Go Green: the lowdown
João Vitor Serra and Hannah Theodorou on the business of going green
The lowdown on climate change: its effects remain uncertain and probably will for decades; furthermore, the direct impact on our lives will probably not be felt for another century, if ever; and finally, the cost of cutting emissions would be intense and immediate. With these factors in mind, can we really blame our politicians for their lack of vision in the environmental forefront?
To Despair or not Despair?
An article in The Economist (2002) brought up a curious question: `What would Winston Churchill have done about climate change? ... Would he have done nothing?'
It would be easy, and naive, to say he would have acted as the visionary leader that he was during wartime. However, with such uncertainty can we really make such a bold statement?
With politicians failing to reach any consensus as to who is responsible for our planet, it is no surprise that the Kyoto Protocol has become an international failure - sort of. As a result of so much focus towards the environment in the political arena, several multinationals have decided to lead the way in what may become a new generation of business strategy.
Jeffrey Immelt, CEO of General Electric, and the rest of GE's management team have made the bold move of greening their company. They plan to cut their carbon intensity by 30% by 2008 and double their research spending on clean technologies by 2010, making up half of its R&D expenditures.
Green Slogans
Similar to BP who changed their , company slogan to `Beyond Petroleum', GE is recreating itself under a `green is green' business slogan - using the American slang `green' which refers to the dollar.
Sceptics lie on both sides of the discussion of green branding. Those against green strategies, argue that Mr. Immelt and his team will drive GE into a dead end - as Exxon suffered due to large investments in renewables after the 1970s oil shocks. The more environmentally friendly sceptics argue that the move is a mere PR scam.
However this fails to look at the wider picture, new green business strategies should not be seen as investment suicide nor PR scams., but rather a company's willingness to be flexible to its consumer needs. After a series of meetings with their clients, mostly large companies, GE determined that their clients' primary concerns related to their individual customers growing demand for clean technology in the near future.
David Calhoun, vice chair of GE, said `this is not just GE jamming environment down their [customers] throats. We decided that if this is what our customers want, let's stop putting our heads in the sand, dodging environmental interests and go from defence to offence.'
Confessional
To understand this field slightly better, the real question to ask may not be whether green technology will succeed - investment by companies like Shell, BP and GE show that this technological switch may already be well underway - but rather what has changed our attitude? I believe events in recent years have led consumers as well as business leaders to believe in some form of karma.
In the 1990s, monetary wealth was the one and only symbol of success. Companies profited from this attitude, creating a sort of destructive survival of the fittest. The treasures of economic wealth made many lose their sense of compassion and brotherhood.
However, recent international catastrophes have brought many back down to earth. Events like Hurricane Katrina, the London bombing and the Asian Tsunami - to name but a few - made us stop to think a little bit about the cause of these catastrophes and the affects of our day-to-day actions.
Companies made a U-turn in their advertisement techniques. People seem more concerned with emotional well being rather than economic prosperity and as a result adverts now focus on sustainable and youthful lifestyles.
Despite sounding naive this raises a relevant point, business strategies reflect consumer moods. The events at the beginning of this millennium may or may not have to do with human activity, however consumers are now reflecting upon their actions and desire a more environmentally neutral lifestyle. As a result one cannot deny this new wave of green business strategy - be it for image or concrete profits from green products - holds a promising future to improve our environmental impacts.
Our actions today may cause irreversible damage to the planet that our decendents will inhabit. We should be less selfish and protect those things that our ancestors pass on to us so that future generations can feel the same pleasures.
Visionary?
The Economist (2002) concluded with, `the uncertainty surrounding a threat such as climate change is no excuse for inaction. New scientific evidence shows that the threat from ozone depletion had been much deadlier than was thought at the time when the world decided to act. Churchill would surely have approved.'
The likes of Mr. Immelt and Lord Browne (CEO of BP) may be our generations version of visionary leaders like Winston Churchill.
