the 941

By March 29, Mary Anne Bowie felt desperate.

Sales at her environmentally friendly home improvement and construction store, the Sarasota Green Marketplace, had taken a nose-dive after a successful January, and Bowie didn’t know if it would survive. She sent out an email blast. “Dear Friends,” it began. “Today is our Second Anniversary of opening the doors of Sarasota Green Marketplace at our current location and I so wish I could continue my undying optimism and tell you that Sarasota Green Marketplace is thriving and we are well financed and all is wonderful. But, here is the truth: We have not been able to obtain any financing. … So, if you or anyone you know wants to buy all or part of Sarasota Green Marketplace, this is the week to call them and have them contact me directly.”

“Something happened to the United States in February,” Bowie says, three weeks after she emailed her plea. “And I think that the economic fear just cosmically gripped everybody simultaneously. So people stopped spending money in February and in March.”

The struggles of the Green Marketplace were hardly unique. Remember the days of $4-per-gallon gas, when consumers were jumping on the alternative energy bandwagon? No longer. The New York Times reported last fall that renewable energy industries are facing big new challenges thanks to the tightened belts of venture capitalists and the plunging price of oil and natural gas. On the retail front, corporations not known for their green practices are seeing increases in consumer spending: Wal-Mart’s sales rose 1.4 percent between March 2008 and March 2009. How about food? McDonald’s sales numbers rose 7.1 percent between January ’08 and ’09. In the transportation industry, TravelDailyNews.com reports that fewer and fewer companies are spending the extra buck to make green business travel a priority.

“I think that whenever you have a situation like you have economically, people kind of just go into a little turtle shell,” Bowie says. “You go into a survival mode: ‘How can I cut costs?’ Well, the way you can cut costs is buy nothing; the way you can cut costs is cook at home more.”

But despite the bad news she was getting about her bottom line, Bowie never lost faith, and kept telling people: Going green will get us out of this mess. She cites a recent book by human rights and environmental activist Van Jones, The Green Collar Economy, as inspiration. “[Jones’] book is clearly showing how the way out of this economic situation is the green economy,” Bowie says.

She’s not alone in paying serious attention to what Jones has to say. On March 9, President Obama named Jones a special White House advisor on the subject of green jobs and innovation, officially part of the Council on Environmental Quality. The president’s endorsement of natural capitalism can also be read in the much-debated stimulus package passed earlier this year. That act extended tax credits that reward the use of energy-saving technology through 2010, raised the amount you get back from 10 percent of the cost to 30 percent, and raised the maximum credit available from $500 to $1,500 for efficient windows, doors, insulation and air conditioners, with no maximum cap on solar panels, solar water heaters or geothermal heat pumps.

The stimulus bill also set green standards that need to be met for businesses to receive government funding. An area nursing home has already tapped the Green Marketplace for help updating its facilities. Why? To qualify for stimulus bucks, the home has to renovate with green materials.

But even setting aside short-term government intervention, Bowie makes the argument that going green just makes good business sense. Steps toward sustainability may cost more up front, but the whole point is to reduce the energy you use. The consequence? Lower energy bills.

Sarasota County recently inducted three companies into its Green Business Partnership program, which recognizes local firms for reducing their carbon footprints. Hidayet L. Kutat — president and CEO of one of those companies, Gulf Coast Signs — says his decision to prioritize reducing energy use at his business had nothing to do with saving the polar bear or sleeping with a clean conscience. It was about cash. “I spent a lot of time looking at different things on the environmental area, because it made good financial sense,” he explains.

Kutat’s words put the lie to the claim — most commonly made by conservatives — that decisions to help the environment invariably harm consumers and businesses alike. An example of this line of thinking comes from right-wing Sarasota blogger Richard Swier, who recently attacked an extremely popular solar panel-promoting tariff passed in Gainesville, Fla. He called it “stealth welfare for tree huggers.” This despite estimates that the measure will help bring $40 million to the Gainesville economy.

“Lean is the new green,” Bowie says. “How can you not spend money if it’s going to save you money?” In Bowie’s view, environmentalism and earning money are hardly opposing forces. In fact, they go hand in hand. “Natural capitalism considers the triple bottom line, which is people, planet and profit. So it’s always social, environmental and economic, linked together.”

Luckily for Bowie, before she had to sell the Green Marketplace, she found two new investors who agree wholeheartedly: Reinhard Felder and Jody Jorgensen. Felder retired on Jan. 31, and became interested in Bowie’s business after his wife, who is involved with Bowie in a networking group, brought the store to his attention. “I was really impressed with all she’s done, her background, her knowledge,” Felder says. “I just think the store’s positioned to really grow quickly. All she needs is a couple more hands on deck.”

So, a happy ending for Bowie, and for the Sarasota Green Marketplace. We should keep our eyes on what happens in that small strip-mall storefront. If it makes it, maybe we all will, too.

Bookmark to:

Posted in Editor's Desk, News, Politics, Sarasota-Manatee | Leave a comment