Texas Border Business
By Roberto Hugo González
The NADBank Summit 2024, held on August 29-30 in San Antonio, Texas, gathered thought leaders, policymakers, and business executives to address pressing environmental challenges and explore sustainable infrastructure development for the U.S.-Mexico border region. Over the two-day event, key stakeholders from both sides of the border convened to exchange ideas and experiences on fostering a sustainable economy, strongly emphasizing innovative approaches to environmental preservation.
John Beckham, Managing Director of the North American Development Bank (NADBank), set the tone for the summit by outlining the institution’s newly approved five-year strategy in his opening remarks. “Directors approved a five-year strategy at the end of 2023,” Beckham stated, “It has three pillars that support the innovation and investment in environmental infrastructure that the border needs and deserves.”
Beckham emphasized that water management remains at the core of NADBank’s mission, describing it as “our traditional core.” He highlighted the bank’s commitment to investing in infrastructure that ensures “clean, reliable, quality water treatment as well as water potable deliveries to all communities.” The strategy reflects a shift from traditional reliance on surface water, recognizing the need to diversify water resources across the region.
“We can no longer depend on surface water as we have historically,” Beckham remarked, stressing the urgency of adopting more sustainable water practices. This includes enhancing “water efficiency, water conservation, and addressing working with agriculture producers on how they can use and optimize their water.”
The second pillar of NADBank’s strategy focuses on expanding clean energy initiatives, particularly solar and wind power. “As the video stated, we’ve been a pioneer in solar and wind power generation, but also now moving into battery storage for that cleaning and renewable energy,” Beckham noted. This shift to include battery storage technologies aims to maximize the utility of renewable energy sources and ensure a steady energy supply to meet growing demands.
Beckham also pointed out the need for improved energy transmission systems, stating, “We believe there’s a need for greater transmission to take what is an abundant natural resource in the border region and take it to where the demand is.” By improving transmission infrastructure, NADBank aims to facilitate the efficient distribution of renewable energy to needy areas, thereby supporting regional energy sustainability.
The third pillar centers around fostering a green economy that minimizes waste and maximizes resource efficiency. Beckham described this goal succinctly: “A greener economy… simply put, that’s economy that wastes less and less waste means you’re actually more efficient. I think all investors, public or private, can understand that.”
NADBank’s strategy includes financing infrastructure and processes to reduce waste and contamination while using fewer natural resources, particularly energy and water. Beckham elaborated on the bank’s vision for sustainable mobility, which involves creating systems that “consume less time and emit less pollution.” He noted the importance of reducing “wait times,” which he described as a “time tax that I think our communities don’t need by action at the bank.”
A recurring theme in Beckham’s remarks was the emphasis on collaboration and knowledge sharing. He stressed the importance of bringing together diverse partners to foster innovation and address common challenges. “We want to bring together partners like we’re doing today. We want to have these conversations. We want to create and disseminate knowledge whether we had a part in making it or whether you all had a part in making it and want to share it with others,” he said.
Beckham highlighted the value of learning from successes and failures: “We want to share our experiences, what worked as expected, what worked, but maybe not as expected, and what did not work.” By fostering an open dialogue, NADBank aims to scale successful initiatives and refine strategies to enhance their impact.
Beckham outlined NADBank’s hopes for the future, expressing a desire for the event to catalyze new connections, ideas, and collaborations. “We hope that by engaging with this summit and the participants here, everyone will help the bank better respond to its mission and the needs of the border region. He accentuated the importance of identifying common goals for both the near and long term to ensure sustainable regional development.
In closing, Beckham reiterated NADBank’s commitment to its mission, emphasizing that “by action, we mean providing capital grants, technical assistance that catalyze the environmental infrastructure. After all, we are a bank.” His remarks encapsulated the spirit of the summit—one of proactive engagement, collaboration, and a shared commitment to building a sustainable future for the U.S.-Mexico border region.
The NADBank Summit 2024 was a critical platform for discussing innovative solutions to environmental challenges and promoting sustainable economic growth in the U.S.-Mexico border region. With its newly defined strategic pillars, NADBank is poised to foster sustainable development through water management, clean energy, and a green economy. As John Beckham aptly put it, the path forward requires “candid discussions,” “new connections,” and a commitment to shared goals, ensuring a resilient and sustainable future for all.
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