County Seeks to Lure Earth-Friendly Firms : There are wide-ranging efforts to attract business that are ecologically sound.
A friendly avalanche of information rolled in after last week’s Earthwatch, triggered, in part, by my suggestion that civic officials invite environmentally friendly businesses to move into Ventura County. Apparently, there is a lot more going on in green recruitment and investment than many of us suspected. To include as many timely items as possible, I’ve turned today’s column into one big Details box.
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* VITALITY SUMMIT: Last Friday, one day, coincidently, after I wrote that raiding parties be formed so Ventura County could capture green businesses, the 1994 Council On Economic Vitality Summit was held at the Westlake Hyatt. Apparently, they had the same idea I had. According to the man leading the effort, William McAleer, of Oxnard-based McAleer Financial: “In order to expand our economic base and create jobs, we have to make cleaner what we have and (attract) economically and environmentally acceptable firms.” At the summit, these sentiments were echoed by speakers including County Supervisor Maggie Erickson Kildee, former Congressman Bob Lagomarsino and Southern California Edison Chairman John Bryson, who arrived with a staff that demonstrated an electric bus. If you have ideas for this project call County Business Ombudsman Ruth Schepler at 654-2229.
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* ENTERPRISE CLUSTER: Meanwhile, the city of Thousand Oaks has been selected as one of three “regional incubators” by the California Environmental Protection Agency. According to Mayor Elois Zeanah, the city will be the site of an Environmental Business Enterprise Cluster “to promote entrepreneurial activity as well as reduce the risk associated with starting small businesses.” GTE, which owns the building at 214 Lombard St. where the cluster will be located, is offering cut-rate office space and support services for up to a score of start-up ventures. Those businesses involved must be working on environmental products, services and technologies. For space information and eco-business consultations call Steve Wright, 372-6514, or Karen Livesay, 529-4534.
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* THINKING GLOBALLY: Ventura County experts and others will speak on international market development for products made of recycled materials, among other topics, at the annual meeting of the California Resource Recovery Assn. beginning Monday. This three-day event at the Red Lion Resort in Santa Barbara should provide a terrific opportunity to check out the expanding job market in recycling industries. You can cruise the booths at the trade-show portion of the event for free, but attendance at the seminars is about $200 per day. Volunteer staff, however, gets seminar privileges free. For more information, call Grahame Watts, the city of Thousand Oaks’ recycling expert at 492-4876.
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* TAKING STOCK: The event couldn’t be more timely, because a futures market for recycled bulk materials such as glass scrap and shredded plastic has just this month been initiated by the Chicago Board of Trade, the world’s leading commodity futures exchange. If you’re tired of taking a flyer in pork bellies, why not look into glass cullet. Call Andrew Mayner (312) 435-7137 or your local stock broker. Or Hillary Clinton.
