects.