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A sustainability seminar in Beaverton will double as an international business opportunity.

Students from Beaverton’s six sister cities are attending the first . For the final three days of the three-week conference that started Monday, the mayors of each city will come together for a unique networking event.

Hailing from as far as Birobidzhan, Russia, and Cheonan, South Korea, the international students will stay with Beaverton families. Mayor Denny Doyle, in fact, will host a student from Russia.

At Merlo Station High School, the 25 visiting students will join 24 local students to discuss what they think makes cities sustainable. Most participants are university students studying business or engineering, but the program will provide rare insight into sustainable practices of nearly 30 local businesses.

TriMet, SERA Architects, Port of Portland and Columbia Sportswear are a few of the many presenters, and the topics range from green building for commercial sites to waste management practices.

SolarWorld, Intel, and Bonneville Power Administration will each open up their facilities for a tour. Information technology service provider EasyStreet will show off its energy-efficient data center, which president and CEO Rich Bader hopes will encourage students.

鈥淲e all know that the idealism of youth is a terrific source of inspiration for us all 鈥� they don’t get caught up in all of the complexities of economics and politics; they are just aware that the environment is threatened,鈥� Bader said. 鈥淲e hope to show them that there are, in fact, examples of companies that can make the politics, the economics and the technology all work.鈥�

EasyStreet’s data center, completed this year, uses an innovative cooling system and rainwater collection system to limit energy consumption. In addition, Bader said the facility operates on 100 percent wind-powered electricity purchased from Portland General Electric.

On the final day of the conference, the students will give their own presentations by integrating what they learned during the program.

The ISL program was conceived by Doyle, who hopes that it will serve not only as a learning tool, but also as a way to promote economic growth.

鈥淭he northwest is internationally respected for our sustainability efforts,鈥� he said. 鈥淚 thought (the program) would be a great way to get young people to learn more about each other’s cities and countries, and also to get the business community involved with the city.鈥�

Doyle also wants to discuss possible trade opportunities.

鈥淔or the business folks, we are wondering what we can do to promote exports,鈥� he said. 鈥淭he simplest way to build small businesses is to find new markets. I hope the mayors will get serious about getting all of their business associations involved and hopefully we can start sending more exports over the Atlantic and across the Pacific.鈥�