Business Report
The Capital Region’s economy is the 13th-most diversified among 384 metro areas nationwide, according to the Baton Rouge Area Chamber.
Adam Knapp, BRAC’s president and CEO, brought up that statistic today during his presentation to the Rotary Club of Baton Rouge, saying he wanted to “flip the script” regarding negative views of the region.
“We expect to be the best version of Baton Rouge,” Knapp says. “We’re not trying to be another community.”
He says Baton Rouge is positioned to be the “net-zero capital of America,” noting some $25 billion in potential investments in the transitional energy sector, which he says is almost as much as has been announced for Houston. Another factor in common with Houston is a large health care sector, which has been the leading driver of local job growth, he says.
Despite a belief that “everyone in Baton Rouge is moving away,” the region has had more people move in than move out each of the past three years. Knapp also touted the parks system and the growing variety of restaurants to counter the narrative that the region has nothing to offer in the quality-of-life department.
He also urged his audience to get involved in an effort to install more surveillance cameras, which the chamber has promoted as a way for businesses to help fight crime.
Knapp’s Rotary appearance marked one year since the launch of BRAC’s five-year strategic plan. You can read BRAC’s review of the plan’s first year here.
Original source can be found here.
