A top-notch panel on "Competing by Leading: How Comprehensive Energy and Climate Legislation Will Enhance US Competitivenss" included • Jeff Anderson, President Clean Economy Network • Ken Colburn, Environmental Policy Director, Stonyfield Farms • Jonathan Jacoby, Senior Policy Advisor, Oxfam America • Anne Kelly, Co-Director, Ceres’ Policy Program; Director, BICEP • Robert McGarrah, Counsel, AFL-CIO Office of Investment
My big takeaway from the CERES 2010 conference this past week in Boston? Well, there were two:
1. Sustainable actions mean retainable jobs. As Ken Colburn, Environmental point guy at Stoneyfield Farms (the nation’s largest organic yogurt producer) shared, 48 people at the company owe their jobs to efforts the company made to reduce waste, maximize efficiency and move towards new energy source use.
2. Capital flows where there’s opportunity, and that means that just like seeds growing best in soil that been prepared for maximum growth, investments that grow jobs go into the nations that have done the best job of prepping their market for maximum growth.
In 2010, that means nations that have created the laws and regulations that give the best platform for renewable energy and sustainable business models to grow!! This can be US – right now it isn’t – but we CAN MAKE IT HAPPEN!
We’re re-geared our entire economy before when we’ve needed to, and…we need to now! Even AFL-CIO investment strategist Robert McGarrah said their coal-mining union members are ready to take the next step, so don’t buy the line that energy and climate change legislation are bad for jobs. (Look for one coalminer’s story on CONVERGE soon!) This is sort of akin to telling someone not to blow into a balloon because “you’ll stretch it out and ruin it!” WhAT?!
For all of us that care about American prosperity, our health and our national security – it was clear at the CERES conference that we’ve got to do a better job of telling Americans, showing Americans and giving press to Americans who are making things happen around energy solutions and sustainability.
Find out more about what people were saying at the CERES 2010 conference – just click the logo!
Find out more about CERES' Roadmap to integrate sustainable solutions into business strategy and build long-term shareholder value.
