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evin Couhig (BSBA ’73) and his son, Peter Couhig (BSBA ’94), both Louisiana natives and graduates of Georgetown University’s McDonough School of Business, have found a way to combine their interests in business and environmental conservation. They both hold management positions at Resource Environmental Solutions, a Baton Rouge– based “mitigation bank” that helps land developers in South Louisiana restore environmentally sensitive wetlands as an offset to development. One of the pleasures of the work is that they can measure their success in trees. “In the last three to four years, we have planted 1 to 1.5 million trees each year,” says Peter, chief analytical officer of Resource Environmental Solutions. “It is very fulfilling. We are running a green business that makes money.” Mitigation banking is a highly complex business in which the “bankers” earn credits by creating, preserving, restoring, or otherwise enhancing environmentally fragile regions such as wetlands. They sell these credits to businesses that are required to compensate for lands that they have affected. For example, if a construction project destroys five acres of wetlands, the developer would be required to restore at least five acres of wetlands — often more — to their natural state. There are multiple challenges in this line of work. For one, there are several different wetlands classifications in southern Louisiana, and myriad different regulations covering them. In addition, the bankers who sell these credits must also manage the land restoration, a long-term process covering everything from planting trees to the more challenging matter of creating an environment that will support native plants and wildlife over time. Resource Environmental Solutions employs a field biologist and other scientists to oversee the land restoration, but the Couhigs focus mainly on the banking part of the business, working to generate financial returns for investors. Kevin, the company’s chief operating officer, describes the process as “restore and monetize.” The elder Couhig draws on more than 25 years of experience in investment banking and private equity, including founding the regional Louisiana bank Source Capital LLC. Because of that background, Kevin says he is able “to bring significant capital to what has traditionally been a mom-and-pop industry.” That capital has made a real difference on the ground. For years, the majority of businesses working in environmental mitigation in
Georgetown University McDonough School of Business
Louisiana had limited budgets and could restore only a handful of acres at a time. That left limited hope for building healthy and expansive swaths of wetlands. But when restoration projects cover more land, it is easier for wildlife to establish a base and thrive. “You see the benefits almost immediately,” says Kevin, who says the theory of wetlands restoration is similar to the land developer’s mantra, “If you build it, they will come,” but for plants and wildlife rather than people. Although mitigation banking is based on a “no net loss” policy for a region devastated by careless development and natural disasters, Kevin says the final result is usually a net gain of wetlands. Developers are typically required to restore a larger area of wetlands than they negatively affect. To date, Resource Environmental Solutions has restored or is in the process of restoring more than 20,000 acres of land that encompasses terrain from swamp to forest. The company’s long-term goal is to restore 100,000 acres. As it works toward that goal, it is also demonstrating how one can, as the saying goes, do well by doing good: The business was profitable after its first year and is now generating eightfigure revenues, says Peter. — Andrea Orr
Keith Wood/Glow Images
Beyond Your Father’s Bank
Peter and Kevin Couhig have combined their business interests with wetlands conservation in their home state of Louisiana.
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