More than 100 people representing nearly 70 organizations convened in Baltimore’s historic Engineers Club on Oct. 26 to trade information, share stories and learn from each others success and failures in the nascent green economy.

The day-long event hosted by Terrachord, a green event planning and management company, marked the second annual Mid-Atlantic Business to Business Green Forum in which sustainability and profitability went hand in hand.

Though many in attendance came from established businesses or government agencies, the emphasis was clearly on expanding the market and opening up more opportunities to work in new sectors by changing old habits.

Strategic design consultants like Gensler noted that introducing large corporations to sustainability is often a step-wise process. In their 5-year relationship with Baltimore-based investment firm T. Rowe Price, they’ve slowly progressed from incorporating basic green building elements like daylighting to achieving full LEED certification for new construction and adopting workplace sustainability initiatives.

Green building was a hot topic throughout the day and hit a fever pitch with Stuart Kaplow, attorney and real estate principal. To dispel the myths that green building is more expensive, he extensively cited recent studies that paint a very different picture.

According to both private and academic reports, Kaplow said, there is no statistical difference in the construction cost of a LEED-certified building. On the contrary, rental rates are 6% higher, sale prices are 16% higher, and overall occupancy rates are higher for the more energy efficient buildings.

Like many others, Kaplow was not always a sustainability advocate. In fact, he admitted being a global warming skeptic until he began mountaineering. On a trek to the top of Kilamanjaro, Africa’s highest peak, he witnessed first-hand a glacier that had receded some 800 feet. Kaplow later went on to summit several of the world’s other highest peaks where the impacts of climate change were equally visible.

There was little high-minded debate, however, about the merits of environmentalism and much more discussion of the practical dollars and cents that can make sustainability work for businesses. From innovative technologies to the more mundane management practices, businesspeople of all stripes are finding green solutions to help meet their bottom line.

In the transportation world, for example, the imagination is easily captured by the allure of plug-in eletric vehicles and hydrogen fuel cell batteries, but sexy “home run” technologies aren’t the only game in town. As Karen Healey, a GreenFleet manager for PHH Arval, pointed out, it may be equally important to choose an appropriately sized vehicle with best-in-class fuel economy.

It’s also not just about what vehicle you drive, but how you drive it. That’s why PHH educates drivers about eco-driving techniques (like driving the speed limit and keeping tires properly inflated) and offers technologies that ensure proper routing to limit the number of miles driven and avoid idling time on heavily congested roads. In the first year of the GreenFleet program, clients reduced their greenhouse gas output by 14% and saved 7% on lifecycle costs, Healey said.

Representatives from all levels of government took part, from Baltimore County’s Director of Sustainability to the U.S. EPA’s Pollution Prevention Manager, describing how their efforts were creating new opportunities to go green and implement sustainable business strategies.

Sarah Zaleski, sustainability coordinator for the City of Baltimore, detailed a 9-month pilot project called the Neighborhood Energy Challenge that is providing workforce training and energy-saving services to eight different city neighborhoods in partnership with local nonprofit organizations. The program’s residential “Energy $avers” kit, along with some helpful education and coaching from volunteers, will help households reduce their energy use and lower their utility bills.

Andrew Kreider with U.S. EPA Region 3 in Philadelphia has been developing a tool called Portfolio Manager as part of the EnergyStar program that allows building owners to find out how their properties are performing. By entering basic utility bill data and information about the physical characteristics of the space, an owner can find out how much energy their building uses compared to others of similar size and type.

With Portfolio Manager, companies can track and manage energy use in all their buildings. Those in the top quartile for energy efficiency are eligible for the EPA’s EnergyStar award and are given special recognition for  meeting the highest performance standards.

Businesses like McCormick spice company testified to the importance of taking a comprehensive look at energy use from buildings and manufacturing. Jeff Blankman, McCorkmick’s solar and energy efficiency expert, has been able to reduce the plant’s energy use per unit produced by nearly a third via retrofits, efficiency improvements, and the use of renewable solar energy.

In other areas, government incentives have helped jump-start industries that have struggled with higher upfront investment costs. GroSolar, for example, is now the fourth largest solar installer in the nation and has benefitted greatly from state, regional and federal grants and credits that make solar power more affordable.

Scott Sharpe, an outside sales rep for GroSolar, said such incentives have brought the cost of installation way down. A typical 20-kW photovoltaic array for a small commercial operation will pay for itself in less than 7 years and produce nearly $10,000 worth of free energy each year after that.

A few entrepreneurs describing themselves as “capitalists” said green businesses should have to stand on their own two feet. Denouncing government incentives programs and tax breaks, Joe Loveless of Clear Stake, LLC, a financial management consultant, said the market alone should drive sustainability decisions. Ultimately, business owners have to face immediate decisions that affect their employees and can’t always afford to think about the environment, he said.

Marty Metro, founder and CEO of UsedCardboardBoxes.com, said his start-up was able to out-perform the competition without any help from Uncle Sam. Simply by capturing a huge supply of a “throw-away” product that still had useful life, Metro has turned a tremendous profit by selling high-quality, used cardboard boxes to major product manufacturers and distributors. His secret was using software technology to match supply and demand, then bundling and shipping the material in a highly cost-effective manner.

With cardboard boxes, recycling should be the last option, Metro said. More often than not, recycled boxes get baled and shipped to China where they are used to make more boxes to ship goods back to the U.S., creating even more transportation emissions. His insight was to see the financial opportunity in extending the useful life of the millions of boxes that would otherwise be thrown (or shipped) away.

E-structors has also taken advantage of a growing market for a disposable product: electronic waste. Concerns for both the environment and data security have driven the industry to look beyond sending computers to the landfill and, instead, deconstructing and salvaging as many parts as possible.

Mike Caulfield, vice president of sales at E-Structors, said they expanded their facilities in 2008 from 18,000 sq. ft. to 96,000 sq. ft. but reached their new capacity in just three months. Demand will only continue to increase as municipalities like Baltimore consider prohibiting e-waste from residential curbside pickup, showing how regulation can create new market opportunities.

The Green Forum is a prelude to a larger, one-day conference that Terrachord is convening in March 2010. With early signs of economic recovery beginning to show, they see the next six months to one year as a critical time to get businesses back on track and saving money by going green.  The October and March events will help lay that groundwork and connect businesses that have thrived by making sustainability a top priority.

Credit: John Motsinger, B2B Reporter