Program needed for sustainable commerce in state

Cities and counties across Georgia are seeking new industries to bring new jobs into our state. Sustainable commerce — from renewable energy to low-carbon transportation to recyclable consumer products – is the fastest-growing sector of the global economy. Even in these difficult economic times, U.S. business and industry continue to invest billions of dollars each month to create new sustainable commerce products and services for the global marketplace.

Fortunately, Georgia’s state and county governments have been early leaders laying the foundation for sustainable commerce industry — and jobs — in all corners of our state. The Georgia Environmental Facilities Authority and the Georgia Research Alliance have set up public-private partnerships that are creating new sustainable commerce industries — from energy to life sciences — which pump billions of dollars into the Georgia economy.

Local governments across our state also are innovating sustainable commerce programs with big payoffs. By capturing greenhouse gasses from an inactive landfill, Catoosa County in northwest Georgia has created tradeable carbon credits to finance its landfill management program and provide potential revenues that can fund other public works projects for years to come – while improving the environment.

Georgia businesses also have been early leaders in new sustainable commerce investments in the South. The Range Fuels plant under construction in Soperton will be the first U.S. commercial facility to manufacture ethanol biofuels from agricultural and forestry wastes – not food. Range Fuels is part of the more than $2 billion of renewable energy-related projects that made Georgia an early leader in bio-energy. The new Suniva facility in Norcross makes Georgia first in the Southeast to have an operating solar cell manufacturer.

All across Georgia, a growing number of workers could be taking home a paycheck from sustainable commerce companies. With smart, targeted sustainable commerce investments, Georgia could reap tens of thousands of new blue- and white-collar jobs in each of the next two to four years. With unemployment more than 9 percent, ensuring Georgia makes those smart, targeted investments — and brings those thousands of ‘green jobs’ home — must be one of our highest priorities.

Without further action, however, Georgia’s sustainable commerce leadership in the South could be short-lived. Tennessee recently announced construction of not one but two new solar cell manufacturing plants representing more than $2 billion in immediate new investment and more than 1,000 jobs just north of our border.

Now is the time for Georgia business, industry and government to aggressively recruit sustainable commerce companies from around the globe to build manufacturing plants and business centers in our state. How do we do that? The 2008 Entertainment Industry Investment Act made Georgia a top-five state in financial competitiveness for entertainment projects. We can certainly make even greater investments in sustainable commerce than we’ve made for movies and CDs.

Adding solar power to the mix of utilities Georgia cities and counties supply to homeowners and small businesses would create an immediate and huge market for solar panel technology in Georgia. This simple change creates the best incentive we could give solar power companies to choose Georgia when they build new manufacturing plants. Virginia and Arizona are making this change this year — so should we. We also can use the great network of Department of Labor Career Centers to identify and train unemployed Georgians in our technical college system for sustainable commerce jobs in the solar, wind, biofuels and green manufacturing industries.

Georgia can regain the clear lead in sustainable commerce in the South and become a regional power for the U.S. sustainable commerce industry. To make that happen, Georgia business, government, colleges and universities must come together — this year — and implement an aggressive strategic program supported by the same leadership, resources and focus that have served our state so well in years past.

Peter A. Appel is associate professor at the UGA School of Law.

T. Rick Irvin is an adjunct professor in the UGA College of Pharmacy.