Good for business, good for the community and good for the environment – that is how Michael Piper, the city of Vancouver’s sustainability coordinator, describes sustainability. And, he reports, local companies want to know more.
“We’ve been getting calls from large and small businesses,” said Piper. “They are very interested in sustainability.”
In answer to this growing interest, the city has partnered with commercial lender ShoreBank Pacific – which is based in Ilwaco and has offices in Portland and Seattle – to educate Clark County businesses about sustainable business practices.
The Vancouver Business Sustainability Breakfast Series will kick off 7:30 a.m. Sept. 23 at the Water Resources Education Center with the first seminar introducing the concept of sustainability, how to get started defining sustainable business practices and where to learn more.
Michelle Long, executive director and co-founder of Sustainable Connections, will address why sustainable business practices matter, how to build a program locally and explore the benefits that can be achieved.
Sustainable Connections is a Bellingham-based nonprofit membership organization of more than 600 Northwest Washington business and community leaders devoted to sustainable business practices. Long serves on the board of the Business Alliance for Local Living Economies and has experience in facilitating sustainable economic development.
Blossoming interest
Piper attributed the growing local support of sustainability to several factors. First, he said “people see what is going on in Seattle and Portland, and they want to know how to make that happen here.”
There also is growing consumer interest in “green” products. For example, he said, houses built according to sustainable, green standards move faster and command a higher price, even in the slower housing market.
Energy costs, too, are driving interest in sustainability. Businesses want to know how they can cut energy usage and prepare for higher natural gas and electricity costs.
And, he said, there are pending regulations at the state and local levels relating to climate change that will penalize businesses who are not pursing sustainable business practices.
“There are going to be new sets of winners and losers,” Piper said. “We want to position Vancouver businesses to be on the winning side of the ledger.”
The breakfast series is scheduled to continue in 2009 on Jan. 27, April 28 and June 16.
