Recommendations to the Hudson Valley Regional Economic Development Council
Prepared for submission by Sustainable Hudson Valley, October 13, 2011

As the Regional Economic Development Council prepares its five-year
strategic plan,   Sustainable Hudson Valley’s board offers seven
recommendations for  low-carbon, innovative, equitable and durable
development strategy that will grow economic opportunity while shrinking
carbon footprint.

1. No credible strategy for sustainable development can ignore the
base of resources that sustain it – energy, water, and food
systems.  These forms of natural capital are the source of the region’s
quality of life and attractiveness; they should be a cornerstone of the
plan.  The Hudson Valley already has an agricultural economic
development strategy and a cluster of entrepreneurs working to create a
“food corridor.”   Energy efficiency represents over $300 billion in
annual investment as well as the principal pathway for carbon reduction,
and it draws on the expertise of major corporations in the region such
as IBM and GE. Energy dollars saved by businesses are directly available
for payroll, making energy-efficiency an important engine of job
creation.  The sustainable management of water through technologies from
smart irrigation to rain gardens has also become an innovation
flashpoint for a number of regions, and should be for ours.  Sen.
Kirsten Gillibrand’s office estimates that investment in water
infrastructure statewide could create 26,000 jobs.  Advanced policies
that incentivize energy and water efficiency – including an expanded
Renewable Portfolio Standard and innovative tools like Community Choice
Aggregation – should be seriously considered.

2. A full-spectrum green economy is the foundation of sustainable
development.  Research by McKinsey and Company, on carbon-reducing
technologies, identified hundreds of existing specialty technologies
that are part of the picture.  In particular, recycling based industries
are high-leverage carbon-reducers that cut the fossil fuel demand of
waste hauling, reduce land-fill methane and preserve virgin
materials.  Research by the Sullivan County Partnership for Economic
Development in 2008 revealed that, of the many green building materials
and products that satisfy LEED requirements if they are produced within
500 miles of their use, only about a dozen were produced in the Hudson
Valley.  While embracing these clusters of opportunity, to capitalize
fully on the promise of environmentally advanced development, we must
also “think beyond the clusters” and set a high bar for environmental
performance and innovation in every industry.  Arguably the strongest
way to do this is to embrace “biomimicry” in design of all products, as
NYSERDA is already doing with a consortium of energy storage
producers.  This strategy allows for areas of specialization without
restricting additional new ideas during the 5 years of the plan.

3. Sustainable development is local-first development, with a serious
focus on providing for basic goods and services within or near the
region to avoid the substantial energy costs of shipping.  This does not
mean isolationism, but does set a priority on developing local assets.
Locally-owned businesses tend to support their local economies via
investment, purchasing and charitable giving for a desirable economic
multiplier effect.  While a disinvested region like the Hudson Valley
understandably seeks to attract some of its enterprises from outside,
support for local entrepreneurs should be strong.

4. A sustainable economy will only be possible when Hudson Valley
companies, investors and consumers have confidence in the soundness of
the underlying financial institutions.  A detailed proposal for redesign
of the banking and finance system to restore transparent,
decentralized, and soundly managed institutions was recently published
by the New Economics Working Group.  We hope that the Regional Council
will seriously review this document (see References).

5. A sustainable economy will measure prosperity in ways that are
meaningful to citizens, workers and voters, as well as factoring in the
protection of natural resources and the aggressive reduction of
greenhouse gas emissions.  The Hudson Valley’s Regional Well-Being
Index, an initiative of the Center for Regional Research, Education and
Outreach, created a set of metrics with thoughtful stakeholder inputs.
CRREO’s index could provide an intelligent guiding framework for
measuring progress achieved by the plan.

6. As Wayne Fawbush, founder of the Vermont Sustainable Jobs Fund and
a program officer at the Ford Foundation, observes, “Clusters are
nurtured, not engineered.”  The strategic advantage of cluster-based
economic development is the ability of businesses to collaborate and
advance shared interests, reducing reliance on economic development
professionals and stretching resources generally.    The Valley’s
strategic economic development plan should be written in a spirit of
adaptiveness, continuous learning and humility.   An innovation economy
is fast-moving by its nature. One of the best ways to design this
approach into the plan might be to select education itself as a
cornerstone industry cluster, recognizing the enormous contribution of
the over 50 institutions that are part of the Environmental Consortium
of Hudson Valley Colleges and Universities.

7. When vibrant economies are compared to similar but less vibrant
ones,  a subtle human dimension sets them apart.  “Social capital” takes
the form of rich networks, high trust, relationships of mutual support
and exchange,  and shared norms of doing business.  Successful
corporations know how to nurture this.  The business and economics
literature on social capital generally explains that it matters because
it reduces transaction costs and speeds up the spread of
innovations.   Our regional strategists should give this “soft” idea its
due in setting a high bar for integrity and leadership in the funding
of projects.  Putting people to work requires practical projects and
financing; but to produce high value and retain top talent, vision and
leadership are equally important.

References:

American Council for an Energy Efficient Economy and Alliance for
Water Efficiency (2011), “Addressing the Energy-Water Nexus: A Blueprint
for Action.”

Benyus, Janine (2002) Biomimicry:  Innovation Inspired by Nature.  NY: HarperCollins.

Cassidy, Robert (ed.) (2006), “Green Buildings and the Bottom Line,” White Paper from Building Design+Construction Magazine.
Cuppett, Scott and Russell Urban-Meade (2010), “Hudson Valley Water:
Challenges and Opportunities”.  New Paltz: Center for Regional Research,
Education and Outreach Discussion Brief.

Forester, Deborah (2006), “Green Landscaping Audiences, Outreach and Training Needs,”  Report for the Estuary Training Program.

Gareffi, Gary, Kristin Dubay and Marcy Lowe (2008), “Manufacturing
Climate Solutions” report, Center on Globalization, Governance and
Competitiveness at Duke University, December 2008.

Geiser, Kenneth (2001), Materials Matter: Toward a Sustainable Materials Policy. Cambridge: MIT Press.

Institute for Local Self-Reliance (2008), “Stop Trashing the Climate,” Washington, ILSR.

Laitner, John A. “Skip” and Vanessa McKinney, “Positive Return: State
Energy Efficiency Analysis Can Inform U.S. Energy Policy Assessments,”
American Council for an Energy-Efficient Economy Report # E084, June
2008.

McKinsey Global Institute (2008), “The Carbon Productivity Challenge:  Curbing Climate Change and Sustaining Economic Growth.”

New Economy Working Group (2011), “How to Liberate America from Wall Street Rule.” Downloaded at:

http://www.yesmagazine.org/blogs/david-korten/liberate-america

Perry, Don;  Shoshanna Abeles, Simon Gruber and Melissa Everett
(2008). Green Building Materials and Products Directory for the Hudson
Valley.  Liberty, NY: Sullivan County Partnership for Economic
Development.

Prusak, Laurence and Don Cohen (2001) In Good Company: How Social
Capital Makes Organizations Work.  Boston: Harvard Business School
Press.

River Network (2009), “The Carbon Footprint of Water.”

Shuman, Michael H (2007).  Small Mart Revolution:  How Mom and Pop
are Beating the   Global Competition.  San Francisco:  Barrett-Kohler.