The Green Advantage

Friday, September 5, 2008
The green advantage

Firm plans to help businesses see the benefit of going green

South Florida Business Journal



Running 10 Subway stores in Palm Beach County gives franchise owner Stu Hymson a big electric bill each month.

And it got much bigger recently - averaging $300 a month higher than last year. That's an additional $3,000 a month in a budget also hit by higher food prices.

"We have refrigerators on 24/7," Hymson said. "We can't keep passing the price to the customer because they won't come."

So, when the folks at Boca Raton-based startup consulting company Carbon Solutions America came knocking, Hymson was ready. The company plans to help other businesses reduce expenses and capture emerging benefits of going green, which can include selling carbon credits on emerging markets. The company also markets its waste reduction and sustainability plans.

Led by partners Nick Loeb and Alex Hernandez, the company's science expertise comes from Heike Lueger, its chief environmental scientist and oceanographer who formerly worked for the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA).

Because of global warming, reducing carbon has become a goal for governments and businesses worldwide, although with varying intensity. The U.S. has been more reluctant to embrace a carbon cap and trade program such as Europe has. The price of a carbon credit in the U.S. is $4, whereas markets in Europe pay up to $26 a credit.

The basic premise is if you are making drastic reductions in your carbon footprint, or pollution impact, you can calculate the reduction, have it verified and sell it on the carbon offset market. Companies that want to increase their emissions must buy credits from those who pollute less.

Like many in the U.S. energy and environmental fields, Loeb and Hernandez expect the next president will bring carbon trading to the U.S.

"Companies can take advantage of the carbon market already in the U.S., but the opportunities will only increase as the next administration comes in," said Loeb, who used to work as a private banker with Lehman Bros.

The company works with Miami attorney Michael Wallander, a member of Greenberg Traurig's Climate Change, Green Building and Sustainable Development and Carbon Credits groups.

Carbon Solutions is registered with the World Bank Carbon Finance Unit, is a founding reporter of the Climate Registry and partner with the Florida Center for Environmental Studies.

As of yet, there are no Florida markets for carbon credits, but it is possible to buy or sell carbon credits from other exchanges, like the Chicago Climate Exchange. The Florida Farm Bureau Federation and AgraGate Climate Credits Corp. agreed this spring to partner in providing carbon credits services to farmers, ranchers and private forest owners.

Gov. Charlie Crist directed state agencies in July to develop a cap and trade system for selling carbon credits, similar to the Northeast States' Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative.

Lueger is taking on Subway as an early example for the company. She hopes to show Hymson how to track and reduce energy usage and other carbon generating activities.

The goal is to set a carbon baseline, then examine ways to reduce it. Carbon Solutions clients will still need a third-party verifier if they want to pursue carbon credits.

"All we can do is take the client to the point where they have good records and a way to proceed," Lueger said.

Hernandez said Carbon Solutions could assess a standard carbon footprint for a small company with 40 employees and some industrial processes for $20,000 to $30,000. The process would not include carbon offset planning, but would include plans for carbon reduction and sustainability that would result in long-term savings.

Company travel can have a big impact on a company's carbon footprint, because of the fossil fuel usually involved.

Hymson is working with Carbon Solutions as an introductory client only. He said he's still skeptical.

"Honestly, I've heard this so many times, I don't believe any of it, about saving me money," he said. "I say, 'show me, don't tell me.'"

THE CHALLENGES:

• Carving a niche in a new market.
• Reducing costs and energy.
• Navigating a regulated industry.

• Have expert legal advice.
• Catalog your energy use.
• Maximize opportunities to capture revenue.

• Partners: Alex Hernandez and Nick Loeb
• Web site: www.carbonsolutionsamerica.com
• Address: 2255 Glades Road, Suite 234W, Boca Raton 33431
• Phone: (561) 953-8960