Innovative Firms Gain Widening Profit Advantage By Going Sustainable

Newswise

The profitability gap between companies that compete on the basis of innovative products or processes and firms that compete with a low-price advantage has more than doubled over the past three years, a new survey of Georgia manufacturers has found.

The 2008 Georgia Manufacturing Survey also found that Georgia companies are making significant progress in adopting sustainable techniques – another form of innovation – though they tend to focus on short-term cost reduction rather than long-term profitability and growth.

Results of the survey, done periodically to assess the business and technological condition of Georgia’s manufacturing community, were released this week by the Enterprise Innovation Institute and the School of Public Policy at the Georgia Institute of Technology. The results are based on responses from 738 companies with more than 10 employees.

“Innovation remains as important as ever,” said Philip Shapira, a professor in Georgia Tech’s School of Public Policy and one of the study’s co-authors. “Those Georgia companies that innovate receive rewards for doing so. But a significant number of companies still have not adopted innovation as a leading strategy.”

The survey showed that companies competing on the basis of innovation had a three-year average return on sales of 14.5 percent – nearly twice the 7.6 percent average for companies competing with low prices. In the 2005 Georgia Manufacturing Survey, companies relying on innovation saw an average return on sales of 6.3 percent, compared to about 3.6 percent for the low-cost competitors. The gap between the rewards for these two competitive strategies nearly doubled during the 2005 to 2008 period.

Slightly less than 20 percent of Georgia manufacturers compete based on price, compared to fewer than 10 percent that use innovation as the competitive edge, the study found. Half of Georgia manufacturers report gaining a competitive edge from quality products or services. Other strategies include quick delivery, adding value and adapting to customer needs.

Wage rates are also associated with competitive strategy. Innovative companies pay an average of nearly $42,000 annually per employee, compared to a range of $33,000 to $37,000 for other firms.

The survey studied innovation in products, processes, organizational structures and marketing. About 70 percent of the manufacturers responding to the survey report that they had introduced a new or technologically improved product or process in 2008.

Support for the study came from the Georgia Manufacturing Extension Partnership at Georgia Tech, the Center for Paper Business and Industry Services, the Georgia Department of Labor, the QuickStart Program of the Technical College System of Georgia, and Habif, Arogeti and Wynne, LLP. Beyond Shapira and Youtie, authors included Luciano Kay, Ashley Rivera, Bryan Lynch and Andrea Fernandez Ribas.

For more details about the Georgia Manufacturing Survey and to download the 2008 report, please visit (http://www.cherry.gatech.edu/survey).

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Some say water woes now in God’s hands; 300 days of water use left in Hartwell Lake

 

Vince Jackson |  Independent-Mail

CLEMSON — Anyone who drives over Hartwell Lake knows that the water level is going down, not coming back up.

Experts say if meaningful rainfall does not occur soon, the lake level could fall below the only functioning intake for the Anderson water district by as early as next fall.

According to the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, the current lake level is 639.58 above mean sea level. This is lower than the previous record low of 642.4 feet set during the drought of 1981. By comparison, historic winter lake levels average roughly 657 feet, 15 feet higher than the current level, according to Corps records.

If sufficient rainfall does not occur soon, Hartwell Lake could drop to 634 feet by January 1, 2009, according to Corps projections.

Steve Wilson, manager of the Anderson Regional Joint Water System, said water cannot be taken from Hartwell Lake through the only remaining submerged intake pipe for the water system if water levels recede to 620 feet. At the current rate of water usage, that low level would occur late next summer or early fall, Wilson said.

“I would estimate that we have maybe 300 days of available water left in the lake. No one knows for sure,” Wilson said. “Conservation methods have been successful and have increased the life of the existing water supply, but more needs to be done to insure the continued supply of clean, useable water from the lake.”

City officials in the towns of Central, Clemson and Pendleton said their citizens are conserving water and meeting the 20 percent reduction levels required by drought management regulations. The question now is whether that is sufficient conservation.

Currently, the Corps releases 3,600 cubic feet of water per second to supply electrical generation needs and keep federally mandated flows moving downstream, according to the Corps Web site. Reductions in this amount have been discussed and suggested by the South Carolina Department of Health and Environmental Control and the Georgia Environmental Protection Division along with various water resource and conservation groups in the area.

Virgil Hobbs, Hartwell Project Operations Manager, said the Corps is working on an environmental assessment that could cut releases to 3,100 cubic feet per second by Nov. 22. This could mean that approximately 323 million more gallons per day would be retained in the lake through the release reduction, Hobbs said.

“Both Georgia and South Carolina state environmental protection departments have recommended reduction in flow releases to the 3,100 cfs rate for this winter,” Hobbs said. “They are both fully aware of the water crisis situation at Hartwell Lake.

“When people notice the generators running at the dam they think that we are only releasing water to provide saleable electricity. Actually, we are currently purchasing power from other generating sources for use in the area we serve. Over the past year that amounts to about $60 million in off-system power purchases. We continue to generate some power during water releases, but that is because it is the most efficient manner to discharge the water.”

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Perdue recommends Chris Clark for DNR Commissioner

 

The Thomaston Times

Governor Sonny Perdue announced that Chris Clark, Executive Director of the Georgia Environmental Facilities Authority (GEFA), is his recommended choice to succeed Noel Holcomb as Commissioner of DNR when Holcomb retires in April 2009. Commissioner Holcomb announced to the Board of Natural Resources his retirement plans at the September meeting of the DNR Board.

“Chris has demonstrated his talent and commitment to Georgia’s citizens during his tenure as Deputy Commissioner of the Department of Economic Development and as Executive Director of GEFA,” said Governor Perdue.

“I appreciate Commissioner Holcomb’s long service to this state, and I am confident Chris will continue the Department’s legacy of being a champion of preserving our most precious resources.”

Under the Georgia Constitution, the DNR Board appoints both the Commissioner and the Director of the Environmental Protection Division.

By making his recommendation to the Board now, Governor Perdue hopes to set the stage for a smooth transition given the state’s current budget challenges and the complexity of the programs and issues statutorily assigned to DNR and the Environmental Protection Division.

“While Commissioner Holcomb will continue to serve as DNR Commissioner until his effective retirement date, I expect Chris, Noel and Dr. Carol Couch will work closely together as DNR and EPD continue to manage our response to the ongoing drought, implement the Statewide Water Plan, find appropriate spending reductions and protect and preserve our state’s natural resources,” Governor Perdue said.

This will be the first time in the history of DNR that the department’s commissioner was not promoted from within the organization.

As Executive Director of GEFA, Clark has led a number of important initiatives since being appointed to that position in 2007. GEFA serves as the state environmental bank by providing financing for water and sewer infrastructure projects and is home to the State Energy Office. During his tenure, he served on the State Water Council and helped launch a new Water Supply Division at GEFA to assist communities with reservoirs development. Clark also led the creation of the Governor’s Energy Challenge which seeks to reduce energy use by state government by 15 percent, as well as the Conserve Georgia initiative which is the state’s conservation clearing house (www.conservegeorgia.org). He also launched Georgia’s Energy Innovation Center that works to bring alternative energy projects to the state.

Additionally, he is Governor Perdue’s proxy on the Southern Growth Policy Board and represents Georgia as a commissioner on the Southeast Commission for Low-Level Radioactive Waste.

Prior to his appointment at GEFA, Clark served for four years as Deputy Commissioner of Global Commerce at the Georgia Department of Economic Development. Among his highlights at GDEcD was the recruitment of a new Kia Motors manufacturing plant to West Point, Georgia.

Clark is a native of Fitzgerald, earning a bachelor’s degree from Georgia Southern University, and a master’s degree in public administration from Georgia College and State University. Clark resides near Peachtree City in Fayette County with his wife Tiffany and son Christian.

Sewer overflow tunnel a milestone for Atlanta

 

By STACY SHELTON | The Atlanta Journal-Constitution

Monday night, the city of Atlanta celebrates a victory over out-of-control sewage. After three years of digging and pouring concrete, construction crews have completed a deep sewer tunnel that can carry and store up to 177 million gallons of rain and sewage — enough to fill the Georgia Aquarium 21 times. The tunnel gives the city’s combined sewage overflow facilities time to fully treat the mixture of household waste and street wash before sending it back to the Chattahoochee River.

Before the West Area Combined Sewer Overflow Tunnel, the system was often overwhelmed when it rained. Storm water swelled the pipes, which already carried sewage, forcing shortcuts that sent undertreated sewage into the rivers and streams.

The $190 million tunnel has been the most controversial piece of the city’s $4 billion overhaul of its water and sewer system. Opponents wanted Atlanta to modernize its combined sewers by separating sewer pipes from storm drains, as most of the city’s pipes are. Only about 10 percent of Atlanta remains hooked to combined sewers, in the central city.

Officials opted for the tunnel because it could be done quicker and with less disruption. The city estimates the tunnel should reduce the number of spills from the combined system from about 300 a year down to 16, when it rains the most. The tunnel, in two sections, runs about 200 feet below the surface, from northwest Atlanta, through Georgia Tech, to southwest Atlanta. The other section runs under the Downtown Connector and over to Piedmont Park in Midtown.

Atlanta is working to update its sewer-only system by 2014.

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