Conservation as a Business Venture

Just as more communities’ citizens and civic leaders are implementing strategies that call for environmentally sensitive physical development, so too are consumers and business leaders affecting the emergence of conservation-based enterprise development (CBED).

CBED promotes sustainable business development by looking holistically at the interdependence of the environment, economy and community. Recognizing there are limited resources and a growing demand for goods and services, new and existing businesses should adopt an environmentally responsible ethic that focuses on producing bio-friendly products.

Businesses are responding to consumer demand for conservation-oriented products whose production processes consume fewer natural resources and result in less pollution. A growing number of businesses are implementing environmental management systems, using renewable energy and recycled inputs in the production process, and producing recyclable goods. Green businesses are on the rise in a variety of sectors, such as manufacturing, ecotourism, recycling centers and wind power farms.

Communities and regions support CBED in a number of ways. Some have prepared strategic plans that analyze an area’s economy and define goals that are conservation-oriented. In addition to setting such goals as resources that need to be conserved and types of industries to promote, plans can also emphasize another important aspect of CBED, building local wealth by supporting locally owned green businesses. Communities and regional organizations use a range of approaches to achieve plan objectives, including establishing revolving loan funds for small business development, creating incubators for sustainable development businesses, organizing events that promote community and regional natural resources, and marketing locally made green products.

A variety of organizations are promoting CBED. The US Department of Energy’s Center of Excellence for Sustainable Development is an online information center that covers a wide range of sustainable development issues such as green buildings, municipal energy and resource efficiency. The Nature Conservancy’s Center for Compatible Economic Development works with communities nationwide through its program areas of community-based conservation and business and product development. One of its publications, Pathways, is a strategic planning framework that focuses on dealing with threats to the community, economy and environment.

Shorebank Enterprise Pacific (SEP) serves coastal temperate rainforest communities in California, Oregon, Washington, British Columbia and Alaska. Its menu of services for conservation entrepreneurs includes marketing of CBED products, loan funds, management technical assistance and community building. According to John Berdes, SEP’s Managing Director, “Our organization has made loans for composting projects, forest harvesting leases and a furniture manufacturer that uses wood that has been harvested in an ecologically sound manner. Our marketing program has identified new markets for the home décor and gift industry and has helped fishermen educate consumers about their conservation efforts through point-of-purchase materials and demonstrations.” Technical assistance services include assisting in business plan preparation and using an in-house software package that helps businesses identify ways to make their operations greener.

Glacier Garden Rainforest Adventures is located in Juneau, Alaska, near the Mendenhall Glacier in the Tongass National Forest. The facility, which received funding from the Juneau Economic Development Council (EDC) for site preparation and a greenhouse, gives tourists and local residents an opportunity to observe the rainforest environment from the comfort of a covered golf-style cart complete with a tour guide/naturalist familiar with the flora and fauna of the area. Opened in June 1998, the facility now employs 43 full-time and seasonal workers and attracted over 65,000 visitors in 2000. According to Margaret O'Neal, Director of Juneau EDC’s Southeast Alaska Revolving Loan Fund, “It took a while for them to be marketed on board the cruise ships, but once they were, it really took off.”

By William Amt, NADO Research Foundation Program Manager
Contact the US Department of Energy’s Center of Excellence for Sustainable Development at www.sustainable.doe.gov; Nature Conservancy’s Center for Compatible Economic Development at (703) 779-1746 or www.cced.org; Shorebank Enterprise Pacific at (360) 642-4265 or www.sbpac.com. Contact Juneau Economic Development Council at (907) 463-3662.

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