COLUMBIA (WACH) - People in the Midlands had the chance to learn about sustainability today and how it relates to business Tuesday morning.

The sixth annual Green is Good for Business Conference featured around forty exhibits from throughout South Carolina.

The conference was held at the Columbia Metropolitan Convention Center and focused on how some businesses can save or make money by using practices considered environmentally friendly.

BMW Manufacturing president Josef Kerscher was the keynote speaker at this year's conference on Tuesday.

BMW is respected as an example of sustainable business as it saves about five million dollars annually by generating half of its energy using methane from a nearby landfill.

BMW also replaces lead-acid battery forklifts with zero-emissions hydrogen-powered machines.
 
The Sustainability Facilitator for the City of Columbia, Mary Pat Baldauf, says sustainability involves thinking about those who will come after us.

"Sustainability - the best definition I've heard is living off the earth's interest instead of the capital - using the things that we need today, but leaving things for our children and our grandchildren. It's really  just a fancy word for conservation," said Baldauf.

Grant Jackson of the Columbia Chamber of Commerce was also at the conference.

"Recycling is an example of sustainability that has generated business," said Jackson.

Jackson says there's always a market for your waste, and that is where being environmentally green can translate to green in your pocketbook.