Angus Duncan, Bonneville Environmental Foundation

On the event of our fifth anniversary, Sustainable Industries decided to catch up with 10 subscribers who have been with us from the very first issue and get their perspective on how things have changed since 2002.

A testament to the magazine’s Northwest roots, 9 of the 10 are Portlanders, with a lone Seattle representative in the bunch. Like the rest of our readers, though, the early subscribers profiled in the following pages and online are leaders in a diverse range of industries from green building and law to food processing and investment.

The positive impact of public concerns about climate change, reflections on the growth of greenwashing and a conviction that sustainability will need to tackle social equity issues were common themes among many of the interviews. We hope these interviews provide a moment of reflection on where we’ve been and where we’re headed as part of the green business community.

Read more profiles and join the conversation by clicking here.

Duncan, who has served as President and CEO of the Bonneville Environmental Foundation since its formation in 1998, chaired the committees that wrote Oregon’s Climate Change Strategy and designed an Oregon load-based carbon emissions cap and trade mechanism, which is now being considered by Oregon Governor Ted Kulongoski (D).

“Climate has climbed on the charts as an issue that political figures need to take an issue on,” Duncan says. “It’s gone from fairly uncertain beginnings in 2003 to a major commitment.” He notes the fast-growing market for green buildings as a sign that the business community and consumers are responding to warnings about climate change.

“In 2003, the [U.S. Green Building Council] was still trying to get its feet, and now it is almost the default choice of a vast number of architecture and engineering firms,” he says. He notes Portland developer Gerding Edlen sets the example. “They find they can’t charge more than market rate for their green buildings, but they usually achieve much higher occupancy, which translates into more money.”

“Publications like Sustainable Industries have provided that pretty essential communications channel that links not just energy with energy, but energy with buildings,” Duncan says. “We’ve ended up doing work with Gerding Edlen that we might not have ended up doing had we not realized that they were in the same industry.”

Looking forward, Duncan says a government-sponsored market mechanism for carbon such as the one he helped put in front of Gov. Kulongoski puts a premium on low carbon energy, providing a necessary boost renewables in the marketplace. He says he expects solar energy to become competitive with conventional electricity sources within the next five year, another essential step in the continued growth of the renewable energy sector.