The South Magazine
February / March 2008

As the chief finance officer for the area’s leading sustainable developer, Melaver, Inc., Denis Blackburne has to keep track of the greenbacks behind the green, overseeing the company’s financial operations and ensuring that in the end, the numbers work. But for a company that seeks a triple bottom-line of economic performance, environmental footprint, and social engagement with the community, keeping score brings a whole new meaning to the word “profit”.

With over 20 years of financial experience spanning from Geneva to Singapore and London, going green might not have been the career path he had envisioned for himself. “Growing up in Switzerland, there was a great respect for nature and sustainability, but I never saw myself as a tree-hugger. I come from a very normal business background.” Indeed, his resume includes high level positions with both successful family-owned and publicly traded companies, but while attending the executive MBA program at the Kellogg School of Management in Chicago he met Martin Melaver and saw the even greater impact he might have in Savannah.

Third-generation family business, Melaver, Inc. has its roots in the early 1900s as a local grocery concern. As the company grew and transformed into its current position as a real estate development and brokerage firm, local values and local responsibility still drive its core values to “Do Right, Learn, Serve, and Profit.” And reconciling one value to another is no longer an either-or situation. As the quantifiable benefits of sustainable building become more widely available – cost/benefit analysis, asset class improvement, increased productivity and reduced employee turnover – even the banking and insurance industries are seeing that building green makes good business sense. And as the information develops, the costs decrease. It’s not an easy sell, but it’s not difficult either. Everybody gets in on some level, the problem is in getting attention.”

And as to the impact Denis hoped to make in Savannah? Bigger than he’d have thought. “A smaller company is more nimble and adaptable, and Savannah is wonderfully quirky and receptive to what Melaver is doing,” he says.  “We are positioning ourselves to be a thought leader in the region, building partnerships in working larger projects and pushing the boundaries of what is possible. As we continue to gain expertise in new areas of sustainable development such as the LEED for Homes program, we are using that knowledge to influence and steer the market.”