ENVIRONMENT | Protecting our natural resources
12 March 2008
About This Issue
This issue of eJournal USA delves into what those familiar with the history of the environmental movement in the United States might see as a surprising trend — the way U.S. corporations in recent years have embraced environmentally friendly ways of doing business. What prompts a corporation to “go green”?
“We looked across our company and recognized that a focus on environmental technology could be a big business initiative for the company,” said Jeffrey Immelt, the chief executive of General Electric, a leader in this field. “The concept we worked on at the time was this notion that green is green.” So the environment has become a business opportunity, a chance to increase profits, the core of any business enterprise.
But the story of converting corporations to green policies is more complex than that. Nongovernmental organizations (NGOs), consumers, investors, new technologies, and government policy have all played a role. NGOs and businesses are finding ways to work together to protect the environment, particularly though developing standards and green certification programs. Some corporations are responding to the desires of consumers to buy products with less impact on the environment — in their creation, packaging, marketing, use, and disposal. Many investors, too, are choosing to put their money into green businesses — sometimes for idealistic reasons; sometimes because they see that sustainable practices are actually more profitable in the long term. Recent developments in technology have made it easier to protect the environment, and many businesses have learned that a sustainable supply chain is a valuable asset. Government policies have certainly played a role, but that is not the primary focus of this journal.
Jeffrey Immelt explains the movement best when he elaborates on his company’s thinking: “This is no longer a fringe topic. It’s no longer a niche topic. This is now a mainstream topic that is being driven across the broad economy. Second, the technology and the service solutions are real. Some may take time to put into place, like coal gasification, sequestration, or hybrid technologies, but they are technologies that can be commercialized over the next 5 or 10 years. Finally, this interest has accelerated — sometimes driven by public policy — things like renewable performance standards. But a lot is driven by businesses that finally said, ‘Let’s get ahead of this theme. Let’s get ahead of the trend. Let’s invest before we have to because we see it coming.’”
— The Editors
