With oil prices climbing and concerns over fuel security rising, interest in biodiesel is blossoming. Since 2004, the Vermont Biodiesel Project (VBP) partners have organized activities to explore how this new option will work in Vermont. The turnout at the most recent event demonstrated that businesses no longer view this as a fringe movement, but rather a growing opportunity for the fuel sector.

On June 8 the VBP convened the Vermont Biodiesel Spring Workshop. Originally slated for 120 participants, more than 175 registrants attended the daylong affair with nearly one third making their business in the fuel trade. This event was designed to build commercial demand for biodiesel and to assist suppliers and potential users by sharing practical information on the fuel. Presentations covered a range of topics of interest to users of on- and off-road diesel as well as those who use diesel (No.2 oil) for heating. In addition, ten biodiesel and fuel exhibitors took part in the state's first biodiesel trade show.

The VBP organizers set out to create a program that would be valuable not just to commercial scale (distillate) users, but also to the established fuel industry in the state. To provide focus for the different groups, the day was divided into two concurrent tracks, one for users and producers, and one for dealers and distributors. Senator Patrick Leahy's state director Chuck Ross and VSJF board president Kevin Harper welcomed the participants and framed the opportunity for locally produced fuel. Greg Liebert from Vermont's Alternative Energy Company and Liebert Engineering gave the keynote address, 'Biodiesel and How It Will Play a Role in Vermont's Energy Future'.

In the dealers and distributors track, several experienced local and regional fuel industry leaders reviewed topics such as distributing and marketing biodiesel, new federal tax incentives, and blending, storage and delivery issues. In the users and producers track, participants heard from Vermont biodiesel users from Sugarbush Resort, the Vermont Agency of Transportation and Middlebury College. In addition participants had many questions answered pertaining to storage and supply, human and environmental health, and technical performance. Participants in this section included commercial and institutional fuel users, town and state level policy and decision makers, school district supervisors and fleet managers, and members of the agricultural community.

After the spring event, several participants announced new activity in the biodiesel sector:

• Patterson Fuels of Richmond began deliveries of B20 in bulk to its off-road customers. They also became the first supplier in Chittenden County to begin selling B20 at filling stations (now in Richmond and along Vermont Route 7 in Charlotte)
• Champlain Oil Co. is selling B20 to filling stations in the Burlington area
• University of Vermont and Green Mountain Power began purchasing B20 for their fleet vehicles
• Caulkin Oil Co. of Danville is now 'seriously interested' in storing B100 in Danville and selling blended biodiesel in their region
• Jack F. Corse, Inc. has dedicated two 12,000 gallon storage tanks for B20, one for heating fuel and the other for on-road fuel for sale in the Lamoille County region
• Energy Co-op of Vermont is now selling a B5 blend of heating oil to its customers

These announcements follow on the introduction of biodiesel in other parts of Vermont associated with previous VBP pilot projects and private initiatives.

The June event and its related outcomes demonstrate the growing demand for biodiesel. As alternative fuel markets emerge, the Vermont Biodiesel Project looks forward to assisting with the development of the state's own biofuel production capacity.

The unmistakable smell of French fries is floating through Smugglers' Notch Resort these days ' but it's not coming from the cafes and restaurants. Since mid-May, the year-round resort in Jeffersonville has been using biodiesel to power its tractors, forklifts, and mowers.

So far, the operations department at Smugglers' Notch has used about 1,800 gallons of the biodiesel-petroleum mixture known as B20, and has plans to use much more when the snowmaking season arrives. Starting in November, the resort will use B20 to power its 14 snowmaking air compressors and, assuming initial runs are successful, will continue to do so through the snowmaking season. In total, Operations Manager Tom McGrail expects to use more than 200,000 gallons of biodiesel throughout the ski season.

'We see this pilot test as a great opportunity to protect the health of our employees, help the environment, and support local businesses,' McGrail said. 'No matter how you look at it, it's a win-win situation for everybody.' If biodiesel proves effective this year, Smugglers' Notch plans to expand its usage in coming years, according to McGrail.

In conjunction with the snowmaking application, researchers from Keene State College in New Hampshire will perform air quality testing throughout the 2005-2006 ski season to better quantify the health effects of biodiesel versus petroleum-based diesel. As part of the testing program, Dr. Melinda Treadwell, new faculty member Nora Velazquez, and several undergraduate research assistants will conduct ambient air quality testing in the area surrounding the truck-sized air compressors. 'There is limited research on the health effects of biodiesel emissions versus petroleum-based fuels,' Velazquez said. 'With the growing usage of biodiesel, we think that this research will have national significance.'

Air quality testing will involve the placement of testing equipment adjacent to the compressor smokestacks and at various distances from the compressors bank. Because the research is focused on the effects of emissions on humans, detection equipment may also be attached to Smugglers' Notch employees that work near the compressors to help determine their exposure. Funding for the emissions testing comes primarily from the National Institutes of Health.

The Smugglers' Notch pilot project is part of the Vermont Biodiesel Project, a two-year project that received major funding from the U.S. Department of Energy State Energy Program via the Vermont Department of Public Service and the State of Vermont via the Vermont Sustainable Jobs Fund. Together with 15 partners, the grant participants seek to build the market for biodiesel in Vermont through education, outreach, and real-time applications such as the pilot project at Smugglers' Notch. Grant work will continue through August of 2006 and will include pilot projects at other Vermont locations.

Vermont Wood Products Resource Manual Now Available

The Vermont Wood Products Resource Manual is now available as a pdf file on the VSJF and Vermont Wood Manufacturers Association websites. The Resource Manual features 12 Vermont furniture manufacturers and lists 75 more. The Cornerstone Project Certified Wood Spec, developed by Jonathan Miller and Cornerstone partners, is included as an appendix. The second phase of the Resource Manual, including flooring, millwork, lumber, plywood, etc., is currently in the planning stage with a tentative release date of mid-December. If you are a wood manufacturer in Vermont that is capable of manufacturing products for institutional or commercial scale projects, please contact Doug Patterson, Cornerstone Forest Products Specialist for information about the Resource Manual and how to be listed or featured in the second edition.

A Sterling Example

The first edition of the Resource Manual led Sterling College to buy seven new computer tables for the college's Environmental Sciences Computer Lab from Vermont furniture manufacturer Neudorfer. Perry Thomas, Dean of Sterling College, was feeling increasingly 'grumpy' about the prospect of having to buy new computer tables made in Texas out of a wholesale commercial supplier's catalogue. The students, faculty and administration at Sterling College felt strongly that buying local was the way to go. As luck would have it, Thomas received a copy of the Resource Manual while she was wrestling over making a decision. Thomas looked through the offerings by the 12 featured furniture companies and found what she was looking for in a Neudorfer computer table. Thomas found Neudorfer's computer tables to be more attractive and functional than what she found in the wholesale catalogue. Perry contacted Bob Neudorfer and soon a contract was signed. Congratulations to Sterling College and Neudorfer! If you are an institution, commercial operation, or architect and would be interested in receiving a copy of the Resource Manual you can download it as a pdf file from the VSJF and VWMA websites or contact the VSJF office for a hard copy.

Of the many aspects of sustainability, historic preservation is one that is often overlooked. Yet, at its core, historic preservation seeks to strengthen the fabric of communities, reduce sprawl and support sustainable development. The principles of historic preservation are rooted in history, culture, stewardship of the built environment, conservation of open space, and creating a sense of place for each community. Extending these principles into the realm of sustainability seems like an easy match. Why, then, does historic preservation continue to be misunderstood and underutilized within the realm of sustainability'

A recent conversation with Doug Porter, Field Representative with the Preservation Trust of Vermont, illuminated the need for a better understanding of the role of preservation in the larger sustainability picture. Mr. Porter noted that while there are parallel ideologies and needs, there can be a lack of understanding about the goals of both sustainability and preservation. When individuals from the various areas of sustainability come together, there is a tendency to shift into 'advocacy' mode in order to further the ideals of each particular group. Cooperation and education are the keys to a more integrated picture, according to Mr. Porter.

With its wealth of historic buildings, and small, close knit communities, Vermont is an ideal place to begin to integrate historic preservation with other sustainable development activities. The identification and use of these buildings helps to retain the character of towns, unites communities behind a common goal, attracts new businesses into the preserved spaces, encourages local purchasing and the use of local resources, and sustains local economies and identities.

Historic buildings tie us to our history and our culture. The retention and preservation of these buildings not only helps to sustain the quality of our communities, it also helps us understand our past.

In the next several newsletters, VSJF will be doing a series of articles on how historic preservation relates to various aspects of sustainability, such as green building, smart growth/new urbanism, community development and revitalization, affordable housing, land conservation, and government policies. Each of these articles will serve to highlight how historic preservation is an integral sustainable practice that makes sense for Vermont's towns, landscape and economy.

For more information on Historic Preservation in Vermont:

Vermont Division for Historic Preservation

National Trust for Historic Preservation

This article is the first in a series that will elaborate on findings generated in the report, Rural Vermont Inventory of Dependent Communities by Ellen Kahler, Director of Peer to Peer Collaborative, and VSJF's Scott Sawyer. This piece explores a key recommendation of the report: beginning a dialogue around 'exit strategy' or 'succession planning' options that would encourage Vermont owned businesses to stay in Vermont. At a recent Vermont Businesses for Social Responsibility conference Marjorie Kelly, co-founder of Business Ethics magazine, emphasized that the 'legacy question' is the most important question facing socially responsible businesses today. Employee ownership can be an excellent way for a business to deepen its roots in a community.

VSJF recently interviewed Don Jamison, Executive Director of the Vermont Employee Ownership Center, as well as representatives of some of Vermont's most well-known employee owned companies'Frank Sands of King Arthur Flour Company, Paul Millman of Chroma Technology, Jack Davidson of The Trust Company of Vermont, Cindy Turcot of Gardener's Supply Company, Dave Hallam of Hallam-ICS, and Bill Carris of Carris Reels--to gain a better understanding of employee ownership. Each person shared their organization's rationale for choosing employee ownership, described the benefits to businesses, employee-owners, and communities that result from employee ownership, and gave advice for other businesses considering succession options.

ESOPs

Employee ownership comes in a variety of forms, including worker cooperatives and broadly owned Limited Liability Companies. The most usual form in the U.S. is the Employee Stock Option Plan (ESOP). According to The National Employee Ownership Center, ESOPs are trust funds into which businesses put new stock or cash to buy existing stock. ESOPs can also borrow money'which can be used for any business purpose, the most common of which is to buy stock from retiring owners. Stock is distributed into employees' accounts within the trust. As employees accumulate seniority with the company, they acquire a right to the shares in their account. When employees leave or retire they receive their stock, which the company must buy back from them at its fair market value as determined by an annual outside valuation. The threshold for businesses considering an ESOP is generally around 20 employees. Approximately 11,000 businesses in the United States (with about 40 in Vermont) have ESOPs.

Employee Ownership in Vermont

Although employee ownership is commonly used as an exit strategy for retiring business owners, it can be implemented at any stage of a business's life cycle: From start-ups such as Chroma Technology, winner of Vermont Business Magazine's 5x5x5 award, to mature businesses like King Arthur Flour, the oldest flour company in the United States, as well as businesses like Island Pond Woodworkers and The Trust Company of Vermont, which formed in the aftermath of a plant shutdown and corporate takeover, respectively. Likewise, employee ownership is not an all-or-nothing option: interviewees described a variety of ownership ratios with, for example, 30% employee ownership at Gardener's Supply Company and 100% employee ownership at Chroma Technology. Employee ownership blurs political lines, with liberal views and conservative views and everything in-between represented by these interviewees. Some people are interested in employee ownership because the ESOP laws favor owners who sell their companies to their employees, while others are interested because they care about workplace democracy.

Employee ownership comes in a variety of forms, but the people interviewed for this article have in common a deep and abiding trust in and respect for employees; a strong work ethic; a fierce independence; a concern for the health of their communities; and a commitment to leaving a positive legacy.

Family Ties

For family businesses like King Arthur Flour and Carris Reels, spreading ownership to employees was a natural enlargement of their own families. Frank Sands explained, 'When you've worked with a company as closely as I and other members of my family have, we feel that it's an extension of ourselves. So, when it does well we're proud of that. If you have that sort of a feeling then one of the finest ways to ensure that legacy and invigorate the company, if it needs it, is to have it employee-owned.' For Bill Carris, 'Employee ownership, philosophically, made a tremendous amount of sense. I felt strongly that the success of the business was a result of the employees, so they ought to get the just rewards of ownership ultimately.' Dave Hallam reflected on his father's experience owning a consulting-engineering firm and how it influenced his decision to pursue employee ownership: 'He did not share in the ownership and I think it hurt him physically. And I did not want that to happen to me. I did want the company to go on so I felt that I needed to nurture leadership and share responsibility. I wanted to live a balanced life, no 100-hour weeks.'

Paul Millman started Chroma Technology as an employee-owned company because he found with previous jobs that 'I was doing a really hard job and people were benefiting from my work and I wasn't.' Millman, who explained that he has been fired more times than most people will in their lifetimes, now has job security. Sands described the pleasure he found when he noticed King Arthur's employees working as hard as he did. 'My philosophy is that you're spending the majority of your waking hours at your job, so it should be a meaningful thing. When I used to send Christmas gifts, I would write 'I hope your work here is meaningful to you.' I knew how I worked and how I never stopped thinking about the business and we had people that were just that way: they were acting like owners. The leverage that you can get when people act like that is geometrical as far as the effectiveness of your company.'

Declaration of Independence

For all of these employee-owners, independence from corporate buyouts was a key motivating factor. 'How many times do you pick up the paper to read about a company in Vermont that was bought out by an out-of-state firm'' asked Hallam, 'And then within six months or a year they're moving operations to North Carolina. If you want to keep jobs in Vermont you've got to keep control in Vermont.' Cindy Turcot explained Gardener's Supply's rationale, 'We want to have control of our destiny. We don't want to get bought by a larger firm that then can send all the jobs out. So it's really about keeping jobs in Vermont. It's about us having a stake in the company. It's about having a say in our company.' As a result of the culture developed at Gardener's Supply, Turcot reported enhanced customer relations, 'We go above and beyond in how we treat our customers. I think if you're happy in your job you treat people well and that's our goal.'

All of the interviewees described being approached by merger and acquisition brokers. But, Jack Davidson observed, 'They don't even get a chance to make a presentation. It's not about money. It's about basically controlling your work environment and being able to work under your terms.' Sands was vehement in his opposition to corporate takeovers, 'I didn't like the natural drift of things where these big guys come up, absorb these other companies, suck everything that they can out of them, and just sort of leave them like a deflated balloon. I didn't want that to happen. I thought there could be some future for this company.' King Arthur Flour is now the number three retail flour company in the United States, according to Sands.

Community Health & the Long View

The issues of location of ownership and community health were intimately linked in the minds of many of these employee owners. Millman shared a sobering anecdote about driving through the town in Massachusetts where Mattel started "and you see the great big giant rocking horse that was there and there's no remnants of Mattel any longer in that town. But they still call themselves 'Toy City.' This was a company started and operated by local people and then somebody came along and said 'Here's a bunch of money, let me buy it and take it out of this local community.'' Millman has no doubt that once an employee-owned company is established 'Your commitment to the community is that much greater because you live there. Outside owners, like every other equity owner that doesn't work in their community, even ones that do work in their communities, their interest is maximizing their own return. I mean, you've got to decide that that's not your major interest.'

Although King Arthur, Chroma, Carris Reels, Gardener's Supply, the Trust Company, and Hallam Associates are works in progress, each interviewee is determined to see their organizations endure. The combination of strong work ethics, employee ownership, independence and community commitment help these organizations take a long-range view. Explains Davidson, 'It turns out when you do control your fate frequently you make good long-term decisions. All the decision-making here is long-term. When you make good long-term decisions you're going to end up finding that you're going to get a pretty good return on your investment.'

The Vermont Employee Ownership Center: Resource & Ally

Businesses contemplating employee ownership have a resource and an ally in Don Jamison, Executive Director of the Vermont Employee Ownership Center (VEOC). Jamison was troubled by the implications of absentee ownership for Vermont's communities and businesses. He was intent on finding an analogue in economic development for the kind of work that the Burlington Community Land Trust does. Land Trusts effectively take land off the market to let communities figure the right use for the land. With employee ownership, Jamison found a concept that made Vermont's economy more stable and less prone to capital flight by passing ownership of businesses to other Vermonters, to the employees or both. For Jamison, 'Employee ownership is a great way to root the businesses in the community through widespread ownership. It does'and it's measurable in its effect'create healthier businesses and ones that are more likely to stay.'

In 2000, Jamison met Steve Magowan, a Burlington lawyer who was doing a lot of work with ESOPs. They discussed the idea of creating a statewide educational center devoted to employee ownership. As a result, VEOC was established as a nonprofit in 2001, with Cindy Turcot of Gardener's Supply as Board president. Federal funding from U.S. Representative Bernie Sanders and the hiring of co-director Patty Wood in 2002 got VEOC off to a good start. VEOC provides information on employee ownership options of all kinds, convenes a conference every June, provides technical assistance, and makes referrals to companies and consultants that have employee ownership experience.

Jamison and the others interviewed offered two key recommendations for people considering employee ownership:

Plan ahead. According to Hallam, for those CEOs or business owners considering retirement 'You need to plan at least 10 to 15 years prior to your departure. Absolutely. And really look at all the different options. You have to develop leadership. I think the best advice my father ever gave me was to never be afraid to hire somebody that could do your job. Because without that you can't move forward.'

Contact VEOC, (802) 861-6611. State agencies and the VEOC are often not aware when a Vermont business is thinking about selling. As Jamison emphasizes, 'Sharing ownership is not something that is a scary thing. It can be done in a very controlled way that doesn't jeopardize good management but that makes a good business better and makes a good workplace into a better workplace with more enthusiastic employees.'

For additional information, visit the following websites:

Vermont Family Business Initiative

The ESOP Association

The Ohio Employee Ownership Center

Abrams, John. 2005. The Company We Keep: Reinventing Small Business for People, Community, and Place. White River Junction, VT: Chelsea Green Publishing Company. 313 pp.

John Abrams' The Company We Keep is the heartwarming story of the South Mountain Company, an employee owned design/build firm based on Martha's Vineyard. In this book, Abrams sets his sights a little higher than how to get rich or the art of the deal. He asks, 'Can small businesses, supported by strong underlying principles, help make better lives and better communities'' The answer, of course, is a resounding 'Yes!' After reading this book you will want to quit your job, put on a tool belt and go work with him.

The keys to South Mountain's success are eight interrelated cornerstone principles that have been developed over the firm's 30-year existence. Each chapter of the book details one of these cornerstones with a company-specific vignette along with more general descriptions or examples of the principle. The first cornerstone, cultivating workplace democracy through employee ownership, led to a variety of benefits for South Mountain's employee owners: a sense of belonging and empowerment, enhanced problem solving skills and unity behind a common purpose. Likewise, cooperation, rather than competition, led to greater efficiency and creativity within the organization. Employee ownership also makes South Mountain impervious to takeovers and lays the foundation for continuity of the business. Abrams makes sure to point out that employee ownership is not a panacea: each prospective owner has to go through a five-year trial period and there is a division of responsibilities between ownership and management.

Abrams draws from Herman Daly's distinction between growth and development for South Mountain's second cornerstone, 'challenging the gospel of growth.' 'Wall Street demands growth;' Abrams writes, 'business does not.' This focus on qualitative development led to the company's third cornerstone, balancing multiple bottom lines. South Mountain measures its success in terms of increased social capital within the company, engagement with the Martha's Vineyard community, minimal environmental degradation through ecological design practices, as well as financial prosperity. Recognizing that 'an essential aspect of commerce is building community' led Abrams to the daring idea that South Mountain would only commit to work on Martha's Vineyard. This fourth principle serves as a counterbalance to globalization while promoting local economic stability, self-reliance and a stronger community.

The chapter on celebrating the spirit of craft, the fifth cornerstone, is the best in the book, and it's easy to see why: South Mountain aims to create buildings that are loved. Abrams writes "our craftsmanship, in all things, is the central thread that makes visible and tangible the underlying principles that guide us.' He describes the Guggenheim Museum in Bilbao, Spain as a massive failure and asks, 'How could such a monument be so disrespectfully made'' While the Guggenheim appears as 'a sentinel rather than a participant,' South Mountain tries to meld their buildings with the island's landscape and communities. The company emphasizes green building techniques, the use of salvaged, certified or reclaimed lumber, durability, and integration between landscape and building for all of their projects.

The high cost of housing on Martha's Vineyard is squeezing out its middle class. In recognition of this fact, Abrams urges expanding the concept of conservation from land and buildings to people. South Mountain's sixth cornerstone, 'people conservation,' is advanced by building affordable housing, fundraising for the Island Affordable Housing Fund, and devoting some of company's earnings to affordable housing. Using the example of a wind turbine that South Mountain installed on their property after the local planning board rejected it for one of their clients, Abrams suggests that businesses need to commit to bringing new ideas, investments and problem solving skills to their communities. Practicing 'community entrepreneurism,' the seventh cornerstone, is enhanced by creating partnerships between nonprofits, government agencies and businesses. The first seven cornerstone principles culminate in 'thinking like cathedral builders.' The workers at South Mountain realize that creating a truly sustainable company requires taking the long view. Abrams stresses the need to plan early to develop the necessary skills and management systems to ensure the legacy of a company.

The Company We Keep is full of exciting ideas. It is a must-read for anyone considering employee ownership or striving to create sustainable companies and communities.

Many Vermont businesses'and the communities that depend on those businesses'are currently disadvantaged by a global system that values cheap goods produced in regions with low wages and poor regard for the natural environment. As evidenced by mounting environmental degradation and social stratification, this system is not built to last. But alternatives exist. 'The Vermont Way', as exemplified by a healthy, diverse mix of businesses in a variety of sectors, from organic agriculture and specialty food companies (e.g., the Vermont Mystic Pie Company) to manufacturers (e.g., NRG Systems) and world-class educational institutions (e.g., the Gund Institute for Ecological Economics at UVM), demonstrates that a model valuing workers, communities and the natural environment can thrive. Creating a supportive environment to nurture and sustain these kinds of businesses and organizations is a prudent use of limited development resources. VSJF recently discussed this topic with Daniel Hecht, Executive Director of the Vermont Environmental Consortium, an alliance of environmental businesses, education programs, public agencies, and other nonprofits.

VSJF: What challenges do you see facing Vermont in the next several decades'

DH: Like most of the world, Vermont will face a shortage of energy and have to make difficult choices about how to conserve and create more to supply human needs. In the short term, this entails the end of the Vermont Yankee's productive life and the end of the current Hydro-Quebec power agreement. In the larger sphere, it involves the dwindling global supply and increasing cost of fossil fuels. The effects on our lifestyles, economy, and employment opportunities are likely to be profound.

Global warming also increasingly looks like a factor that will change Vermont. Higher temperatures and changes in rainfall will probably affect everything from the cost of living to agricultural productivity to the stability of Vermont's forest-based ecosystem.

Vermonters pride themselves on a uniquely beautiful landscape and strong community identity. Many forces ' globalization, political polarization, new technologies ' will affect these. It is up to the current generation to make the choices that affirm strong communities and sustainability.

VSJF: What kinds of businesses do Vermonters want to attract to the State'

DH: If you are broke and desperately need a job, you are unlikely to be picky. Our objective should be to avoid putting Vermonters in the position of having to take jobs they don't like, in businesses they disapprove of, just to be able to feed themselves. There are other options. During the recent Vermont Rural Development Council conference at the Statehouse, the most often-repeated concern was that people want a growing state economy and increased personal income, but they don't want growth if it destroys traditional ways of life, community cohesion, or Vermont's natural environment. I hear similar worries, and see examples of divisions about forms of economic development, every day. When people express concern about a Wal-Mart opening in their town, they are clearly seeing that economic development can take many forms, and that franchise, box-store giants can have destructive impacts. What I hear is that Vermonters want businesses that respect our long tradition of close communities, pretty towns, local ownership, and employee-friendly management policies.

VSJF: What kind of economic development is appropriate for Vermont'

DH: The simplest answer I can offer is: green and sustainable. Vermont communities know that green industries employ people and do good things for the natural world. Economic development that looks ahead and addresses sustainability issues will help build, not destroy, communities, and will more likely endure economic changes.

It's no longer just a matter of taste or aesthetics; it's becoming a matter of hard economics. Example: A new box store sells discounted consumer goods very cheaply, and produces profit because the company's cost of doing business is less than its income from sales. But if a new box store is erected with poor insulation and fossil fuel heating/cooling systems, relatively small changes in the cost of fuel can push the enterprise outside the margins of profitability. How long will Wal-Mart or Rite-Aid keep an unprofitable outlet open in a rural area that already has lower sales volume and longer distribution lines than other areas'

Unless a business makes a commitment to sustainable practices and architecture, to good community relations, it is highly vulnerable to changes in costs of fuel or foreign labor. Vermonters don't want to become dependent on jobs that vanish due to lack of planning or to foreign labor markets. Now is the time to encourage green and sustainable development.

VSJF: What is the 'Green Valley''

DH: The Green Valley concept was first conceived by Peter Murray, VEC's president from 2000 to last year, and has been enthusiastically embraced by Lt. Gov. Brian Dubie. The term combines 'Green Mountains' and 'Silicon Valley,' and is shorthand for a vision of Vermont as a place where environmental enterprises thrive, create a major engine of economic growth, and develop a worldwide reputation for excellence. In the Green Valley, economic development and sound stewardship practices go hand in hand.

VSJF: What is a green business'

DH: VEC interprets 'green' and 'environmental' broadly because it's not really a 'sector' per se, but a strand that runs through innumerable forms of business activity. Green businesses have as their main activity the creation of products or services that benefit the natural environment, reduce pollution, and promote sustainability. Environmental engineers, renewable energy research and development, green building design and construction, environmental education, laboratories that deal with environmental sciences, value-added green consumer products that are made with less pollution or resource consumption, environmental law and economics, sustainable community planning and development ' all are green businesses.

VSJF: What is VEC' Why was it created'

DH: VEC is a statewide, nonprofit alliance of environmental businesses, education programs, public agencies, and other nonprofits. Its members are active in many fields. It was started in 2000 to help boost economic activity in the environmental sector, building synergy among Vermont environmental firms through information exchange, resource sharing, partnering, and cooperative marketing.

The economic vitality of environment-related industries depends to a large degree on regulatory policies that encourage (or fail to) the use of green goods and services; likewise, on prevailing cultural attitudes about the value of the environment. Accordingly, VEC conducts activities that inform policy-makers about environmental issues and emerging resources to deal with them, and seeks to promote a general culture of sustainability and sound stewardship practices. Education is a crucial part of VEC's mission.

VSJF: Who makes up the membership of VEC' What do they do'

DH: We have 34 members statewide. Many are environmental engineering firms which conduct water and soil studies and work to clean up pollution; some work to develop and produce renewable energy technologies; some work with natural resource management. We have a number of colleges and universities, as well as public agencies and instrumentalities that promote business development. Our membership also includes environmental lawyers, sustainable community development consultants, and a local, nonprofit development corporation.

VSJF: What kinds of success stories can you point to'

DH: VEC's membership has tripled in the last year. We've hosted an annual environmental expo for four years that has helped keep people informed of new developments, opportunities, technologies. Our conferences, like our stormwater conference, and the recent brownfields redevelopment conference in Montpelier, have brought together experts in science and administration and have contributed positively to changing state policies and programs. We've circulated a dozen bid notifications to 270 environmental firms, making Vermont companies more competitive in pursuing out-of-state contracts, and have represented dozens of Vermont firms at international environmental technology trade shows. Since a thriving sector also must attract and retain skilled professionals, we've also circulated several resumes and found jobs for several people. It's been a busy year, but we're just beginning!

VSJF: Where would you like to see VEC in five to ten years'

DH: We serve 60 to 80 members and are self-sufficient financially through member dues and project grants. We have proven ourselves as an initiator of major projects, pulling in significant federal funding for demonstration and R&D projects in renewable energy generation, resource monitoring, environmental technologies, and innovative educational programs. We are well-known as a one-stop point of call for client firms or municipalities seeking environmental goods and services, and as a resource for colleges and universities. Collectively, our members and core organization are viewed as a trusted resource to advise state policy on environmental issues and economic development.

Todd, Nancy Jack. 2005. A Safe and Sustainable World: The Promise of Ecological Design. Washington: Island Press. 203 pp.

John and Nancy Todd have a place alongside Ian McHarg in the pantheon of environmental heroes for developing and promoting ecological design. The central tenet of ecological design'whether applied to agriculture, architecture, energy, technology or industrial processes'is that billions of years of natural research and development can't be wrong. In contrast to the industrial paradigm of the last couple of centuries that treats nature as humanity's slave, the ecological design paradigm views nature as our teacher and ally.

In her new book, A Safe and Sustainable World: The Promise of Ecological Design, Nancy Todd recounts how fear of environmental catastrophe led to the founding of the 'New Alchemy Institute' in 1969. The New Alchemists'Nancy, her husband, biologist John Todd, and a constellation of friends and colleagues'were eager to demonstrate that ecology could provide the basis for architecture, agriculture, and energy. The bulk of the book is devoted to the pioneering efforts of these young idealists as they experimented with ways to improve soil health, grow fruit, vegetables and fish organically, produce renewable energy, and construct 'bioshelters' (i.e., self-contained shelters that produced food and energy). The New Alchemy Institute, based on Cape Cod, also engaged in education and outreach efforts that influenced a generation of people.

Despite clear success showing that shelter, food and energy can be provided through ecological design, the New Alchemy Institute closed its doors in 1992. With Ronald Reagan's election in 1980, government funding dried up and fundraising became 'an unrelenting challenge.' Todd describes the ensuing restructuring and internal debates within the Institute as 'a very unhappy period.' Todd's depiction of the end of the Institute is alternately wistful ('I seem to hear a faint ghost of women's laughter floating up from the gardens; glimpse sun-browned children racing across the fields.') and resigned ('New Alchemy had been in intensive care with inadequate life support for too long.'). However, ecological design's 'waste equals food' principle extends beyond ecosystems to social systems: good ideas are recycled, rearranged, and resurrected.

Sure enough, the New Alchemy Institute supplied the building blocks for the Todd's next venture, Ocean Arks International, an organization dedicated to cleaning water by treating sewage and industrial wastes. John Todd's 'Eco-machines' use bacteria, algae, microscopic animals, snails, fish and plants to 'transform sewage into food chains and high quality water.' The first Eco-machine was actually installed at Sugarbush Ski Resort in Warren, Vermont and more than thirty now exist around the world. John Todd's next innovation was a floating platform called a 'Restorer' that cleans polluted lakes, ponds, canals, and wastewater lagoons (e.g., at a foul fowl processing plant). As research professor and distinguished lecturer at the University of Vermont, Todd and his students have recently been practicing 'industrial ecology' at the Intervale. Demonstrating the principle that waste equals food, students have been able to convert brewery wastes and straw into saleable products such as animal feeds, salad greens, earthworms, mushrooms and a soil amendment.

Near the end of her book, Todd remarks 'We have been on our quest for alternatives to current destructive practices for more than a generation. And the world is getting worse.' At a recent Yestermorrow Design/Build School presentation, John Todd described his heartbreak when the South Burlington Eco-machine was turned off for bureaucratic reasons. We owe it to visionaries like the Todds'and ourselves'to understand and overcome the social, political, and economic barriers that inhibit transformation to a more sustainable society.

Vermont has a rich array of community development and business assistance service providers. However, a common complaint voiced during the course of research for the Inventory of Dependent Communities report was that Vermonters were not aware of the wide range of services available. This same issue was brought up at the recent Vermont Council on Rural Development summit on bridging community divides.

Over the past several months VSJF has partnered with the Vermont Small Business Development Center and the Vermont Department of Economic Development to create a web-based directory of community development and business assistance service providers. This directory contains information on community development and business assistance services offered by the public sector, including state agencies, educational institutions, and nonprofits. Links will also be listed for existing Vermont directories and compilations of private sector service providers(e.g., the Vermont Business Registry).

We believe that a broad economic development strategy that includes both technical assistance to businesses as well as working to continually improve Vermont's quality of life will assist in the retention and expansion of locally owned companies and the strengthening of our communities. The format of the directory reflects this belief. The business assistance component tracks stages of development while the community development side is arranged to provide information on a variety of topics such as developing the nonprofit sector, promoting smart growth, and encouraging affordable housing.

If your organization would like to be included in the directory, or if you haven't returned your survey, please contact scott@vsjf.org. The directory will be available on all three of the partner's websites in late September.

VSJF would like to welcome two new members to our Board of Directors: Charles Lief and Kiersten Bourgeois.

Charles Lief is co-founder of the Hartland Group, a Vermont-based company committed to creating stimulating neighborhoods in which to live and work through the development of high-quality, well-designed buildings in existing downtowns and emerging New Urbanist neighborhoods.

Prior to working at the Hartland Group, Mr. Lief was the first President of the Greyston Foundation in Yonkers, New York, a multi-service community development organization. Before joining Greyston, Mr. Lief served as a managing partner of a Colorado law firm; built, owned and operated an award-winning historic hotel and restaurant in Halifax, Nova Scotia and wrote a best-selling cookbook. He was also the Chief Operating Officer of Maritime Capital Management, a Halifax-based real estate development, property management and general contracting company.

Mr. Lief is involved in many Vermont organizations. He is the chair of the board of the Social Enterprise Alliance, the international association of nonprofits seeking greater sustainability through entrepreneurship. He is a member of the board and treasurer of the Intervale Foundation, engaged in community sustained agriculture, and of the Greyston Bakery and Greyston Foundation. He is a founding trustee of Naropa University in Boulder, Colorado having served since 1984. He has served as a member of the Vermont Council on Culture and Innovation and the CREDibility Initiative. Mr. Lief earned a JD from the University of Colorado School of Law and a BA in sociology from Brandeis University.

Kiersten Bourgeois is currently the Director of Business Retention and Expansion for the Vermont Department of Economic Development. Ms. Bourgeois leads the Expansion and Retention Team, and has worked with the State for over six years. Prior to this work, Ms. Bourgeois worked with an economic development group in South Carolina.

A native Vermonter, Ms. Bourgeois received her BA in English from Ithaca College, and is currently pursuing her Master's Degree in Public Administration at the University of Vermont.

• Renewable Energy: A Vision for Vermont

Renewable Energy Vermont hosts its fourth annual conference for those interested in Vermont's energy future. Through interactive presentations and discussions participants will examine our energy choices and discuss taking steps toward a more sustainable energy future.

Where: The Sheraton Hotel & Conference Center, Burlington

When: Wednesday, September 21, 2005. 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.

Click here to register or call (802) 655-7769.

• 5x5x5 Growth Awards: Celebrating the Success of Vermont Business

Vermont Business Magazine's 5x5x5 Growth Awards celebrate the achievements of the top five businesses throughout Vermont in five different categories over the last five years.

Where: The Sheraton Hotel & Conference Center, Burlington

When: Wednesday, September 28, 2005

Reservations are required to attend. Call (802) 660-4471.

• What Works! Rural Entrepreneurship & Community Development in the Northeast

The University of Vermont and The Northeast Regional Center for Rural Development are holding a conference on rural entrepreneurship and community development in the fall.

Where: Wyndham Hotel, Burlington

When: September 28-30, 2005

Click here to register or call (802) 223-2389 ext. 13

• Vermont College and University Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy Technology Seminar

The Vermont Campus Energy Group is holding a seminar on campus energy improvements. Registration is free.

Where: Vermont Technical College, Randolph

When: Wednesday, October 5, 2005. 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.

Click here for a complete agenda and to register online

• Action in Place: Promoting Community & Environmental Sustainability

Goddard College is holding a conference that brings together people who have engaged in community and place-based initiatives and those who want to examine such opportunities and issues.

Where: Goddard College, Plainfield

When: October 6-9, 2005

For more information click here

• Biofuels Workshop & Trade Show- Eastern Region

The Biofuels Workshop and Trade Show will provide information and expertise to target regional development of the ethanol and biodiesel industries.

Where: Hyatt Regency Atlanta, GA

When: October 10-12, 2005

Click here to register or call (719) 539-0300

• Vermont Businesses for Social Responsibility Fall Conference

Join members of Vermont's leading socially responsible business community to learn valuable tools and insights.

Where: Brattleboro

When: Wednesday, October 12, 2005

Visit VBSR for more details.

• The Nonprofit (3) (C)'s: Capacity, Community, Communication

This VANPO conference is built upon the realization that it takes all of us--in all economic and tax sectors, in all communities, and in all mission areas--to enhance Vermont nonprofit capacity to achieve desired results and communicate success.

Where: Capitol Plaza Hotel and Conference Center, Montpelier

When: Wednesday, October 26, 2005

Click here to register

• 2005 Greenbuild International Conference & Expo

The Greenbuild International Conference & Expo is presented annually by the U.S. Green Building Council, a nonprofit coalition of more than 5,500 private companies, nonprofits and governmental agencies working to transform the building industry.

Where: Georgia World Congress Center

When: November 9-11, 2005

Click here to register

email: info@vsjf.org

The VSJF Newsletter is written and edited by: Scott Sawyer, Greg Strong, Tiffany Mitzman, Doug Patterson, and Ed Delhagen

web: http://www.vsjf.org