Businesses to be recognized for successful waste reduction strategies
This year's East Bay EDA Fall Membership Meeting and StopWaste Partnership Business Efficiency Awards will feature a
stimulating discussion of key sustainable business practices that ensure the future of businesses and lead to wise investments
by shareholders.
The program, “Investing in Sustainability: Ensuring the Future of Business,”
will feature a conversation between David Douglas, Vice President of Eco-Responsibility for Sun Microsystems and Kirsten
Ritchie, Director of Sustainable Design for Gensler. The StopWaste Patnership’s Business Efficiency Awards for 2007 will also
be presented to honor companies who are taking innovative steps to implement many of these practices, serving as models
for other businesses and making the Bay Area a better place to live and work. East Bay EDA, in partnership with United Way
of the Bay Area, will also launch its East Bay Indicators 2007 report, which will trace the economic factors affecting businesses
locally and nationally. Please join us for this inspiring and informative event. Key sponsors for this event are the StopWaste
Partnership and Wells Fargo.
This annual event draws a capacity crowd so register soon to assure your spot at the table. Visit the East Bay EDA Events page to register.
There is no charge to attend this event; a complimentary breakfast is included.
For more information, call Mary Ortendahl at (510) 272-3889.
East Bay EDA to facilitate round table discussions around East Bay business
Many economists feel that regions, not nations, are now the basic unit for understanding global competitiveness, and that the hallmark of most successful regions is effective communication among government, business and major institutions such as higher education. For this reason East Bay EDA was honored and enthusiastic when California State University East Bay President, and East Bay EDA Executive Committee member, Mo Qayoumi, recently asked us to help generate business input for the University’s latest master plan.
CSU East Bay is a particularly important regional institution as a large majority of its students come from the Bay Area and upon graduation, 85% of alumni choose to live and start their careers in the Bay Area. In addition, the university attracts a diverse student body which is representative of the East Bay and Bay Area as a whole.
Over the next few weeks East Bay EDA will be seeking a limited number of leading CEOs in our region to participate in a series of private roundtable discussions with President Qayoumi. Roundtable participants will include representatives from sectors such as manufacturing, business and finance, healthcare and local government and the focus of discussions will be to explore ways to reinforce the virtuous cycle that leads to both improved educational opportunities and increased business success.
Participation is by invitation only, but if you are a top level executive willing to share your knowledge about industry trends and would like to explore mutual interests with President Qayoumi, please contact Bob Sakai at (510) 272-3881.
Presentation to Executive Committee highlighted issues and successes
The Cities of Antioch,
Brentwood, Oakley, Pittsburg and Contra Costa County’s unincorporated Bay Point area met
with members of the East Bay EDA Executive Committee to discuss their respective community’s economic priorities and
development plans. The exchange was extremely informational, highlighting the many exciting developments
underway in East Contra Costa County.
One exciting development was the news shared by Linda Maurer, Economic Development Manager for the City of Brentwood. Brentwood will soon be introducing the "Brentwood Grown" program in an effort to promote agricultural products grown in Brentwood. The
purpose of the Brentwood Grown program is to create greater value for the many fruit and vegetable products grown at boutique
farms in Brentwood such as Frog Hollow Farm, which sells its "legendary" fruit from a stall at the upscale Farmer's Market at
the San Francisco Ferry Building.
At a future meeting the Executive Committee plans to set aside time
to hear from other regions, culminating in an East Bay Economic Development Summit.
New Inc. magazine list includes fastest growing East Bay companies
Those interested in the leading edge of our local economy’s commercial success will be interested to note that this year, Inc. magazine has chosen to expand their traditional “Inc. 500” list by a factor of ten to include the 5,000 fastest-growing (highest total revenue growth from 2003 through 2006) privately held companies. Of the new Inc. 5000 list, the top 500 companies, considered to be the fastest of the fast, are referred to as “gazelle” companies.
Overall, the East Bay was very well represented on the list, released August 23. The East Bay had almost twice as many companies as the national average based on population, with 80 companies in the top 5,000. Oakland was far and away the East Bay’s city leader with seventeen companies in the Inc. 5000, followed by Pleasanton with nine, and Berkeley and Fremont, each with seven.
The East Bay was especially well represented among the top 500, with eleven “gazelle” companies. This represents over two and one-half times the national average. In fact, if Inc. had listed the East Bay as a separate metropolitan area, our 4.5 “Inc. 500” companies per million population would have been ranked #8 in the country -- just behind Boston and Seattle with 4.9, and ahead of San Diego with 4.4.
A few East Bay companies, with the highest national rankings within their industries are:
#1 Food & Beverage company: Wine Commune, Oakland. 2,708.4% growth selling wine online.
#2 Telecommunications company: Santur, Fremont. 5,994.8% growth manufacturing tunable lasers and transmitters to expand fiber-optic bandwidth.
#3 Media company: FunMobility, Pleasanton. 1,921.2% growth developing software and content for mobile phones.
#4 Security company: Upek, Emeryville. 1,155.1% growth making silicon fingerprint sensors for security access to notebook computers, websites and facilities.
#4 IT Services company: ISTS Worldwide, Fremont. 3,101.7% growth providing retailers with technology to activate gift cards and to process credit, debit, and gift-card transactions.
#10 Retail company: Pump It Up, Pleasanton. 1,002.6% growth providing “inflatable party zones” for children’s parties.
#12 Software company: Five9, Pleasanton. 1,371.7% growth making Web-based software to handle calls for small and midsized call centers.
Extend your organiation's membership at no cost, while helping to promote East Bay EDA
At their September 13 meeting, the East Bay EDA Executive Committee approved the Membership Committee's recommendation to reward member organizations that work to expand the East Bay EDA network. East Bay EDA members who bring in three new members, at or above their organization’s membership level (or that total the equivalent of three times your organization's membership) will receive one free year of membership in East Bay EDA.
The extended year of membership will begin when new members brought in by your organization have met all membership application and dues payment requirements.
For more information contact Stephanie Brown at (510) 272-6843.
East Bay EDA is currently in the process of processing IDB applications for 2008 as the December deadline approaches.
Remember, IDBs cannot be used to refinance costs, so if a business will be incurring costs (equipment, fees, architectural drawings, etc.,) we need to take the first step in the process with an application and most importantly, have an “Inducement Resolution” (which is the legal benchmark) passed by the Industrial Development Authority. We expect Calendar year 2008 to see larger IDB bonds as more businesses take advantage of the increased capitalization limit (from $10 million to $20 million), so the sooner an application is processed in 2008, the better.
If we are to retain and encourage reinvestment by the manufacturing businesses that are still fighting to remain in California, your help is needed to see that the tax-exempt program (which has the smallest allocation of any in the State) sees an increase from $90 million in 2007 to at least $120 million in 2008. The California Debt Limit Allocation Committee in the State Treasurer’s office will make this decision.
For more info on IDBs, contact Keith Sutton at (510) 272-3885, or view our IDB brochure.
East Bay EDA's Inter-Agency Regulatory Council provides much-needed forum
The Inter-Agency Regulatory Council was formed in 1991, soon after East Bay EDA first became an organization. Since that
time the Council has been meeting three to four times per year. Agencies represented on the Council cover water, environmental
health, air, energy and toxics. Originally designed to provide an opportunity for regulatory agencies to meet each other, the Council soon
became an active forum for agencies to share information on regulatory matters affecting multiple agencies;
creating a forum in which to discuss regulations with the potential to impact business. A business representative sits on the Council to
provide specific insight into regulatory and legislative impacts on the business community.
The Council routinely looks at unique as well as common problems facing the various agencies, with discussion on possible
solutions. There are also many opportunities to work better together on specific projects. For example, at the meeting held
September 26, 2007, several of the agencies present indicated that they are having difficulty recruiting staff for vacancies, creating
difficulty in providing services in a timely way. The group brainstormed ideas on how better community outreach could be done,
with Council members themselves serving as an additional outreach mechanism.
The Council also provides members with the opportunity to discuss various conservation programs promoted by their agencies.
At the September meeting, a new $1.5 million Climate Protection Grant Program was presented by the representative from the
Bay Area Air Quality Management District. To read more, visit the Climate Protection Program page at the Air District's website.
The deadline for applications is November 9, 2007.
Please make sure that your website is pointing to our new website address, http://www.eastbayeda.org. As the www.edab.org website and associated email addresses will soon be discontinued, it is important that all weblinks and address book entries be updated.
Many of our members and affiliate organizations are taking advantage of the new calendar program on www.eastbayeda.org by posting events designed to assist businesses. The calendar can be viewed by the public and is located in the
business resources and incentives portion of the website.
East Bay EDA members can access the Calendar on our Event Information page under the East Bay Economic Development Alliance
section.
To place your event on the Calendar, just log into the Members Only section and select "Post to the Regional Events Calendar".
To view all East Bay EDA events, members will need to log in into the “Members Only” section and then click on the East Bay Events
calendar.
|
