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About Oregon daily emerald. (Eugene, Or.) 1920-2012 | View Entire Issue (Aug. 2, 2005)
Task Force: An online survey will help initiative best serve community Continued from page 1 sustainable development strategy for Eugene business and the com munity. The strategy expands the “triple-bottom line” —- economic, social and environmental well-be ing — in an attempt to make Eu gene “a nationally known ‘center of excellence’ in this rapidly growing field,” according to a press release from the mayor and city council. Piercy’s economic vision com bines community outreach and in volvement, sustainable business and jobs summits and a develop ment strategy drafted by the task force over the next 15 years. The goal is to “identify economic devel opment needs and opportunities that can benefit all industries, busi nesses and workers in the commu nity,” according to the press release. Gathering community input will be one component of the SBI. A 15 "minute online survey asking for ideas and feedback from citizens “on methods and opportunities for growing sustainable businesses and jobs that benefit the entire commu nity” will be made available to the public around Aug. 12. In order to best serve the commu nity and city of Eugene, the survey draft correlates access to jobs, good wages and benefits with environ mental conservation efforts and an overall healthy city economy. The draft adds, “the success of the SBI depends on creative input from the general public. Specifical ly we want to know your vision of the future of sustainable business and job development in Eugene and how best to reach that vision.” Cluster appeal The second official SBI meeting was held Thursday in the Eugene Public Library where Bob Doppelt and Mike Russo of the University gave separate presentations on gen eral goals and how the task force should go about combining each sector of economic development. Doppelt, a courtesy associate professor at the University, used “The Ladder of Inference” in his presentation to describe his point that “we live in a world of ideas and beliefs that are largely self-generat ed and untested.” He said that people often make assumptions without thinking criti cally about the different sides and different data before taking action. “Don’t assume it’s true just be cause people think another option is more sustainable,” Doppelt said. He suggested that task force members inquire about other members’ ideas, ask about data from both sides and think critically as individuals, keep ing in mind the underlying objec tives of the task force. Doppelt emphasized the importance of keeping the main ob jective in mind while working on the individual sectors in the day-to day setting. “All the parts of the value chain must participate effectively,” Doppelt said. “We need to focus on benefiting everyone (and) we need to keep in mind how we want sustainable business to function in the future. ” As the basis for the task force’s collective mold, Doppelt defined a system as, “any group of interact ing, interrelating, or interdependent parts that form a complex and uni fied whole with a specific purpose.” “This task force is a system,” Doppelt said. Michael Russo, professor and department head in the University’s Lundquist College of Business, spoke to the task force about “clus ters of development” and how the economic activities that cohere around similar industry sectors cre ate mutual interest and a more competitive economy. “It’s about accumulating the ability to do things in Eugene that would be difficult to do alone,” Russo said. Clusters benefit both businesses and consumers because they offer alternative means of transportation, packaging and other mutual interest options for business owners while providing high competition for cheap and easily accessible prod ucts for consumers, while working toward a more environmentally conscious economy. “People want to move where clusters are,” Russo said, “The idea is that... it won’t cost as much for a business to move here.” Russo also talked about how to reach apathetic consumers. He used a national poll showing the percent age of consumers who are environ mentally conscious in their purchas ing and those who did not care. Only 9 percent were titled “True Blue Greens,” consumers who speak out on environmental issues and consume environmentally friendly products, while 33 percent were found to be apathetic. Task force member Scott Pope of Sustainable Wealth Management said, “I think it’s not that they don’t care, I think they just don’t know.” Concerned with these statistics, the task force vowed to continue re searching ways to inform the com munity about environmentally friendly goods. Community Roundtables Thursday’s meeting focused on how to implement a plan and how to work together. A different set of meetings, called “Roundtables,” will address various sectors of the SBI with the guidance of six to 20 experts in each field and sugges tions from the community. Members of the task force will not be obligated to attend any par ticular number of Roundtable meet ings or any that they are not inter ested in. Piercy said that in order for people to really get involved in these groups, members should choose the Roundtables that are most appealing to their interests. “We’re creating opportunities that individual task force members can take advantage of,” Piercy said. She emphasized her desire for task force members to take responsibility for as pects of Eugene sustainability that in terest them because “they’re are not going to be forced on people.” Roundtable meetings will be open to the public, and co-Chair man Dave Funk of Funk/Levis & As sociates encouraged participation. “We count on all points of view represented at the table to shape the community,” Funk said. All information presented and dis cussed at the meetings and Roundta bles will be posted online. The Web site has not yet been activated. Although the meetings will be looking at long-term growth and de velopment, task force member Kar tar Khalsa’s suggestion to take ac tion on certain issues before 12 to 18 months found agreement from other members. The best way to “benefit everyone,” as Doppelt said, is to have everyone’s voice when making decisions. To get involved contact co-Chair men Rusty Rexius at rusty@rexius.com or Funk at 485 1932; or the City of Eugene Mayor’s Office at 682-5010 or visit www.ri.eu gene.or.us. nwilb u.r@ dailyemerald. com ROUNDTABLE SECTORS The online Draft Survey will present these subjects: •Alternative transportation: Explores renewable energy and systems of travel beyond solo vehicle use such as carpooling, public transportation, walk ing and bicycling. • Biofuels: Focuses on renewable sources of ener gy such as vegetable oil, animal fat and algae. • Bioproducts: Explores continual and future de velopment of non-food agricultural and renewable resources other resources such as biodegradable plastics and plant-based lubricants. • Education for sustainability: Addresses ways to help schools and colleges implement sustainable •principles and practices that minimize environmen tal impact. •Green building: Focuses on design and building techniques that reduce operation and construction costs, minimize energy consumption and environ mental hazards and contribute to the health and productivity of residents and workers. • Organic and sustainable foods: Continues and advances organic and sustainable food certification standards. • Renewable energy: Moves away from fossil fuel consumption and dependency through sources such as biomass, hydro, solar, rave and wind power. • Sustainable healthcare: Focuses on health facil ities, materials, practices and products that with minimal waste and environmental impact. • Sustainable forestry: Concentrates on forest management and wood manufacturing practices that meet the "triple-bottom line.” • Sustainable tourism and recreation: Explores ways to use tourism and recreation to generate in come and employment with minimal effects on the environment and culture of Eugene. 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