Business leaders struggle with cost of environmentalism
Joplin Globe (MO)October 20, 2008
Members of the business community want to know more about how they can better use energy-efficiency strategies to improve their environmental stewardship but keep costs down.
They agreed on that sentiment during a policy-shaping forum Thursday at Pittsburg State University’s Tyler Research Center.
The forum was one of four sessions the Kansas Chamber of Commerce is staging across the state this month.
Amy Blankenbiller, president and chief executive of the state chamber, said the goal of the statewide tour is to gain input before she and her staff draft a position on energy policy to present to the Kansas Legislature when it opens its session in January.
“Energy is an emotional issue,” Blankenbiller said. “A lot of people want to do something, they really do, and I would like to offer up something to them that isn’t going to be part of another 6 to 8 percent tax on their business.”
The Lieberman-Warner Climate Security Act of 2007 is projected to reduce overall U.S. greenhouse gas emissions by up to 63 percent by 2050.
It also would increase electric rates in Kansas by a projected 153 percent by 2030, and gas prices by a projected 140 percent, according to the American Council for Capital Formation and the National Association of Manufacturing. And it could mean a decrease in the Kansas work force of up to 16,687 jobs by 2020, or 36,884 by 2030, those groups say.
As a former congressional liaison for the Environmental Protection Agency, Blankenbiller has said in the past that environmental issues from a business perspective “isn’t always a natural fit.”
A prime example: The Kansas Department of Health and Environment last year became the first governmental agency to cite carbon dioxide emissions as the reason for denying an air permit for a proposed coal-fired power plant at Holcomb in southwestern Kansas.
It’s been at the center of a dispute among Kansas legislators and other government officials, as well as business owners seeking economic development.
Steve Sloan, president and chief executive of Midwest Minerals Inc., of Pittsburg, said those who want to invest in short-term energy solutions for Kansas, such as the Holcomb power plant, ought to be allowed to do so. He said such development has a direct connection to the state’s economic development.
“It’s troubling that we don’t want the biggest economic development project in the history of the state,” Sloan said.
State Rep. Julie Menghini, D-Pittsburg, replied, “So does the state not have a duty to protect its citizens from pollution?”
“As a business owner, I encourage you to use sound economic principle and understand what regulations and mandates mean to businesses, and as you implement them, use sound science to make sure it backs up what we’re talking about,” Sloan said.
The Kansas chamber’s position is that KDHE’s decision to deny the increased electric power capacity associated with the coal-fired project has created “widespread uncertainty within the business community” about the state’s regulatory requirements across the board. The chamber contends that such action could dissuade businesses from locating in Kansas.
Environmental issues are important to many businesses already in Kansas, researchers have found.
“We conducted a poll of CEOs this year at 300 Kansas businesses and asked them what’s most important,” said Kent Eckles, with the Kansas Chamber of Commerce. “When we didn’t include energy as a choice on the list, they said lowering taxes. When we did include energy on the list, it became the most important issue, with 42 percent saying reducing fuel and energy costs was most important.”
The rub lies in the double-edged sword posed by available energy conservation choices vs. the cost of those choices, most business leaders agreed.
But Robert Wood, who attended the meeting on behalf of Robin Wood, DDS & Associates, of Pittsburg, said energy efficiency and business efficiency can be achieved simultaneously — a feat he and his wife have achieved by going paperless.
“I think we as a state should pick some low-hanging fruit,” he said. “There are simple things consumers and business owners can do now that will make a difference. It just takes an awareness. I suggest we bring businesses together to share that information.”
The Woods use new software and computers developed for the medical industry that are portable, fully sterilizable and almost military-grade durable. They run on very little energy and eliminate the need for large, energy-consuming desktop systems.
“Best of all, this allows the patient to input electronic signatures, or the staff to generate electronic prescriptions, right from the chair,” Wood said. “No shredding of papers is needed, no disposal, and we don’t have to leave the treatment room to get documents. This is an example of energy efficiency actually allowing us to be more efficient and spend more quality time with our patients.”
Blankenbiller said most business owners are unaware of state assistance that’s available when it comes to energy conservation.
“There are hundreds of thousands of dollars in funds in the state budget that is untapped,” she said. “Kansas has one of the most aggressive tax credits for high energy efficiency equipment, and a lot of people don’t know that.”
Blake Benson, president of the Pittsburg Area Chamber of Commerce, agreed.
“A person from a local manufacturing business didn’t know until after he’d changed out all his light bulbs that the USDA would have helped cover 20 to 25 percent of his costs,” he said.
Jonathan Davis, chief executive of Mount Carmel Regional Medical Center, readily admitted that he and most other business leaders lack the knowledge to put forth official positions. “But what we could do is educate our business and community about what’s available to us and how to utilize that,” he said.