"Years ago, energy was considered a throwaway cost,"

'Green economy' now in forefront

May. 7, 2011 - A June symposium will focus on sustainability in workplaces' energy use.

Saving energy has evolved from a moral calling to a financial imperative for businesses that have broadened the concept of energy efficiency to one of sustainability.

Just look at Principal Financial Group, where employees are using less paper. Or the University of Iowa, where power bills have been cut by $1.5 million a year. Or Van Meter Industrial in Cedar Rapids, where new high-efficiency warehouse lights will pay for themselves in a year and a half.

Those and other examples are the motivation for the Heartland Green Up, a one-day sustainability symposium in Altoona on June 2 sponsored by the Technology Association of Iowa.

For many businesses, the new concepts are now math problems, said Technology Association President Leann Jacobson. {continued}