By Mark Bashore, WKAR News
http://stream.publicbroadcasting.net/production/mp3/wkar/local-wkar-937329.mp3
LANSING, MI –
Some key Lansing-area economic developers are pinning their hopes on expanding the "green" or "bio" economy. That's when manufacturers use natural, organic materials like agricultural waste instead of petroleum. The non-profit economic development organization Prima Civitas has added to expectations, naming Tracey Maroney the new leader of the Greater Mid-Michigan Bio-Manufacturing Alliance.
As part of our on-going Reworking Michigan series, WKAR's Mark Bashore spoke with Maroney and first asked her about the current state of bio-manufacturing.
AUDIO:
TRACEY MARONEY: "Well, we have, of course, the state. (The) public sector is very supportive of the green economy, the bio-economy, but we also have private business at the table. We have Ford, Dow Chemical, Michigan Brewing Company, Quality Dairy, KTM Industries, Working Bugs .those are just some examples of the private industries that have already come to the table and said We are interested in moving forward (with) this bio-economy.' There are so many different things we can take from bio-based products, from the waste products that we throw away, and create into a sustainable product that we can use in our homes, in our cars, our industrial buildings, everywhere.
MARK BASHORE: Your steering committee met for the first time just last week, this was the day your appointment was announced in fact. What came out of that meeting?
MARONEY: Well what's interesting, when we first talked about who would come to the table, we talked about industries that are already creating a product. But when we looked around the region. the mid-Michigan region. we found we don't know who everyone---who all the players are. And number two, it's not just the producers right now. We need to invite the R&D, we want the supply chain entrepreneurs that are right on the edge of creating that next new green manufacturing product at the table to talk about what we can do to move this forward.
BASHORE: How do we know there's a promising future there? What evidence do we have that this is more than just a shorter-term trend?
MARONEY: There's been some research done recently. There's a report called Shades of Green' that was put out by Prima Civitas, by LEAP, by Capital Area Michigan Works here in the Lansing region, that says we have about 17-23% of our workforce touching the green economy in some way, presently. The green enterprise overall in the states is about $229 billion. With our advanced manufacturing knowledge here in the Lansing region, our engineering talent, our R&D at MSU, Lansing has all the makings of creating a bio-economy, the green manufacturing market in the Midwest.
BASHORE: How much potential job growth is there in the bio economy?
MARONEY: According to the Department of Energy, we believe that the growth in this sector should capture about 20% of the growth market in the next 10 years. The driving force for this growth is competition, global market competition. We need to have something to replace petroleum.
BASHORE: You alluded to the efforts other states are making in developing this and how important it is for Michigan to ramp up. Is there a race underway to develop this with more benefits going to those that cross the finish line first?
MARONEY: I don't know about a race. I think it's more about being on the cutting edge of technology and science with this green manufacturing. It's more about keeping our local talent here, especially the MSU grads that are coming out of our university, and using all our resources that we have here in abundance here in Michigan.
BASHORE: What do you think is going to be the hardest part about expanding the bio-economy in mid-Michigan?
MARONEY: I think the mindset of Michigan and what traditional manufacturing is and I think the other thing will be bringing people to the table. The bio-manufacturing or green manufacturing is still somewhat of a new concept. You know, there is a reality that Michigan has lost a lot of traditional manufacturing jobs and talent over the last ten years. And I think that's why people will come to the table, because the winds of change are here in Michigan right now and people say We want to know what those are and we want to be part of that.'
BASHORE: What forces will move these bio-economy initiatives forward?
MARONEY: Well, I think, you know, it's the old and the new. We have the older established organizations like Ford and Dow Chemical and then we have that underground movement, people who are using the social media, the Twitter, the Facebook, the Linked In, that they're talking about this in the Lansing region daily. They're excited about it, they're passionate, they're professionals. They're on the cutting edge of this bio-economy technology. They're the ones that are going to team up with the MSU R&D and say Hey, I got the next bright idea' and will start their own companies and move this forward. I mean, they're the ones that are going to, I think, push this green initiative along.
BASHORE: And tell us about your timeline moving forward. What do you want to have done by what time?
MARONEY: Sure. Within six months, I need to bring people to the table to collaborate. I want to develop some training programs, see what those training programs are needed in the companies. I'm not sure what those would be, whether it's QC quality control or whether it's project management or some bio-tech training. And then I need to promote the industry, so it's collaboration, training and promotion.
reWorking Michigan
For more on job creation and workforce evolution in Michigan, visit WKAR.org/reworkingmichigan