Florida Is Going Green In a Hurry

It’s as much about economic prosperity as it is about environmental stewardship and improving our overall quality of life. “It’s more than a fad,” says Tim Center, director of Sustainable Florida - Collins Center. “It’s a tremendous movement — one that includes small businesses, large scale organizations and governments.”

In fact, 74% of the top Florida CEOs surveyed by Florida Trend magazine last fall reported that their company, business or government agency has adopted one or more sustainability or “green” principles in recent years.

The rise of green issues, combined with emerging regulatory laws, has convinced Broad and Cassel — a top Florida law firm with eight offices throughout the state — to form a new “industry energy group” within the firm to specialize entirely on energy-related matters in a variety of legal arenas, including regulatory, transactional and litigation. Tampa Managing Partner Steven Burton will lead the newly formed industry group.

Why the push to be green? Credit goes, in part, to rising fuel prices, a desire to reduce U.S. dependency on foreign oil and a host of environmental concerns. Florida Gov. Charlie Crist’s climate change initiatives also have helped invigorate the movement. So, too, a growing consumer demand for green products, practices and services.

True, skepticism and a dash of green window-dressing are also at work. But such things are overshadowed by a growing consensus that everyone needs to change how they work, live and play. Though Floridians may disagree over what it means to go green, most would probably agree that the overriding goal is “sustainability” — that is, meeting the demands of the present without hurting the needs of the future.