Local push for sustainability looks for European ties
Posted on Friday, January 11, 2008
URL: http://www.nwanews.com/nwat/News/61072
The sustainability drive in Northwest Arkansas stands to get a boost from Sweden.
“ We see just unlimited opportunities, ” said Steve Vassallo, president of the Swedish American Chamber of Commerce South Central United States.
Vassallo said his group, which represents five states, is interested in being part of the drive to establish Northwest Arkansas as a green corridor and is ready to get to work.
“ We’re very optimistic of what we’ll be able to do with Northwest Arkansas this year and forward, ” he said.
Vassallo met with representatives from Northwest Arkansas on Tuesday in Little Rock to discuss ways the chamber could help the area capitalize on the synergistic relationships in the area. He said that while there is a growing interest in sustainable technologies, Sweden is “ light years ahead of us. ”
That is exactly where the chamber comes in, Vassallo said. He said there are several companies in Sweden that are looking to expand and that Northwest Arkansas — Fayetteville in particular — is a great fit.
“ The more you do globally enhances what you’re doing domestically, ” Vassallo said.
Fayetteville Mayor Dan Coody was among those who met with Vassallo.
Vassallo said his group applauds Coody for getting interested in sustainability, but it is now time for the city to incorporate that into its economic development strategy.
“ The more emphasis they put on it, the more we put on it, ” he said. “ We want this to be a high priority within their overall economic development plan. ”
Vassallo said his goal is for the city to develop its plan and get it to him in time for the chamber’s next board meeting, which is scheduled for Feb. 22. The board only meets three times a year, he said, and that meeting will be held in Oxford, Miss.
That sustainability is a priority for the University of Arkansas, city and Wal-Mart Stores Inc. creates real economic opportunities, Vassallo said.
“ We know this is the right way to go. We’re so happy that Arkansas, of our five states, sees this, ” he said. “ I’m sure the other four do, but Arkansas is ready to act. ”
Coody said the meeting this week was introductory and that the city is still in the process of determining how to proceed. He said that while he isn’t sure the city will have to offer incentives for the companies to locate to Fayetteville, it is not going to be passive.
The city will be joining the chamber and continue building the relationships with Vassallo and the rest of the organization, Coody said. First the city will continue learning about how the relationships will work, he said, then there will be action.
“ The next step is to continue finding out what we need to do next, ” he said.
Also involved in the meeting was Steve Rust, president and CEO of the Fayetteville Economic Development Council, who is now a member of the Swedish chamber board.
“ I believe there is an exceptionally strong potential, and I think shame on us if we don’t get our act together and don’t leverage the very unique opportunities we have in Northwest Arkansas, ” Rust said.
He said Coody will be spearheading the development of a strategy with the City Council, but the development council will be ready and willing to do everything it can to help. This is all part of creating a business and technology cluster around Fayetteville’s sustainability goals, Rust said, and will further advance the “ green valley concept. ”
While the council needs to develop an economic development plan, it won’t take “ some big study, ” Rust said. Many of these companies are “ off-the-shelf technologies, ” he said, and therefore may be ready to get started right away.
Rust said that while the development council is looking at potential land for building sites and office space for what likely would be company headquarters, there is a prime location being built by the UA at the Arkansas Research and Technology Park in south Fayetteville.
The area will also benefit from another new member to the Swedish chamber’s board, Dan Hendrix, president and CEO of the Arkansas World Trade Center.
“ We believe from a World Trade Center standpoint there is an opportunity for us to connect with Swedish businesses and hopefully attract organizations here to invest in Arkansas, particularly this region, ” Hendrix said.
Hendrix said there are many Swedish companies involved in green technologies and there are opportunities for them to invest in what’s going on in the sustainability arena in Fayetteville and Northwest Arkansas.
“ I think there are some great opportunities, ” he said. “ Like anything else, you have to get the exposure out there to the potential business partners. In this particular instance, we’re talking about global partners. ”
Hendrix said he plans to attend the chamber’s next board meeting and is interested in putting together a delegation to make a trip to Sweden later this year.
Other attendees at the meeting this week were Phil Stafford, president of the UA Technology Development Foundation; and Dan Sanker, co-founder of logistics company CaseStack, which transplanted to Fayetteville to participate in the sustainability movement.
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