BUSINESS WATCH:

Patrick Hendry has a goal for the next six months: to learn about sustainable development all around the world. And the Newport Beach resident isn’t looking to do it through the Internet.

Hendry, the principal of the recently formed Hendry Development Companies in Balboa, plans to board a plane today for Costa Rica and not return home for half a year. In the meantime, he intends to pass through South America, Asia, Australia, New Zealand and even a corner of the Middle East to see what developers are doing to reduce their carbon footprints.

“I’ve been passionate about the environment my whole life,” Hendry said Friday afternoon, shortly after getting another of many vaccinations for his worldwide trek. “I grew up in Northern California, so it’s kind of ingrained in you.”

Hendry, though, will have more than global warming on his mind when he boards his first plane at Los Angeles International Airport today. He views green building as not only beneficial to the environment but also a solution to the woes of the real estate market. When solar power and organic materials begin saving companies money, Hendry wants to be ready with blueprints. Already, a number of developers in Newport-Mesa have stressed the importance of going green. The Lab and The Camp, the twin alternative malls on Bristol Street, rely largely on sustainable and recycled building materials; Costa Mesa recently adopted a program that waives fees for builders who use environmentally sound methods.

Costa Mesa Building Official Khanh Nguyen said he wouldn’t be surprised if Hendry’s prediction comes true.

Right now, he said, green materials often pose hefty start-up costs, but they could prove more efficient to builders in the long run.

“When they measure the results in a year and realize, ‘Hey, I’m saving X amount of dollars a month and I can break even in three, four years,’ who knows?” Nguyen said. “It’s just getting the upfront costs out of the way.”

Hendry’s company, which operates out of an office on 45th Street, hasn’t undertaken any projects yet; the owner intends to use the next six months to gather ideas for the future. When he returns, Hendry said, he hopes to start a number of developments and serve as a consultant to other companies looking to go green.

Even the trip itself, he noted, will be largely improvised. Hendry has reservations in Costa Rica and other countries in South America, but afterward, he expects new contacts to shape his itinerary more than once.

“I’ve got some of the knowledge, and now I’m going to go out in the world and get some firsthand information,” he said.

MICHAEL MILLER may be reached at (714) 966-4617 or at [email protected].