Businesses lead the community in alternative energy purchases, gain popularity with customers
Jessica Swanson
is the managing editor of the Vancouver Business Journal.
The funny thing about investing in renewable energy through the Clark Public Utility District Green Lights program is that your business doesn’t look any different the day after you do it. There’s no immediate return on investment, pants still go on one leg at a time and so on. And yet, Clark County businesses are doing it.
According to the PUD, seven companies purchase 100 percent Green Lights energy for their operations. Certainly, The Holland Co., parent to green cuisine standouts Burgerville and Beaches, wouldn’t surprise us. And the name Eco Auto and Tire gives away this business’s philosophy. But what about Lutgens-Carter Attorneys, Online Support, Dick Hannah Subaru and Dick Hannah Honda? Mick Shutt of the PUD says businesses like these are making green energy a part of their core values.
Other business customers that participate in Green Lights are Briz Loan and Guitar, Cascadia Eco, Columbia Credit Union with 11 locations, Columbia Vista Corp., Drainage Master, FedEx Kinkos with two locations, HP, Hilbert Space Designs, Northwest Public Power Assoc., Derek J. Ronen, Derrik Hau, Orchards Family Medicine, Sharp Micro Technology, SolarWorld, Terry Cornelius and Wild Oats Markets.
While the PUD sells more power to residential customers as a whole, it sells more Green Lights power to businesses. Still, the numbers are incredibly low – less than one percent of the utility’s customers buy in. The power is sold in kilowatt-hours – 1.5 cents for every hour. The hours are sold in blocks of 100 for $1.50. In 2006, the PUD sold 12,590,500 kilowatt-hours of Green Lights power to 672 customers.
As you’ll read in the adjacent excerpt of a legislative memo on the issue from the Washington Policy Center, the success of Portland’s green energy initiative depends heavily on marketing. Clark PUD does some marketing, including a recent alternative energy fair at the city of Vancouver’s Water Resources Center, where a number of the businesses above were recognized. But Washington utility companies are disincented from selling green energy and only minimal marketing is mandated.
As alternative energy gains popularity – and necessity – businesses have the opportunity to be community leaders. Going green is a way to gain popularity with existing customers, and draw in new customers who have earmarked their buying dollars for products and services that reflect their values in this area. It’s often a way to save money – largely on operations, but sometimes on human resources and capital expenditures.
On April 27, the Vancouver Business Journal is launching North Bank, a new magazine dedicated to the emerging urban lifestyle of residents in Southwest Washington. The theme of the first issue is "going green" and in it, you’ll find tips and resources on how to make those changes in your home or small business that will set you up as an example to others. Many of our North Bank advertisers have made a distinction for themselves in this area and are putting their businesses in front of customers who care about the environment.
Thousands of copies of North Bank will be available at the Clark County Home and Garden Idea Fair April 27-29 at the Clark County Event Center and Fairgrounds.
Clark PUD will also be there, demonstrating its Green Lights Program. Check us both out. Investing in the future may not look very different than what you are doing now, but it could mean new customers and a new way of doing business.
