Sustainable businesses must speak with a collective voice

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Just five years ago, renewable energy and climate change was barely a blip in Oregon’s news media. Today, Oregon has been named first in the nation for creating green jobs by the Pew Charitable Trust. Even the NBA Trailblazers incorporated sustainable practices at the Rose Garden.

But five years ago, the state’s business leaders seemed nervous about taking up the suggestion of a small group of sustainability-minded professionals that “sustainable industries” be identified as a target cluster for the state.

Did it make sense for the Oregon Leadership Summit — the state’s signature business event of the year — to include a bunch of greenies with the timber industry, sports apparel, high tech and other recognized industry groups?

Fortunately, the leaders of the Oregon Business Council said yes.

Then a funny thing happened. Not only was the emerging sustainability industries session the best attended of the conference, the following year, the summit was all about sustainability.

Why?

In part, a well-respected Harvard business professor told the summit that Oregon needed to capitalize on its competitive advantages, namely its reputation for sustainability.

But also the hard work of so many “sustainability pioneers” was reaping dividends, as the marketplace finally recognized that indeed it is not necessary to choose between the environment and the economy; rather, businesses can thrive using sustainability as the foundation.

That was 2005. Now in 2010, Oregon has hundreds of new jobs in the solar industry, including old-line industries like Oregon Iron Works. Start-up companies are recycling plastics into fuel, and a venture fund has formed to invest in sustainability-oriented businesses. Even the Portland Business Journal has its own online publication dedicated entirely to sustainability.

So sustainable industries have truly arrived in Oregon, right?

Wrong.

For the most part, sustainable industries are — like most nascent industries — policy driven. Because sustainable industries do not speak with a collective voice at the policy level, they are at great risk of losing some of the ground gained over the past few years. So it is clearly in the best interests of sustainable business leaders to step up and engage collectively in Oregon politics.

During the 2009 legislative session, with an array of renewable energy and energy efficiency bills under consideration, lobbyists for dozens of interest groups camped out at the Capitol.

The vast majority of those paid lobbyists were there to oppose changes in Oregon policies that would require greater energy efficiency in commercial buildings, create more incentives for renewable energy and energy efficiency, and put limits on the amount of global warming emissions.

It’s fair to say that tens of thousands of dollars are being spent to fight the very policies that have created the climate for businesses like SolarWorld to make Oregon a green jobs darling.

The sustainable industries lobby can’t match the petroleum industry dollar-for-dollar any time soon, but a lot of business is on the line here. Sustainable business leaders must face the reality that politics is central to the success of their industry.

They need to step up and support candidates who will champion policies to fuel a robust clean energy economy. Once those candidates are elected, sustainability leaders need to support the trade associations that will fight tooth and nail to ensure that the state provides incentives to companies creating green jobs.

This is not environmentalism; it is economic recovery.

And, to be successful, organizations representing wind, solar, efficiency and green building must start working cooperatively to attain the dream of visionary Oregon sustainability pioneers for a clean energy future.

Every time a solar industry lobbyist bickers with a wind advocate, or efficiency is pitted against renewables, dozens of oil and coal lobbyists will cheer in the wings.

Divided, sustainable industries will fail to achieve essential policy change. United, sustainability advocates will succeed in promoting policies to create more jobs and secure Oregon’s position as a national leader in the clean economy.

Ashley Henry is principal of Portland-based The Ashley Henry Company and serves on the board of directors for Climate Solutions