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High Road Strategies (HRS) participated in the Good Jobs Green Jobs Conference held April 16-18, 2013 at the Washington Hilton Hotel, Washington DC convened by the BlueGreen Alliance, jointly with industry, labor, environment and educational organizations, among others.  HRS principal Dr. Joel S. Yudken served on the roundtable, “The Economic and Environmental Benefits of Advanced Biofuels,” organized by HRS and Environmental Entrepreneurs (E2), a non-partisan national community of business people promoting environmentally smart policy.  Moderated by E2 executive director Judith Albert, the panel also included Tom Hicks, Deputy Assistant Secretary of the Navy,  Sarah Bittleman, senior advisor to U.S. Department of Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilseck, David Hitchcock, VP of Government Affairs of Virent Inc., and Minnesota farmer, David Kolsrud.

Advanced biofuels are renewable fuels that can replace petroleum fuels while significantly reducing carbon pollution.  Roundtable participants discussed the advanced biofuels industry’s potential for providing a commercially, competitive alternative to fossil-based fuels without the problems of traditional biofuels.  Drawing upon recent studies and real-world examples, they looked at how the growing advanced biofuels industry will drive economic development and job creation in the rural agriculture, construction and manufacturing sectors, as well as its potential for transforming the vehicle, marine and aviation transportation industries.  The panel also discussed the potential impacts of federal and state policies and programs, on the expansion and competitiveness of the advanced biofuels sector.  Of special interest was the military biofuels program, examined by Dr. Yudken’s report for E2, the Economic Benefits of Military Biofuels. For more information see the E2 website www.fuelinggrowth.org.