Sustainable Economic Development

Generating Sustainable Economic Development

THE GLOBAL FUTURE OF GREEN CAPITALISM

Dr. Marc A. Weiss, Chairman and CEO, and James Hurd Nixon, President,

Global Urban Development

People around the world are embracing Green Capitalism because it is now possible to create a higher standard of living for every person and community by shifting from resource-wasting to resource-saving industrialism. In the 21st Century, people, places, and organizations will literally “get richer by becoming greener” – earning and saving more money by conserving and reusing resources more efficiently.

Global Urban Development (GUD) is designing and implementing Sustainable Economic Development Strategies to help enable Green Capitalism to succeed worldwide. This model adapts sustainable business concepts from experts including Paul Hawken, Amory and Hunter Lovins, Ray Anderson, Hazel Henderson, Peter Senge, Karl-Henrik Robert, Thomas Friedman, William McDonough, Daniel Esty, Elliott Hoffman, Aron Cramer, and the McKinsey Global Institute, as applied in various ways by companies such as GE, IBM, Toyota, Interface, IKEA, DuPont, Disney, Wal-Mart, Google, Nike, Stonyfield Farm, Seventh Generation, Siemens, Cisco, Philips, Applied Materials, and Johnson Controls. Sustainable Economic Development Strategies apply these concepts to sub-national economies, including states, provinces, regions, districts, counties, cities, towns, villages, and neighborhoods.

Sustainable Economic Development Strategies generate substantial economic and employment growth and sustainable business and community development by demonstrating that innovation, efficiency, and conservation in the use and reuse of all natural and human resources is the best way to increase jobs, incomes, productivity, and competitiveness. In addition, Sustainable Economic Development Strategies are the most cost-effective method of promoting renewable energy and clean technologies, protecting the environment, and preventing harmful impacts from climate change. A Sustainable Economic Development Strategy has four key elements, which GUD refers to as the Four Greens:

1) Green Savings—cutting costs for businesses, families, communities, and governments by efficiently using renewable resources and by reducing and reusing waste.

2) Green Opportunities—growing jobs and incomes through business development and expanding markets for resource efficiency, sustainability, and clean technologies.

3) Green Talent—investing in fundamental assets such as education, research, technological innovation, and modern entrepreneurial and workforce skills, because people are now the world’s most vital green economic resource.

4) Green Places—establishing sustainable transportation and infrastructure, and protecting and enhancing the natural and built environment, to create more attractive, livable, healthy, vibrant, prosperous, productive, and resource-efficient areas and communities.

Fortunately, there are success stories in which business sustainability principles have guided economic development. People in the State of California saved $56 billion on energy costs between 1973 and 2006, primarily from policies requiring higher energy efficiency standards for new buildings, new electrical appliances, and new motor vehicles, combined with financial incentives for utility companies, businesses, and households to conserve energy and use renewable resources. Consumers reinvested much of this savings in the state's economy, generating 1.5 million new full-time jobs with a total annual payroll of $45 billion.

Similarly, people in metropolitan Portland (Oregon/Washington) save more than $2 billion annually due to land-use and transportation changes over the past three decades. By modestly increasing population and building densities and developing light-rail transit, together with mixed-use communities built to promote walking and bicycling, Portlanders have substantially reduced vehicle miles traveled and greenhouse gas emissions, while jobs, incomes, and investments have grown significantly since 1980.

Throughout the world, from Singapore to Stockholm, urban regions have improved their economies by becoming more sustainable. Some of these places are profiled in the World Bank’s “Eco2 Cities” report. Curitiba, Brazil is a leading example of a city with a successful four-decade economic development strategy based on growing businesses, jobs, and incomes by improving urban quality of life through innovative land-use and transportation planning and related environmental and social initiatives. One of Curitiba’s innovations, Bus Rapid Transit (BRT), has become a model for sustainable transportation and land-use planning in many cities and regions worldwide.

During June 7-8, 2011 in Curitiba, the Energy and Climate Partnership of the Americas held an international conference, sponsored by the Brazil and U.S. Governments, on “Planning for Sustainable Economic Development Across the Americas.” GUD worked with the American Planning Association, the City of Curitiba, and the U.S. State Department to organize this historic meeting exploring the potential benefits of state/provincial, regional, and local Sustainable Economic Development Strategies from Argentina to Canada.

In March 2011, Global Urban Development published Sustainable Economic Development Strategies, describing in detail the key elements of the various strategies, and explaining how to design and implement such approaches most effectively. This document can be downloaded from our website at www.globalurban.org.

Click here to download a PDF of The Global Future of Green Capitalism.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

The purpose of this global policy initiative is to promote a worldwide conversation and movement for generating and sustaining prosperity and quality of life for all, in urban regions and rural areas on every continent. Sustainable Economic Development is a new framework spearheaded by Global Urban Development, emphasizing cooperation and teamwork across urban regions to improve economic, social, and environmental health. The framework focuses on creating coordinated public, private, and civic investment strategies that treat all people and communities as assets to be included in the policymaking process, to contribute to the productivity of society, and to benefit from the fruits of prosperity. Sustainable Economic Development is a force for unity in that it emphasizes the common interests of everyone across governmental jurisdictions, and the vital importance of social equity, participatory governance, and environmental sustainability as key building blocks of a competitive and innovative economy at the local, regional, national, and international levels.

Sustainable Economic Development emphasizes the importance of regional cooperation and public-private-civic leadership. In addition, it highlights the importance of social equity and inclusiveness, and environmental protection and sustainable development, in strengthening the economic productivity, innovation, and competitiveness that enables urban regions to thrive by investing in their fundamental assets of people and place, and identifying and growing their dynamic industry networks. Sustainable Economic Development brings together leaders from government, business, professional institutions, community groups, non-governmental organizations, and the communications media in urban regions from nations all over the developed and developing world.

Sustainable Economic Development enables urban regions to develop a cohesive identity based on a sense of common purpose and cooperative teamwork, and to foster new global, national, and local economic policies that recognize the dynamic contribution of urban areas and the necessity of promoting economic and social equity and a sustainable environment as essential building blocks of prosperity and quality of life for all. Through various research and actions projects, national and metropolitan leaders will be able more effectively to engage in public policy, private investment, and community development for the mutual benefit of their respective urban regions, for reducing poverty, and for generating sustainable and equitable economic growth worldwide.

GUD’s new program committee on Generating Sustainable Economic Development is coordinated by committee Co-Chairs James Nixon, Emilia Queiroga Barros, and Marc Weiss. This new committee consolidates the work of GUD's program committees on Facing the Environmental Challenge and Metropolitan Economic Strategy with the Climate Prosperity Alliance, including the Global Climate Prosperity Agreement in partnership with the United Nations, the Global Climate Prosperity Scoreboard in partnership with Ethical Markets Media, the Global Coal Transition and Cleantech Investment Initiative in partnership with the Carbon War Room, and the Climate Prosperity Handbook in partnership with the International Economic Development Council, the Environmental Defense Fund, and the Rockefeller Brothers Fund. Thus far the project consists of GUD’s Sustainable Economic Development Practice, in which GUD will work with sub-national governments and local authorities worldwide – states, provinces, regions, districts, counties, cities, towns, villages, and neighborhoods – to strengthen their economies by improving their environments. By actively promoting innovation, efficiency, and conservation in the use and reuse of all natural and human resources, places can increase jobs, raise incomes, grow businesses, and enhance their overall productivity and competitiveness. This approach serves as the basic framework for Sustainable Economic Development Strategies. James Nixon and Marc Weiss recently co-authored a two-page article, The Global Future of Green Capitalism, and a 32-page manual, published by GUD, entitled Sustainable Economic Development Strategies, explaining in detail how places can engage in such environmentally friendly initiatives to generate economic, business, employment, and community development.

GUD has worked with places including San Antonio, San Jose/Silicon Valley, Southwest Florida, Metropolitan Portland, Metropolitan Denver, and the State of Delaware, using our four-part framework for Sustainable Economic Development Strategies to save money, create jobs, raise incomes, grow businesses, and improve the environment. Recently GUD completed a Sustainable Economic Development Strategy for Sarasota County, Florida. This initiative, funded by the U.S. Department of Energy, is a strategic plan for Sarasota County to become a “Center for Innovation in Energy and Sustainability.” During June 7-8, 2011 in Curitiba, Brazil, the Brazil and U.S. Governments and the Energy and Climate Partnership of the Americas held a conference on “Planning for Sustainable Economic Development Across the Americas.” GUD worked with the American Planning Association, the City of Curitiba, and the U.S. State Department to organize this historic international meeting exploring the potential benefits of state/provincial, regional, and local Sustainable Economic Development Strategies from Argentina to Canada. The GUD team advising, supporting, and collaborating on the Sustainable Economic Development Project include Rosa Alegria, Jobeda Ali, Edward Blakely, Lawrence Bloom, Ian Bromley, John Cleveland, Aser Cortines, Sarah Dimson, Daniely Votto Fontoura, Matthew Gassen, Nicky Gavron, Joseph Gross, Emilio Haddad, Peter Hall, Ken Heatherington, Paul Krutko, Jaime Lerner, Rodrigo Loures, Richard Lindberg, Tony Manwaring, Dan Montgomery, James Nixon, Emilia Queiroga Barros, Tom Roper, Nathan Sandwick, Nancy Sedmak-Weiss, Al Victors, Ramiro Wahrhaftig, Marc Weiss, David Wilmoth, Cynthia Wilson, and Larry Zinn.

For the Sustainable Economic Development Strategies LLC website click here.

Generating Sustainable Economic Development Committee
Co-Chairs: James Nixon, Emilia Queiroga Barros, and Marc Weiss

Poonam Ahluwalia

Grace Akumu

Rosa Alegria

Jobeda Ali

Habiba Al Marashi

Prince Cemil Giray Alyanak

Phil Angelides

Ron Armstead

Michael Arwas

Barbara Askins

Edward Asu

Rob Atkinson

Uri Avin

Mart Bailey

Lynne Barker

MarySue Barrett

Andrea Bassi

Antonella Battaglini

Robert Baugh

Vinayak Bharne

Rob Bennett

Scott Bernstein

Sergio Besserman Vianna

Clement Bezold

Olzod Bhum-Yalagch

Iman Bibars

Charles Billand

Edward Blakely

Claire Blanchard

Cid Blanco Jr.

Lawrence Bloom

Andrew Boraine

Uwe Brandes

Sandra Braunstein

Ian Bromley

Scott Brook

Allison Brooks

Lester Brown

Nancy Brown

Rinaldo Brutoco

Robert Buckley

Sundar Burra

David Burwell

Cezar Busatto

Tess Cacciatore

Peter Calthorpe

Tim Campbell

Haili Cao

Nancy Carter

Gregory Casagrande

Margaret Caust

Ann Chan

Don Chen

Michael Chang

Greg Clark

John Cleveland

J. Thomas Cochran

Victor Cohen

Rick Cole

Helene Connor

Thais Corral

Naomi Davis

Susan Davis

Dianne Dillon-Ridgley

Sarah Dimson

Hank Dittmar

Malika Djebli

Michael Donovan

Petr Dostal

David Dowall

Ladislau Dowbor

James Duncan

Will Duggan

Richard Eidlin

Susan Fainstein

Reese Fayde

Seth Fearey

David Feehan

David Fenton

Bruce Ferguson

Marlene Fernandes

Daniely Votto Fontoura

Morel Fourman

Neil Fraser

Robert Freling

Sharon Friel

Colin Fudge

John Fullerton

Yaakov Garb

Shari Garmise

James Garrison

Matthew Gassen

Nicky Gavron

John Geesman

Laurie Geller

David Gershon

Santosh Ghosh

Ernesto Gil

Herbert Girardet

Brendan Gleeson

Parris Glendening

James Gollub

Theodore Gordon

Alex Grayson

Christer Gustafsson

Emilio Haddad

David Haenke

Peter Hall

Richard David Hames

James Hanusa

Ken Heatherington

Rafal Hejne

Hazel Henderson

Julie Henry

Lynn Hinkle

Elliott Hoffman

Pamela Hollie

Walter Hook

Gyula Horvath

Paul Hughes

Daniel Inkoom

Bianca Jagger

Marc Jahr

Curtis Johnson

Kate Joncas

Calestous Juma

Lamia Kamal-Chaoui

Daniel Kammen

Allen Kearns

Robert Kehew

Randall Kempner

Michael Kennedy

Fred Kent

Ashok Khosla

C. S. Kiang

Sean Kidney

Thomas Kingsley

Jeroen Klink

Eve Konstantine

Wilfried Kreisel

Kelly Krpata

Paul Krutko

Robert Lang

Keith Laughlin

Christopher Leinberger

Jaime Lerner

Mark Levin

Richard Lindberg

Michael Lindfield

Christine Loh

Rodrigo Loures

Steven Lovink

L. Hunter Lovins

Michael Luger

Kalia Lydgate

Adalberto Maluf

Gideon Mandara

Azim Manji

Tony Manwaring

David Martin

Busie Matsiko-Andan

Peter Matthies

Tom McCawley

Stephanie McClellan

Cynthia McEwen

John McIlwain

Jane McRae

Miguel Mendonca

Cesar Menezes

Peter Merry

Egils Milbergs

Jonathan Miller

Regina Miller

Jiang Mingjun

Ricardo Montezuma

Dan Montgomery

Elizabeth Moule

Suahasil Nazara

Henrik Nolmark

Geoffrey Nwaka

Cornelia Hahn Oberlander

Lora O’Connor

Collin O’Mara

Mary Jane Ortega

Prafulla Padhi

Gerald Page

Erik Pages

David Painter

Haixiao Pan

Kathryn Papp

Julia Parzen

Jiri Patocka

Doug Payne

Michael Peck

Neal Peirce

Nicolai Peitersen

Anthony Pell

Morgan Pillay

Christina Carvalho Pinto

Alexander Plessl

Scott Polikov

David Poole

Jonathan Potter

Deependra Prashad

Kurt Puchinger

Craig Raborn

Bill Radulovich

Paul Ray

Michael Replogle

Nicolas Retsinas

Graham Richard

Jackie Roberts

Susan Rochford

Renato Romano

Tom Roper

Maria do Rocio Rosario

Catherine Ross

Jocelyn Rugunda

Kendra Sandoval

Nathan Sandwick

Francesc Santacana

David Satterthwaite

Saskia Sassen

Allan Savory

Terry Scaddan

Hans Joachim Schellnhuber

Kurt Schmoke

Erica Schoenberger

Marybeth Schubert

Steve Schueth

Hugh Schwartz

Nancy Sedmak-Weiss

Richard Seline

Igor Semenov

Nola-Kate Seymoar

Asad Shah

Jigar Shah

Philip Shapira

Molly O'Meara Sheehan

Gholam Shiran

Michael Shuman

D. Wayne Silby

Nick Silver

Herbert Simmens

Adele Simmons

Ranjit Sivaprakasam

Jasper Sky

Miquel Sodupe

Jeffrey Soule

Daniel Solomon

Radames Soto

John Spears

Marcus Spiller

William Stafford

Jonathan Stern

W. Cecil Steward

Oliver Stewart

Sean Sweeney

Richard Swett

Ludek Sykora

Kaarin Taipale

Kian Tajbakhsh

Sein-Way Tan

Gabriele Tatzberger

Marta Tellado

Sophia Trapp

Martin Tull

Steve Viederman

Al Victors

Susan Wachter

Emily Wadhams

Ramiro Wahrhaftig

Mary Jo Waits

Kim Walesh

Al Washa

Jessica Wasserman

Emiel Wegelin

Michael Wegener

Marcus Weiss

Lisa Van Well

Edmundo Werna

Wayne Wescott

Dave Wetzel

Gina Whitehill-Baziuk

Roger Williams

Mark Willis

Eva Willmann de Donlea

David Wilmoth

Darcy Stallings Winslow

Erna Witoelar

Susan Witt

Michelle Wyman

Guang Yang

Robert Yaro
Nicholas You

Sun Younian

Belinda Yuen

Joel Yudken
Robert Zdenek

Dimitri Zenghelis

Jieming Zhu

Larry Zinn

Erla Zwingle

Return to Homepage