The Outlook
January 2008

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W e l c o m e

We had a bit of a winter cold-snap this past week, and it seemed like the perfect time to stay inside, stay warm and do a little writing!  This month we offer a commentary on the debate over "buying local" and how easily useful concepts get dismissed. Our reports look at opportunities for urban tree utilization and a framework for how you can approach the challenge of greening your product line. Enjoy!

- Jeff   

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I n   T h i s   I s s u e:


C o m m e n t a r y:

Buying Local Versus Imported Food

Don't Throw the Baby Out With the Bath!

R e p o r t s:

Urban Tree Utilization and Why It Matters

Greening Your Product Line - Where to Start

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D o v e t a i l   C o m m e n t a r y

All commentaries are available online.

Buying Local Versus Imported Food

Don't Throw the Baby Out With the Bath!

Over the last few years it has been suggested by a wide range of organizations that there are significant social, economic, and environmental benefits gained by purchasing local food products. However, recently there has been a backlash against the “buy-local” approach. This raises the question of why people are so ready to throw out a complete environmental concept just because a specific detail is challenged?

To read the commentary, click here.

http://www.dovetailinc.org/DovetailComm0108.html

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D o v e t a i l   R e p o r t s

All reports are available online.

Urban Tree Utilization and Why It Matters
Dr. Steve Bratkovich
 

It's estimated that today there are nearly 4 billion urban trees in the U.S., with another 70 billion trees growing in metropolitan areas.   As urban land in the U.S. expands, so do the urban forests.   Urban land in the lower 48 states increased from 2.5% of total land area in 1990 to 3.1% in 2000, an area about the size of Vermont and New Hampshire combined.   Researchers from the U.S. Forest Service project that urban land in the coterminous U.S. will nearly triple in size to over 8% by 2050, an area larger than the state of Montana (Nowak 2005).  

Utilization of urban trees for wood and paper products is still in its infancy.   However, the idea is drawing more attention from researchers, community officials, arborists, tree care firms, and wood-using industries including bio-energy producers.

Questions that often arise when discussing the potential for urban tree utilization include:

•  How much wood is in our urban areas?

•  What are the major constraints to utilizing this wood?

•  Are there viable examples of urban tree utilization industries?

•  Can bio-energy play a role in urban tree utilization?

This report addresses these questions and concerns.

http://www.dovetailinc.org/reports/pdf/DovetailUrban0108ig.pdf

Greening Your Product Line - Where to Start
Dr. Jim Bowyer
 

In recent years, more and more companies have been getting on the green bandwagon. This trend is impacting the playing field and adding new dimensions to the competitive marketplace.   Do any of these scenarios sound familiar?

• A locally-based retail distributor of building materials, that has up to now maintained healthy sales in the face of stiff competition, is experiencing erosion of its customer base following the introduction of a new big-box product labeling program that identifies key products as ecologically sound.    The company needs to find a way to tap into consumer interest in environmentally responsible products in order to regain lost customers and attract new ones.

• A specialty products manufacturer announces a major program to reduce the environmental impacts of its operations, gaining preferential purchasing endorsements from large-volume purchasers.   As a competitor you are caught unprepared and now need to devise an effective marketing response.

• The board of directors of a company producing office paper products views imposition of a carbon tax as likely in the near future and directs company officers to develop a proactive plan for minimizing tax exposure.   The question now facing company officers is how to quantify carbon emissions, and how to identify where such emissions are occurring throughout the firms manufacturing and shipping operations.

• A new title – “environmental manager,” and a new set of responsibilities – “improve environmental performance“ are awarded to a production superintendent who, upon reflection,   realizes that he has no idea what to do next.

The learning curve to achieving improved environmental performance can be steep, and a strategy of waiting for competitors to act first can translate into significant delay.

This article provides a framework for assessing environmental performance and tackling the associated learning curve.

http://www.dovetailinc.org/reports/pdf/DovetailGreenProd0108sc.pdf

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