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.
AD RESERVATIONS DEADLINE - NOV. 18 @ NOON
NOVEMBER 13, 2003 13