Expert Q&As

Q&A: Steven Salsberg of the Salsberg Group Posted By Anne Pyburn Craig

To Steven Salsberg of the Salsberg Group, a self described "serial entrepreneur since the age of twelve" (he was a DJ), entrepreneurship is "social policy in action." The Salsberg Group brings together a wide range of enterprises- shipping, technology, event planning- but perhaps it could be said that Mr. Salsberg still loves to keep a party rocking. On January 23, the borough of Queens, NY will be dancing to Salsberg's tune- and we should all be grateful.

Are there special challenges inherent in trying to transition to a green economy in such a heavily urban area, the veritable epicenter of Northeastern metropolitan development? Are these challenges being met, and how?
Transitioning to and preparing for the emerging green economy presents significant challenges to small and large companies alike, in an urban center and elsewhere. Navigating the terrain of the “green” landscape is in itself overwhelming to many business owners. That is exactly why we have sought to create a forum focused on attainable, measurable, and sustainable business practices.

“Attainable-Measurable-Sustainable” ™ is not just nice sounding verbiage for our brand. Rather, it is a standard by which we will deliver information in this summit and its ongoing resources such as the dedicated website, purchasable USB keys and downloadable information, post-conference. Our standards for the information provided by vendors and speakers are that it be accessible, understandable, and available to small businesses. Speakers and service providers will identify the low hanging fruit of how companies can green their enterprise.

After identifying green practices, procurement and services, we and our sponsors and participants are also committed to identifying measurement tools and resources. A business should know how to measure the impact and environmental ROI of its choices. This summit deploys resources from Queens College, many of our sponsors, the Queens Chamber of Commerce, and others to maintain evolving information on a website for the coming years. By committing to an annual summit and sharing this information, we believe that the greening of the Queens business community via this effort will be sustainable in and of itself.

Many participants in this summit- from companies such as Waste Management, Con Edison, New York Times, National Grid, Green Depot and Farrell Fritz, to government entities including the Council on the Environment of New York City, the City Council, the Borough President, the Mayor’s Office, and the DEP- are meeting these challenges in diverse ways, which will be presented at the summit.

Are you expecting a robust and diverse turnout for this event? or, to put it another way, do the green folk equal or outnumber the sceptics and old-school folks these days? Is green hip in Queens?
As of today, we have over 50 exhibitors, all committed to providing their input on attainable, measurable and sustainable green practices. These are a diverse group of large and small companies, from a green roof company to major green supply chains to large trade associations. Based on current RSVP’s on our website, we expect several hundred attendees. These attendees have all taken the time to inquire about the event and register their interest and anticipated attendance. From what we have seen, most are from the Queens business community, which is so exciting to us and the Queens Chamber of Commerce.

As to skeptics vs. “green folk”, two facts are clear:

1. Green is in. Last June in our brochure, quoting Robert Kennedy Jr, we boldly declared that an emerging Green Economy will “likely be a manifesto of the next President”. I will be attending the Inauguration of President Elect Obama days before the summit, and am happy to say that we were apparently correct.



2. The demographics behind this major cultural shift are extremely compelling. The seventy nine million persons born between 1944 and 1964, known as the “Baby Boomers” because of their vast numbers, shaped the success of companies through their tastes and cultural inclinations. They were followed by a smaller “generation X” of around fifty eight million. But companies who want to succeed now need to answer to a new, much larger “Millennial generation,” “Generation Y,” one hundred million strong, dwarfing the baby boomers who for 50 years dictated economic success.

Ask these new consumers and constituents, likely to determine who succeeds or fails over the next 50 years, what is important to them and the environment is consistently at the top of their list. As our recent election just proved, whether you are a politician or a business, you had better speak to this group’s tastes and values in order to sell your product or sustain your company. I think businesses in Queens recognize this and that is why they will participate.

Thanks in large part to the leadership of Jack Friedman, President of the Queens Chamber of Commerce, Green is not just “hip” in Queens- the Queens business community is at the forefront of taking ownership of these efforts, and will set standards for going green.

What, from your perspective, are some of the more promising or exciting developments in sustainability in the metro New York area?
There are numerous exciting developments in the New York metropolitan community. The Summit will showcase some of these. Just look at our speakers and exhibitors and the diversity of sustainability efforts is amazing. Exhibitors include leaders in Green building, Green suppliers and services from cleaning to pet control, and large utilities and financial institutions sharing their green endeavors. Speakers include leaders in NYC’s recycling efforts, various institutions lowering the City’s carbon imprint in diverse ways, companies providing measuring resources, a company converting used restaurant oil to bio-diesel fuel , a large waste company presenting great things they are doing in the community, and many more.

We will also discuss affordable and easy ways businesses can participate in environmentally sensitive practices such as buying local. The Queens Chamber of Commerce has launched a “keep it in Queens” campaign that can have significant impact on the local green economy, and we will have local supply chain representatives as well as speakers from BALLE (Business Alliance for Local Living Economies) discussing ways this kind of paradigm has fostered green communities in other urban centers around the country.

In addition to affordable and easy ways companies can green their operations, there will be information relative to the costs of attaining green equipment and technology which can be significant. Generally there is savings in the long run, but there can be large costs up front. While a large waste company can afford to invest in a hybrid tractor which is more expensive then a regular tractor, knowing that it will save them money over 20 years, smaller companies may not be able to, knowing they won’t see those savings immediately. We are grateful that some of the sponsoring companies such as this one who have the funds and commitments to invest in green technology will tell their stories.

Smaller businesses and even struggling big businesses are going to need financial incentives to help green their businesses. This is a role that government can help play to stimulate a green economy with grants, tax incentives and other financial programs. The summit will present a forum for these issues and efforts. Numerous public leaders, including City Council Speaker Christine Quinn who will speak at our summit, have been supportive and are participating in an evolving conversation with local businesses about how government can nurture the emerging green economy.

What kind of fruit would you like to see this conference bear- what kind of a take-away do you think attendees will get? Networking, knowledge, fun, all of the above...?
All of the above! Queens businesses will network and have fun while gaining knowledge of attainable, measurable and sustainable ways business can be Green.