Despite a wealth of “distractions,” including the current state of geopolitics and global economics and debates over dependence on foreign oil and the response to the Gulf oil spill, more than 100 businesses stepped up to Charleston’s Green Business Challenge. Mayor Joe Riley officially launched the challenge at the Best In Green and Local Expo on Friday.
The city is asking businesses, nonprofits, and other groups to improve their environmental footprint by reducing energy, waste, and water use.
Riley hopes the initiative will harness entrepreneurs’ natural competitiveness to achieve meaningful energy and natural resource savings.
“No matter what philosophical position you come from … whether you believe, as I do, that the planet is warming, or simply believe that energy conservation is part of what it means to be a good citizen, the Green Business Challenge is a way to focus these efforts and get our community on the go,” he said.
Also at the expo, the city gave out its first Green Pioneer Award — incidentally, made entirely from recycled materials — to Tony Bakker, the driving force behind Blackbaud Inc. and the Charleston Battery soccer team and the owner of three local restaurants: The Buccaneer, McCrady’s, and Queen Anne’s Revenge Steak and Seafood. Bakker’s best practices have been acknowledged by the Green Restaurant Association.
Much of the discussion in the hall and on the expo’s panels spun on sometimes sharply contrasting views of where Charleston stands compared to other communities in the U.S.
Futurists among the attendees pointed to the promise of Clemson’s Restoration Institute, which is building a $98 million wind turbine testing facility at the Navy Yard in North Charleston. Elizabeth Colbert-Busch, director of business development for the institute, predicts the facility could ultimately result in the creation of nearly 20,000 green jobs. What’s needed is the continued support of lawmakers to bring that promise to fruition, she said, likening the necessary push to the U.S. efforts to land a man on the moon in the late 1960s.
From the Coastal Conservation League’s booth near the back of the room, Adrienne Levy, the league’s marketing and communications director, agreed.
“I think while the speeches and panel discussions certainly highlighted differences in perspective, what’s been particularly exciting is the intelligence of the discussion that’s taking place here,” she said.
For Lindy Shealy, art director for the Southeastern Wildlife Expo, discussion was the key to the success of the event, which is something of a precursor to the upcoming Charleston Green Fair, which will be held in Marion Square next month.
“We talked to a lot of different folks who have interests similar to our own,” Shealy said. “While events like this are certainly about sharing information, I think they’re even more important as a vehicle of mutual support. That’s the only way you can keep the momentum going.”
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