Main Street Journal: The Green Blog: University of Memphis’ Fedex Institute of Technology Conference

This is an occasional series from the Main Street Journal on green issues and events of interest.

Writer Jonathan Devin attended the University of Memphis’ Fedex Institute of Technology’s Transportation in Transformation conference this week. Here are his thoughts:

April 22, 2009: “Dr. Katrina Savitskie, a professor at Arkansas State University and an attendee at The Foundation for Global Mobility’s April conference “Transportation in Transformation,” nailed it on the head when she told me that right now, businesses “go green for PR, but when does it make sense fiscally to do it?”

The 3-day conference at the University of Memphis’ Fedex Institute of Technology wraps up today with workshops on various aspects of business and political initiatives involving energy, transportation, and environmental outcomes. Fedex CEO Fred Smith gave the keynote address on Monday.

Being a business writer primarily, I can tell you that every business in Shelby County has found a way to promote itself as a green business within the last eight to ten months. The more genuine ones have restructured their business models and product lines. The less genuine are relying on the use of fluorescent light bulbs to hop on the green bandwagon, hoping green dollars will follow. Green has become the uber-buzzword.

So it was refreshing to witness a large discussion of entrepreneurs trying to make this green revolution work for their businesses. The current economic climate served as an undertone to the entire conversation and it became apparent that leaders in the market believe that going green is key to getting out of the hole.

Sure, there was plenty of banner-waving. To listen to Mayor AC Wharton, Shelby County is and always has been on the cutting edge of environmental responsibility even as city engineers discuss turning the Overton Park greensward into a storm water drainage basin. He took credit for everything from the Mid-South Peace and Justice Center’s GrowMemphis project to Edible Memphis Magazine.

All that aside, though, one could easily find hope in the conference’s overall presumption that change will make the United States whole again. No single, clear direction came out of it, but the fact that business leaders are talking is a giant step towards moving beyond PR to concrete solutions.

What an interesting time the next few years will be.”

Close Bookmark and Share This Page

Save to Browser Favorites / Bookmarks