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About Eugene weekly. (Eugene, Oregon) 1993-current | View Entire Issue (Nov. 13, 2003)
be 20 years,” Doppelt acknowledged. The solution is independent monitoring and veri- fication such as in the certified organic food program. If a product isn’t certified sustain- able, “consumers shouldn’t believe it,” Doppelt says. TEETH Much of the discussion of sustainable development focuses on voluntary efforts by corporations to do right by the environment. Re-using waste and having to buy less water, power, chemicals and natural resources saves money and provides an economic motivation for sustainable development, the theory goes. But entrenched, traditional companies too often don’t see it that way, according to a 2000 paper by Doppelt. In those cases, numerous studies show government regula- tion can provide an important nudge, he wrote, by stimulating better environmental management which will result in eventual cost savings to companies. But companies often resist such regulation. In Eugene, businesses opposed to regulations have complained in surveys that the city’s rules have made the area bad for business. Sustainability “has to be done in a way that sells it as voluntarily to business,” Roberts says. Companies will oppose, “any- thing that smacks of a new regulation.” Roberts is already lobbying for opening the local urban growth boundary to sprawl and revoking Eugene’s Toxics Right to Know ordinance. But while traditional polluting industries may complain Eugene is bad for business, the UO’s survey shows the opposite is true for sustainable businesses. The study found that 93 percent of sustainable businesses sur- veyed reported that the area was a good place to do business, mostly because of the strong environmental values of local residents. Eugene really isn’t any more onerous in terms of regulations than anywhere else, Doppelt says. But the two conflicting sur- veys do show the core advantage of sustain- able business. “Most of the companies we surveyed don’t use toxic materials,” Doppelt says. “If you want to get out of the onerous- ness of regulation, then simply stop using materials or doing things that require regula- tion.” The UO study points to an earlier study by UO business professor Michael Russo showing that Fortune 500 companies with good environmental records were more prof- itable. “Good environmental citizenship is great for the bottom line,” Russo found. PRIORITIZE With all the advantages, you’d think sus- tainable development would be a top jobs priority. But that hasn’t been the case. Kulongoski and state economic develop- ment officials remain focused on recruiting high-tech plants with tax breaks, a strategy that cost the state hundreds of millions of dollars in the 1990s and contributed to Oregon leading the nation in unemployment. The governor has donned a clean room “bunny suit” at Intel and schmoozed with CEOs in Silicon Valley. The Eugene City Council has had “sus- tainable development” as a major goal for years, but recently voted to give Hynix another $2 million in tax breaks, even after Future Music Oregon Jeffrey Stolet, director Sat., Nov. 15 8:00 p.m. Room 198 School of Music $5 Gen. Admission, $3 Students/Seniors Get into the A.C.T. with Sparky Roberts! Would you like to be more outgoing? Ready to relinquish performance anxiety? In this playful workshop on Animation, Communication, and Transformation, learn to enhance your interpersonal skills through theater games, humor, and discussion with actress Sparky Roberts. November 19, 2003 9 am - 3 pm, $176 Main Campus To register, call the BizCenter at 687-0611. an equal opportunity/affirmative action institution SUSTAINABILITY SYMPOSIUM Begins Friday at UO The free seventh annual Sustainable Business Symposium at UO Nov. 14-16 is one of the longest-running sustainability confer- ences in the Northwest. This year the symposium will be held in the newly completed Lillis Business Complex and will feature a products exposition, pan- els, workshops and speakers. The programs will provide concrete examples of how businesses can simultaneously increase profits, decrease ecological impacts and increase investment in the DONNA WILSON DONNA WILSON social capital of our communities. Speakers include Donna Wilson (11 am Friday) speaking on “People and Profitability: A Triple Bottom Line Approach,” Carsten Henningsen (5 pm Friday) on “Investing for a Sustainable Future” and John Cusack (11 am Saturday) on “The Case for Sustainability: Maximizing the Benefits for All Society,” and Alan Durning (4 pm Saturday) on “Aikido Politics, Green Taxes and the Northwest.” Michael Shuman of Green Policy Institute is scheduled to debate Jack Roberts of Lane Metro Partnership (7 pm Friday) on the topic “Global vs. Local.” More information on the speakers, films, workshops and spe- cial events is available at www.uoregon.edu/~sbs/ or see the pro- gram insert in last week’s EW . Sponsors of the symposium include Eugene Weekly , ASUO, Sustainable Industries Journal Northwest, The Rachel Carson Group, Lundquist College of Business, Pomegranate Design, The ALAN ALAN DURNING DURNING Aldo Leopold Group, The John Muir Group and numerous others. 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