Energy Saving Program for business started by Doyle with stimulus, saves $54 million over 5 years. Big surprise, not included in Walker budget.

The Walker administration is no friend of the environment, especially when mom nature stand in the way of business.  So it should come as no surprise that a sustainability program, that saves state businesses big money on energy, wasn’t included in the biennial budget.

Maybe it has something to do with the fact that the program received a $1.75 million stimulus-funded grant from Obama, or that former Democratic Gov. Jim Doyle implemented the pilot program, and would get credit for its success.

jsonline: Small- and medium-size manufacturers participating in a pilot sustainability program with the state Manufacturing Extension Partnership are projected to achieve $54 million in financial savings over five years, in additional to environmental benefits, a report released Thursday says. The report highlights the work of the state Profitable Sustainability Initiative.

Mike Klonsinski, the former director of WMEP who is now the chief operating officer at the Wisconsin Economic Development Corp said there is no state funding to continue the program at this time … who hoped the strong paybacks from these projects would convince factories across the state that sustainability initiatives will be good for their bottom line, even without a grant or subsidy.

But that’s unlikely:

Klonsinski said some business owners are skeptical of "green" initiatives … they are in business to serve their customers and make a profit rather than "to provide a societal benefit. But it's not an either-or."

And doesn’t that sum up the problem we’re having with our irresponsible corporate neighbor?