Building Tomorrow's Jobs forum gets experts, local leaders discussing ways to build businesses using fewer resources
Metro, in association with Westside Economic Alliance and Clackamas County Business Alliance, will host a forum featuring environmental business experts, development companies and local governments Tuesday, Feb. 1. The forum, Building Tomorrow's Jobs, offers an opportunity for local developers to learn how environmentally friendly practices can enhance their bottom line.
The event will include three sustainable business speakers and separate meetings to discuss environmental development opportunities at sites in Clackamas County, Wilsonville and Hillsboro.
Tuesday's speakers include Bert Gregory, Andrew Mangan and Tracy Casavant, all of whom are featured in Metro's Community Investment Toolkit, Volume 3: Eco-efficient Employment. The toolkit provides creative ideas for attracting new businesses and achieving greater economic and ecological efficiencies through development in existing employment areas, including high-performance infrastructure, twenty-first century design and revitalizing employment areas.
Bert Gregory is an expert in developing efficient communities and is a national leader in sustainable building. He is president and CEO of Seattle-based sustainable design firm, Mithun, which is currently working with Housing Authority of Clackamas County on the Clackamas Heights redevelopment project. Gregory will discuss how changing business needs have altered business design and locations.
Andrew Mangan is co-founder and executive director of the United States Business Council for Sustainable Development. Mangan will talk about enhancing businesses' triple bottom line through practices that create economic, environmental and social benefits. Mangan will also explain the Business Councils' work in reusing industrial by-products and how this program could be implemented in the Portland region.
Tracy Casavant is a leader in sustainable industrial and commercial development. Casavant will present on revitalizing industrial parks and how governments and businesses can collaborate to create sustainable businesses and communities. Casavant is president of Eco-Industrial Solutions Ltd. in Vancouver, BC.
Tuesday's forum will be held at the Wilsonville Holiday Inn in Wilsonville from 8 to 11 a.m. Separate meetings will follow after lunch. Advance registration is required.