SJF Summit on the New Green Economy

Four panelists explained to Summit attendees the afternoon of June 2 the viability of having zero waste enterprises that make money, promote reuse and ultimately keep significant amounts of materials out of landfills.

The Zero Waste CEO Panel featured leaders of Intechra, Thrift Recycling Management, Salvage Direct and CleanScapes Inc.  Panelists shared interesting anecdotes from their experiences in the green economy.

“Our absolute goal is zero landfill impact,” said Intechra CEO Michael Profit.  Intechra recycles computer-related equipment.

Phil McMullin, of Thrift Recycling Management, discussed how his business resells used books on Internet sites like Amazon.com.  He said TRM has more than two million titles available online and currently sells about 300,000 books per month.

He offered insight into a few of TRM’s approaches.  For instance, he said the company prides itself on excellent employee benefits, which help keep its workers from leaving the business and reduces the need for retraining.  In addition, he said the firm gives away books that do not have tracking numbers and cannot be resold.  To date, TRM has donated 1.8 million of these books.

TRM combines its service mission with a detailed focus on the bottom line.  He said the enterprise has a “scorecard culture” in which employees are frequently updated on the company’s business.

“We are anal about using that report to drive our business,” he said of the scorecard.

Zero waste CEO panel attendees also heard from Dan Hoversten, of Salvage Direct.  The company recycles automobiles and other vehicles that have been totaled and no longer can be used for transportation.

He said Salvage Direct, which began operating in 1998, set up shop in areas hit by storms like Hurricanes Ike and Katrina.  For Katrina, which the Gulf Coast in 2005, he said the enterprise recycled 3,000 vehicles.

Chris Martin, of CleanScapes, performs environmentally sustainable streetscaping and garbage pickup services.

“We’re really trying to address the impacts of a solid-waste system,” Martin said.

He said the company employs practices that reduce its carbon footprint. For instance, CleanScapes puts two people on its garbage trucks.  This policy allows them to put 30 percent fewer trucks out on the streets.

Overall, Martin gave three main suggestions of good business practices: working with government, getting outstanding employees and maintaining focus.

Melissa Bradley-Burns considers green jobs to be tools to rebuild communities, and she’s pursuing this mission with the nonprofit group Green for All.

“We truly see green jobs as an opportunity to lift people out of poverty,” said Bradley-Burns, Tuesday’s lunch keynote speaker at the SJF Summit on the New Green Economy.

Green jobs – which she said should be solid-paying opportunities – should be created in areas with minorities like African-Americans and Native Americans, as well as areas such as Appalachia.  She said these are the areas that need community investment.

Bradley-Burns, who works for Green for All’s capital access initiative, said the current administration is funneling unprecedented resources into sustainable employment opportunities.

“Obama’s stimulus package is the best down payment on creating a new green economy,” she said. “I’m not going to leave this money sitting on the table.”

She encouraged attendees to reach out to new partners.  For example, Bradley-Burns, who spent time in the business world, said she is currently collaborating with two labor unions, the AFL-CIO and the SEIU.

“For us, the opportunities are tremendous,” she said. “This is our time.  Clean energy does mean good-paying jobs.”

For more information on Green for All, visit www.greenforall.org.

On the morning of June 2, we had our first series of concurrent sessions here at the SJF Summit on the New Green Economy.  Attendees could choose from three options: Supporting Green Jobs Growth, Supporting Social and Green Entrepreneurship and Cleantech Investment Outlook.  Here is a brief report from the cleantech session, but check back later for updates from the other panels.

Cleantech Investment Outlook session attendees got diverse perspectives during this morning panel, with representation from an investment bank, an energy technology holding company and a venture fund that invests in brownfields remediation projects.

Mary Bacon, of Ewing Bemiss & Co., said amid the current credit crisis, investment in alternative energy sources has dropped off.  However, she said the federal stimulus will provide many opportunities for green investment.

She said biomass energy is more popular now, whereas “it used to be the stepchild of renewable energy.”  In addition, she said private equity and hedge funds, while more cautious about their investments, still are pouring funds in green energy.

“It’s the right place to be in this current economic time,” she said.

Next, John Moore of Acorn Energy focused on environmental problems as drivers for green investment.

“Wind and solar is the future,” he said. “I hope it’s going to be a huge success. (But) we have to be worried about our present.”

He added that solar power needs to be targeted to areas that will yield “the highest return on investment.”

“I believe we should consider solar a specialty solution,” he said.

Three keys to success, he said, are: to transition from analog to digital technology, harness America’s strengths and use software and silicon infrastructure.

Last, Tom Darden, of Raleigh-based Cherokee Investment Partners, talked about his firm’s efforts to turn around polluted brownfields sites.

Through Cherokee’s work, he said 525 sites have been purchased globally, with the intent of improving local communities that previously had blighted land.

During his presentation, Darden showed an illustration of a triangle with three points: ecology, equity and economy.  He said he’s witnessed a change in which the business world is more concerned with social equity and environmental stewardship.

He said investors are more likely to consider projects that include community benefits, although he noted the difficulties in securing investment in the current economy due to little available funding.

Darden also encouraged people to consider government incentives, while keeping in mind that those funding streams will eventually end.

Later, during a question-and-answer period organized by panel moderator Nicholas Parker of the Cleantech Group, panelists offered differing views on private-public collaborations.

Darden urged attendees to steer clear of the public sector, calling government a “fickle” partner.  But Moore said the private sector should tap into government funding.  “You cannot afford to not have those (government) relationships,” Moore said.

Early in the day on June 2, we heard from opening keynote Nicholas Parker.  Here is a post about his inspiring and informative talk:

Nicholas Parker, of Cleantech Group LLC, said there are in excess of 70 jurisdictions globally that say they want to succeed in the new green economy, but there are many barriers to turn visions into realities.

“We’re all green now, but I’m not sure we’ve all fully appreciated how big this challenge is,” said Parker, the Summit’s opening keynote speaker.

During his speech, entitled “Cleantech in an Obama World,” Parker touched on many of these challenges, including the fact that humans are wasteful and are in the midst of a global warming crisis.

“Increasingly, we’re moving into a world of adaptation, whether we like it or not,” Parker said.

The cost is high to move to more sustainable energies.  Parker said a bare minimum of $200 billion a year worldwide will be required to move the globe into a low-carbon economy.  So far, he said about $60 billion has been allocated for green and clean industry from the recent U.S. stimulus package; worldwide, he said that cleantech investment figure is $400 billion.

Parker said the Obama administration has been “a breath of fresh air” for cleantech investment, but he’s concerned how much the federal stimulus will ultimately cost.  He illustrated his point by comparing the cost of job creation: a new job created with federal funding costs $235,000 per job, he said; by contrast, venture capital funding can create employment for $37,000 per job.

Parker said there are many areas for growth in cleantech, including waste minimization, renewable energy and efforts to reduce the chemical pollution that humans intake everyday.

The Cleantech CEO also shared a litany of clean economy “checklist” items that entrepreneurs and others should consider.  Among those are finding long-term price signals, using global branding and working with China.

Want to learn more?  Find out about the Cleantech Group at www.cleantech.com.

A Zero Carbon CEO Panel provided best practices and lessons learned from the burgeoning cleantech sector.  Here are some highlights from each of the four speakers:

Garald Cottrell said the recent change in his business is evidence of the quick speed of the cleantech world. Wellons Energy Solutions Group just this week purchased Cottrell’s Bio-Gen Energy Solutions.

Cottrell’s business uses biomass boilers to produce steam energy.  He said that there were 287 permitted boilers in North Carolina in 2006, but this is a technology that has existed for a century.

“This is not a new technology,” he said.  “All we’re doing is rebranding and repositioning.”

Cottrell said his business has been able to tap into consumer dissatisfaction with growing fossil fuel energy costs.  He said biomass technology can save consumers more 50 percent in yearly fuel costs.

While the burgeoning green movement has many social benefits, he said there must be a strong financial model.

“At the end of the day … it has to achieve financial metrics,” he said.

A Zero Carbon CEO Panel provided best practices and lessons learned from the burgeoning cleantech sector.  Here are some highlights from each of the four speakers:

Michael Shore, of FLS Energy, installs solar hot water infrastructure for hotels, camps and other facilities and businesses that use large amounts of water.  He said solar is in high demand.

“Never do we have somebody that we’re talking to that doesn’t want solar,” he said. “Everybody wants it.”

But Shore, whose business is based in Western North Carolina, said there are several barriers to solar energy implementation.  From the client side, he said there are large upfront expenses, plus potential customers are wary of the risk of new technology.  From the business side, he said there are sometimes difficulties obtaining capital.

Shore said FLS Energy has a simple “solar energy purchase agreement” model, in which an FLS client only pays for the BTUs that they produce with the solar technology on their sites.  Solar technology produce a high-cost savings compared to natural gas, electric and other traditional energy sources, he said.

In terms of lessons learned from his endeavors, Shore said it is important to be “discriminating” and truly target potential customers that are the largest water users.

A Zero Carbon CEO Panel provided best practices and lessons learned from the burgeoning cleantech sector.  Here are some highlights from each of the four speakers:

Joseph Brakohiapa, with CleanPower Finance, helps make solar energy possible by providing various services that promote automation and easier financing.

“We’re trying to ride the adoption of solar and renewables into the mainstream,” said Brakohiapa, of the 24-member start-up based in San Francisco.

Brakohiapa said his business is trying to eliminate many of the barriers that make it difficult to expand solar infrastructure.  For example, he said there is typically no point-of-sale financing, meaning customers have to pay for solar up front.  He said there should be monthly payments available, much like paying for a car.  In addition, he said solar technicians need to have Web-based technology that eliminates much of the cumbersome paperwork involved in transactions.

A Zero Carbon CEO Panel provided best practices and lessons learned from the burgeoning cleantech sector.  Here are some highlights from each of the four speakers:

Michael Nark of Prenova shared some strategies of his company, which helps businesses reduce their energy consumption.  In 2008 alone, he said Prenova helped clients save more than $80 million in energy spending.  He said savings comes from lower energy demand and costs, fewer service calls and longer asset life.

Prenova’s customer base is 85 percent retail, and includes businesses like Home Depot, Walgreens, Gap and Bank of America.

Nark said one of the main lessons he has learned with green ventures is to “keep it simple.”

“Take it back to the basics,” he said.  “It’s not a build-it-and-they-will-come-type concept today.  There’s got to be a reason to do it.”

NC Secretary of Commerce Keith Crisco told SJF Summit attendees that North Carolina is well-positioned for the emerging green economy.

“We want to be your partner in the green economy,” Crisco said.

Crisco noted that demand is growing for the state’s green business fund.  For its first year, he said there were 85 applications for $1 million in funding; the following year, there were 200 applications.  He said there will be additional funding for the green business fund in the next fiscal year budget.

Crisco said North Carolina has reorganized its state energy office and believes those changes will help the Old North State in tapping into the green economy.

“We will do the job,” he said of state officials.  “Hold us accountable.”

Here at SJF we’re committed to promoting jobs that help sustain our environment and reduce our carbon footprint. Given our mission, our upcoming “Summit on the New Green Economy” will include multiple opportunities to learn strategies and best practices for attracting and retaining “green” jobs. We hope the speakers at our Summit will inspire you to ride the wave of the new green economy.

We’re bringing to Durham a number of national leaders who have promoted green investment. Our founder, David Kirkpatrick, will moderate a discussion on green economy capital markets on the Summit’s second day, June 3. These panelists will talk about how foundations, investors and others can support investment in the growing green economy. This panel will include: Andrew Kassoy, of B-Lab; Ariane van Buren, of Ceres; Mark Pinsky, of Opportunity Finance Network; Kathleen Starr, of The F.B. Heron Foundation; and Don Shaffer, of RSF Social Finance.

In addition, we’ll also have separate sessions on “Supporting Green Jobs Growth,” “Supporting Social and Green Entrepreneurship,” and “Green Building Job Strategies.” All of these panel discussions are designed to give budding entrepreneurs, economic developers, and others key tools to tap into the green economy.

The pieces are in place and the excitement for sustainable development is palpable. Now is the time to grow the new green economy. We have many proven leaders in green development lined up to share their tips and this burgeoning industry. Presenters like groSolar, CleanScapes Inc., RecycleBank, ZipCar, Intechra, Sencera, ConsumerPowerline, NativeEnergy, SPUD, and Helios have been hugely successful, as they have expanded rapidly, attracted more than $170 million in investment capital, and created hundreds of green jobs.

Take CleanScapes, for example. The company offers recycling, organics, waste collection, and urban ‘clean-scaping’ services in the Northwest. CleanScapes maintains a strong social responsibility and workforce engagement ethic. Since SJF invested, CleanScapes has grown from 94 to 220 employees. Meanwhile, the company is collaborating with municipalities to pursue their “zero waste” goals through waste reduction, composting, and recycling. This approach yields strong environmental and economic development benefits. SJF has invested in companies like CleanScapes because its model promotes sustainability and also generates good jobs. CleansScapes CEO Chris Marin will share from his experiences in a zero-waste CEO panel with leaders of portfolio companies Intechra and Salvage Direct; the panel also will feature the CEO of Thrift Recycling Management.

Get more information on our Summit sessions here: http://www.sjfund.com/?id=339

And stay tuned for more information on the Summit. We hope to see you there!