Confab: 'Time is now' to invest in green technologies

A packed house of business executives, entrepreneurs, and financial investors at a recent event at the Syracuse Technology Garden illustrated that green technology is hot.

"The time is now [for green technology investment]," said Nasir All, president of the Syracuse Technology Garden. "The attendance is a testament to the interest in the green field."

He wasn't alone in that assessment. Ali estimated that about 100 people attended the Upstate Venture Association of New York, Inc. (UVANY) forum at the Tech Garden Sept. 9. The event discussed the role of emerging green technologies - including indoor environmental quality, renewable energy, water quality/water resources, and green buildings/sustainable design - in future business growth in the region.

Rob Simpson, president-elect of the Metropolitan Development Association of Syracuse and Central New York (MDA), kicked off the event by noting the current popularity of green technology and Central New York's longtime plan for the field.

"Everyone on this planet is paying attention to green technology," he said. "Syracuse started to plan for this sector back two decades ago."

In order for green technology to develop and grow though, area organizations need to work together, he said. Simpson,also a leader of the "Green Team" coalition to position Central Upstate New York as a global leader in renewable energy and environmental technologies, outlined a six-step strategy for the region's economic development.

He said regulators, business leaders, academic institutions, and economic and work-force developers must collaborate.

"This is the second fastest growing market in the world, maybe behind health care," Simpson said.

The central upstate region has 419 companies, employing more than 10,000 people in four key energy and environmental systems sectors, according to a global market analysis study commissioned by the Green Team and conducted by the Battelle Memorial Institute.

"There are more jobs in the green technology sector than in any per capita," Simpson said.

Green businesses across the state could get a needed infusion. of investment in coming years.

The state's New York State Common Retirement Fund will increase investments to environmentally focused businesses by 5500 million over the next three years, Thomas P. DiNapoli, the state comptroller, announced in April. The Green Strategic Investment Program will include clean technology and renewable energy.

About $300 million of that has been deployed into early technology ideas, private equities, and real estate, said Brad Woolworth, investment officer with The New York State Common Retirement Fund and a panelist at the UVANY event.

People have been hesitant to invest because they cannot see past the initial cost of making their businesses more green, said Woolworth, who manages the Common Retirement Fund's in-state private equity investment program.

"Inflexibility is the problem," Woolworth said.

Not just looking at the same things year after year will allow your business to be more competitive, said another panelist, Charles Morgan, CEO of OP-TECH Environmental Services, Inc. The firm is a Syracuse based provider of environmental and industrial services such as remediation, asbestos and lead-paint abatement, hazardous-spill response, industrial cleaning, and hazardous-waste disposal. OP-TECH has been a subcontractor in the construction of the Syracuse Center of Excellence and the cleanup of Onondaga Lake.

The UVANY panelists agreed that higher up-front costs for energy-efficient solutions steer people away from investing in eco-friendly technologies. However, the short-term costs are minimal compared to the long-term advantages of utilizing green technologies.

"Consumers often don't look at whole life costs," said James Cunningham, president of New Water Technologies, Inc., based in Madison County, and another panelist at the UVANY forum. "The upfront cost might be higher for energy technology, but in the long run it's cheaper."

Green business leaders say that sustainable alternatives pay off in the long run.

"The assets you purchase today will be more two, three, four years down the line," said Kamyar Zadeh, vice president of technology transfer and development for ECO Technology Solutions, a Leesburg, Va.-based firm that develops renewable energy and energy-related technologies, including for several municipal customers in the Finger Lakes region. His firm is currently working on developing biofuels from algae.

Green technology not only allows businesses to cut costs and conserve resources, but also pleases consumers who are environmentally conscious, UVANY panelists said.

Thus, investors are taking more risks on new companies and initiatives, which may not have worked in the past, Woolworth said.

"There is an awakening in high technology," he said.

It is the right time to invest in green technology because energy costs need to be cut and emerging environmental alternatives can reduce them.

"We're in the perfect storm to [invest]," Woolworth said.

© 2008 Central New York Business Journal Provided by ProQuest LLC. All Rights Reserved.