Angelique Robb pushes sustainability and collaboration in landscaping

Angelique Robb, founder and CEO of SYNKD Media, is using media, events and memberships to connect a fragmented U.S. landscape industry and push more sustainable practices. Her work aims to bridge design, construction, horticulture and maintenance while spotlighting environmental and workforce challenges.

Why it matters: - The U.S. landscape industry is often valued at about $150 billion, but Robb argues the full connected ecosystem is closer to $700 billion to $900 billion when related disciplines are included. - Fragmentation leaves many firms operating alone, often with fewer than 10 employees, which limits shared learning and slows adoption of better practices. - SYNKD Media is trying to turn that fragmentation into a network that can improve business performance, sustainability and environmental outcomes.

What happened: - Angelique Robb, founder and CEO of SYNKD Media, was recognized by Influential Women for her work advancing a more sustainable landscape industry. - Robb built SYNKD Media as a multi-platform operation with memberships, podcasts, live events and editorial publications. - The platform is designed to connect design, construction, horticulture and maintenance professionals. - Robb returned to the U.S. in 2019 after years abroad and has focused on closing what she calls the disconnect between industry disciplines.

The details: - Robb spent more than a decade as a petroleum engineer, managing large teams and international projects. - She later founded Papillon Designs and Landscaping Ltd in Scotland, an award-winning outdoor living design and construction firm. - Robb says European landscape practices are often 10 to 20 years ahead of typical U.S. methods in environmental planning and integrated design. - SYNKD Media operates with two full-time staff members and freelancers. - The company produces multiple podcasts each week, publishes articles and magazine content, and coordinates industry speakers and events. - Robb has highlighted groundwater depletion and impermeable construction as major environmental concerns, especially in Louisiana, where she grew up. - She says reduced permeable surfaces disrupt water cycles, weaken tree health and contribute to ecological imbalance. - Robb also points to workforce pressure across the industry, including underpaid and overworked professionals in small businesses.

Between the lines: - Robb’s message is less about media and more about infrastructure for an industry that lacks common standards, shared resources and cross-discipline communication. - Her background in energy and international project management shapes a systems-level view of landscaping as a linked ecosystem, not separate trades. - The pitch also reflects a broader shift in outdoor design toward resilience, water management and long-term environmental function.

What's next: - Robb plans to keep using SYNKD Media to accelerate cross-disciplinary communication and promote innovations already working in other regions. - She is positioning the platform as a hub for education, connection and industry-wide change. - The goal is a more resilient outdoor environment built on collaboration rather than silos.

The bottom line: - Robb is betting that the landscape industry’s biggest opportunity is not scale alone, but connection: linking trades, improving sustainability and making the sector more efficient for workers and clients alike. - Learn more through Angelique Robb’s Influential Women profile.