Last week General Electric (GE) announced the latest innovation to emerge from its eco-friendly initiative “Ecomagination” launched in 2005 – a manufacturing breakthrough that could power the next generation of electronics using only a fraction of the electricity required today. According to an article in Sustainable Life Media, GE has “perfected a commercially viable process for manufacturing organic light-emitting diodes (OLEDs)” which can be used in TVs and computer displays. OLEDs use less electricity because they can illuminate the screen without an energy-consuming backlight, unlike liquid crystal displays that require a backlight.

In recent years, GE has made the production of eco-friendly products a major focus of its business strategy. Its Ecomagination program, is an excellent example of how to go about an authentic greening of your business and demonstrates that green business is not a profit killer. The sustainable innovation program is designed to develop new eco-friendly products and technologies to address environmental challenges. To date, more than 45 products have emerged from the program generating revenues of $12 billion and orders reaching past $50 billion.

Want to see more of the dancing elephant and GEs cool one-second commercials? Click here to go the GEs One-Second Theatre.

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Businesses need to demonstrate a sincere, capable response to global warming to consumers or they risk their relationship with the public and consumers according to a recent McKinsey Quarterly article. The results of a global survey cited in the article reveals that consumers feel that “a corporation’s performance in addressing the problems of the environment and climate change affects not only how much they trust the company but also whether they would buy its products.”

The report also shows that the number of execs that consider the environment as a key sociopolitical issue, and as one that will attract the most attention for the next five years has increased to 51%, an increase of 20% in only 12 short months. Interestingly the report also showed that U.S. business execs are “warming” up to being more eco-friendly in their operations and daily activities.

Based on data from the survey –

- When asked if they would be willing to use energy-efficient appliances, 72% of U.S. execs said they would compared to 47% in France, 74% in the UK and 73% in Germany.

- U.S. execs are also more likely to recycle than the large majority of countries polled. 71% of U.S. execs would be willing to recycle compared to 56% France, 56% Germany, and 79% in the UK.

- U.S. execs led the category of being willing to adjust the thermostat to use less energy and came in third for willingness to drive a fuel-efficient car.

According to the report, any company that can produce eco-friendly products to meet the demand, particularly for tech products, that are green are preferred by consumers. Companies that have introduced lower-energy consuming electronics or products that have done their homework and have authentic sustainable or eco-friendly advantages in their products will do well.

Download the FREE report here

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Want to know where you can recycle some of your old electronics?

If we are to look at making our lifestyle more eco-friendly by using “greener” products we also need to look at what happens at the end of the lifecycle of a product, particularly our technology products. Some really great companies are designing innovative green technologies that use less electricity or have other innovative and sustainable elements to them but what to do with our old energy-hording devices? The prevalence of electronics has increased dramatically over the last three decades or so and they are one of the worst additions to landfills. In recent years manufacturers have developed more eco-friendly products but at the end of the lifecycle of the product too many of us just chuck it in the trash. Electronics leak toxic chemicals and add tons of mass to garbage dumps everywhere. To help consumers know where they can recycle their electronics and keep them out of landfills, G4 teamed up with Earth 911 to create GCycle - A site that will tell where you can recycle your old, unused electronics. Earth 911 already does that on their site, and it is, I think, a little more comprehensive of a list of recycle locations than what is provided by using GCycle but if the amazing graphics on GCycle motivate you to recycle your electronics then cool…dude.

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Thanks to the the crew over at the greenset for the news on the world’s first sustainable biodegradable umbrella. The Brelli, the first 100% biodegradable umbrella, is made of bamboo and a clear bio-plastic parasol-like frame and breaks down within the first 2 years of showing up in a landfill. Unfortunately, the umbrella is not for sale yet but maybe if you give them a holler and are really, really nice they’ll let you order over the phone.

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According to the annually released National Technology Readiness Survey (NTRS), “Americans’ appetite for environmentally friendly technologies and consumer products is grossly underserved, with a potential $104 billion in sales this year. The annual survey — sponsored by the Center for Excellence in Service at the University of Maryland’s Robert H. Smith School of Business and technology research firm Rockbridge Associates Inc. — found that 71 percent of adults are interested in green technology, but there is a large gap between the number of products consumers own now and the number they say they would like to own.

The $104 billion market opportunity represents the annual sales potential of the 11 product categories measured in the NTRS. More than half, $54 billion, is the potential for sales of eco-friendly vehicles, including high-mileage, hybrid fuel, biofuel, and alternative-fuel vehicles. Researchers measured respondents’ interest levels for each of the eco-friendly product categories and calculated market value based on average selling prices.

“The key to tapping this huge potential market is targeting and appropriately addressing the green consumer,” said P.K. Kannan, director of the Center for Excellence in Service. “Our research found that green technology trends are led by a small, yet powerful group of influencers that actively act as evangelists to a secondary group of adopters.”

The NTRS classifies respondents into six segments based on their commitment to green technologies, their influence on others on being green, their skepticisms about green and their interest in technology. The survey finds that those most committed to the environment — 10 percent of adult consumers — are also very enthusiastic about technology. These “green tech leaders” are the same consumers who are often approached by others for advice on technology and the latest gadgets and devices. The researchers urge marketers to target this segment when introducing green products and services.

“There is a great opportunity for firms to not only target these green tech leaders to adopt their eco-friendly products and services, but also use them to get the word out,” Kannan said. “This market segment tends to be younger, heavier users of online social media and more enthusiastic about technology in general. They write blogs and advise others, and they also create a strong social networking effect that is critical for diffusing green technology to the larger market.”

“Marketers also need to be mindful of their message,” said Charles Colby, president of Rockbridge Associates. “Consumers are quite sensitive to companies that don’t follow through on their promises. Firms that misrepresent or exaggerate the benefits of their eco-friendly technology may find it backfires with consumer hostility or rejection.”

2007 NTRS Findings

- 83 percent of adults want to preserve and protect the environment

- 42 percent of adults said products and services that help the environment are hard to find

- 59 percent of adults say they like trying new technologies that help the environment

- 56 percent of adults say gadgets designed to help the environment would be fun to own

- 68 percent of adults like to do business with companies that are environmentally responsible

- 72 percent of adults say they resent companies who say they care about the environment but are not sincere

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A report by Sarah White & Jason Walsh and the Center of Wisconsin Strategy, The Workforce Alliance and The Apollo Alliance called “Greener Pathways” is a 64-page report about “Jobs and Workforce Development in the Clean Energy Economy”. The report delves into three key industries in the world of green – Energy Efficiency, Wind, and the BioIndustry. The report is designed to serve as an assessment of employment opportunities in the three eco-friendly industries and what kind of skills are necessary for individuals looking to transition into the green energy workforce.

An article in Greenbiz.com reports that “Greener Pathways profiles some of the best examples in the nation where work is underway to develop green jobs, including green construction career development in California, Iowa’s biofuels job-training bonds, wind technician training in Oregon; and Pennsylvania’s green re-industrialization.”

But for those even remotely interested in eco-friendly alternative energies this report contains a treasure trove of great information. One of my favorites is a diagram on page 36 that shows a comparison chart of fuels that generate more energy than they consume. The diagram compares different ethanol fuels as well as biodiesels and energy sources derived from crude oil. An amazing read –

Download the FREE Report here.

Visit the COWS (Center of Wisconsin Strategy) site for more info and the report

Who is the Apollo Alliance? According to their website -

“The Apollo Alliance is a coalition of business, labor, environmental, and community leaders working to catalyze a clean energy revolution in America to reduce our nation’s dependence on foreign oil, cut the carbon emissions that are destabilizing our climate, and expand opportunities for American businesses and workers.

Inspired by the vision and technological achievements of the Apollo space program, we promote policies and initiatives to speed investment in clean energy technology and energy efficiency, put millions of Americans to work in a new generation of well-paid, green collar jobs, and make America a global leader in clean energy products and services.”

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According to an article from today’s Wall Street Journal, venture capitalists are embracing green technology in a big way. Industry leading VC firm Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers is allotting approx. one-third of its investment dollars to green technology. The lions share of this money is going into companies developing alternative fuels, fuel-efficient devices and other “clean” technologies.

The majority of the article is an interview with Kleiner Perkins partner John Doerr with WSJ’s Jeffrey Ball. Interesting read so I thought I would include excerpts from the interview that is actually the rest of the article from the WSJ.

Blind Predictions

JEFFREY BALL: There’s a fascinating statistic from the International Energy Agency, which says that right now, about 80% of the world’s energy supply comes from fossil fuels. And the prediction of the IEA is that in 25 years, it will be 81%, and that’s a statistic that leads a lot of people to think about the word “renewables” and roll their eyes and say, “What’s the point?”

So when you look at where to put money in this space, what are the technologies that environmentally could make a difference, that are big enough to make a difference, and how does that differ, if it does, from the technologies that will make you money now?

JOHN DOERR: That forecast from the IEA is like sitting around in 1994 and trying to forecast how many Internet Web browsers would be used. There was no commercial Web browser just 13 years ago. Think about that. And now it’s pervasive.
The IEA is not in the R&D labs in Berkeley that are doing synthetic biology there. They’re not in the R&D labs around Boston that are making photovoltaic cells out of carbon nanotubes. And I think their forecast, I hope, is going to be very wrong.

Having said that, what’s important about what they say is the scale of this problem, and this is of a size and enormity, both the opportunity and the challenge, unlike anything that innovators have ever addressed.

Immediately, in the very short period of time, I like solar thermal energy that you can put together. We have a project that’s a 277-megawatt plant, and it’s paid for, contracted for, with a power-purchase agreement. And it will produce electricity at about the price of electricity from natural gas in California.

Biofuels, innovative biofuels, will scale. They can be adopted very gradually. I personally believe that photovoltaics, while further out, hold a lot more promise than anyone anticipates today. But the greatest, most immediate scale that we can possibly get is from innovation in efficiency, innovations in conservation. One thing I’m fond of saying is that the solutions to this problem are going to all come from cars, from coal, from conservation or efficiency, and then the final source of greenhouse gases is cattle. Those account for some 18% of the greenhouse gases. So, cars, coal, conservation and cattle

Technology and Will

MR. BALL: Correct me on my number if I’m wrong — but you have a portfolio of about $700 million and about $250 million or so is invested in what you call green tech?

MR. DOERR: That’s roughly right, yes.

MR. BALL: Ultimately, is this a technology problem or is this a political-will problem, or is it something else?

MR. DOERR: The answer to that is yes, a definite yes. It’s interesting to think about green technology relative to information technology and biotechnology. Our partnership is one of the few — this is not a commercial — trying under one roof to do well in information technology, green technology and biotechnology. We were very fortunate to back Genentech, [which] started the whole recombinant DNA genomics industry, and in information technology, some great Internet companies.

These Internet companies can get from venture capital to profitable with about $25 million of equity. It depends where you are in time. Electronic Arts was started with $2 million, Amazon with $8 million, Google $25 million of venture capital. The venture capital required to build a biotech company, it’s $1 billion of funding to get you to a drug that’s approved by the FDA and it’s more than 10 years; the Internet, less than five years to get to a profitable, growing business.

Green tech sits between these two. which is a very advanced fuel-cell provider, [received] $250 million of private capital and it’s been seven years to get to a product. So what’s very attractive about the green technologies is the markets are enormous. The Internet market, $100 billion or so; the energy market, $6 trillion. This is the mother of all markets. The pharmaceutical market, much smaller.

Let’s look at policy and regulation. In green technology, policy matters a lot. Policy is paramount. There’s not an element of the energy industry that’s not regulated, that’s not incentivized, that’s not subsidized, that doesn’t involve every fiber of our nation and our world, whether it’s our defense strategies or the structure of the industry.

Improvements in policy will accelerate the success of all these investments in all these businesses. And I’m a capitalist first. My job is to make a lot of money for our limited partners, who are the endowments of America’s great universities.

But the wonderful thing about working in green technologies is you can do work that’s successful and also significant. You can help engineers and scientists build great companies that will innovate fuels or batteries or storage, or even more immediately, that can enable all of us to conserve, to be more efficient. Now, we haven’t made any investments yet in cattle, in the methane that comes from the cow manure, but with that being 18% of the greenhouse gases, maybe we should check it out.
MR. BALL: Some people are making investments in that area.

MR. DOERR: Some people are; it’s on our list.

MR. BALL: What’s the investment?

MR. DOERR: I haven’t made it yet. I’m doing diligence.

MR. BALL: What’s it going to be?

MR. DOERR: Well, in the Central Valley of California, there are big pig farms, and I’m going to let it lay there.

MR. BALL: We know where the traffic is moving after this conference.

Other interesting articles we’ve written about Green Investing -

Green Investing and Mutual Funds

Green Companies Win

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Today, at the New York International Auto Show, the XPrize Foundation and Progressive Insurance announced a $10 million dollar eco-friendly car design competition. More than 60 teams from nine countries have already entered the competition where teams are tasked with designing and building vehicles that can achieve no less than 100 miles per gallon and are commercially viable.

“We’ve been working hard to make a difference in car insurance for 70 years,” said Progressive’s CEO, Glenn Renwick. “Now we have a chance to make a difference by supporting the Progressive Automotive X PRIZE. This competition will result in more choices of more fuel-efficient vehicles for drivers and will be a catalyst for moving this technology forward, faster.”

“This competition represents what we’re all about in name and spirit—new ideas, competition and always working to do better,” added Renwick. “Being a part of this gives us a chance to make a real difference.”

According to the XPrize Press Release – “The window for applications will be open until mid 2008, when a thorough qualification process will assess safety, cost, features and business plans to ensure that only production-capable, consumer-friendly cars compete. Those that qualify will race their vehicles in rigorous cross-country stage races in 2009 and 2010 that combine speed, distance, urban driving and overall performance. The winners will be the vehicles that exceed 100 MPGe, meet strict emissions standards and finish in the fastest time. Host cities involved in the competition route are to be announced shortly.”

To see the the teams that have signed letters of intent to compete and to read more about the program read here.

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According to an article in the Progressive Grocer more Americans are supporting eco-friendly products with their shopping habits. The article cites research from Chicago-based market research company, Mintel, that reveals that” over one-third of adults surveyed (36 percent) claim to “regularly” buy green products. Just 16 months ago, only 12 percent said they “regularly” purchased green products.”

Even more interesting the study revealed that “the number of people who say they “never” purchase green products has been cut in half over the past 16 months.” Apparently, in August 2006, only one in five Americans (20 percent) claimed to “never” buy green products whereas now, only 10 percent of the population claims to never purchase eco-friendly products.

Colleen Ryan, senior analyst at Mintel, said that “We’re seeing the green movement rapidly transition from niche to mainstream. Major companies have jumped onboard, promotional messages have changed, and the American public is increasingly looking at green products as a normal part of everyday life.”

According to Ryan the increase in consumer support for eco-friendly products is being spearheaded by the 18-24 year olds where 51% claim to purchase green products “regularly” compared to the 31-36% of regular green shopping done by older adults.

“Tech-savvy young adults have been key in the green movement’s success,” said Ryan. “This suggests a bright future for green products, as young adults will carry their habits and beliefs with them as they age.”

Hopefully. This isn’t the first time something has picked up speed with trend conscious youth behind it only to plummet as the movement slips towards uncool.

Want to be more green?

Some cool eco-friendly products that we like -

Portable Solar

USB Cell Batteries

Elephant Poo Paper

Hewlett-Packard’s new Chief Marketing Officer may be seeing green. Michael Mendenhall, in an interview with Advertising Age, mentioned that the computer giant recently brought in an ad agency that may have the role of helping HP communicate its eco-friendliness to consumers.

Although Mr. Mendenhall, coming from a 17-year stint at Walt Disney Co. Parks and Resorts, made no comment as to what the new agency will be doing he did make some comments at a conference sponsored by the Economist that might give us some insight. At that conference Mr. Mendenhall made mention of some of the hottest trends in marketing, one of which was sustainability and suggested that a company could not simply call itself “green” or “eco-friendly” simply because they buy carbon credits.

Before we go any further we’ll have to add that it is nice hear that a person in a marketing position agrees that greenwashing by simply throwing money to a carbon credit company does not equal sustainability. It may make you feel better about dumping toxins into the environment but it is not sustainability – it is the developed world sluffing sustainability off to the peripheral economies of the world. And frankly, if you are in a position to lead the “greenification” of your company buying carbon credits should never be on your list of strategies. It is not a long term strategy and will fail to generate any of the cost-savings or increased profitability that often accompanies those that are successful at executing authentic sustainability efforts.

Jacquelyn A. Ottman, an advisor at Sustainable Life Media suggests that many companies try to tout their green processes but that it would be far more productive to put products in the spotlight. She points to campaigns such as BP’s Beyond Petroleum and GE’s Ecomagination. Each of these campaigns, she argues, “demonstrate the power of a product-centered campaign to help position a company as socially responsible, a progressive leader, and an innovator.
Ottman continues by providing some strategy direction for companies -
“When you are strategizing for your company’s green campaign, keep in mind that:

-Products and their marketing are highly visible to the public. Evidence of eco-innovative products can ignite enthusiasm and commitment of the public, media, employees, investors and shareholders

-An estimated 75% of the impact a product throws off during its lifetime is determined at the design stage; read: it is in the purview of the business that develops it. Sometimes that impact can span several generations

-Polls show that Americans express their concern for the environment primarily through their product-related behavior - looking for eco-labels, turning lights off, or recycling at the curb - and less so, writing letters to congressmen or donating to environmental causes

So ensure that consumers will resonate with your organization’s efforts by helping them see true environmental benefits in the products or services you purvey. As part of this, empower them to consumer your product responsibly - show them how to reduce the consumption of natural resources during use by providing feedback, such as Toyota does with the fuel mileage meter that’s onboard every Prius, or making it easy for them to recycle products at the end of their life.”

Interesting insight as long as it is not interpreted as “Sell eco-friendly products rather than being energy star rated”. I don’t think that is what she is saying. The casual green consumer is most attracted to products but the more dedicated green consumer, I think, does take into consideration the operations of a company when looking to spend some money. I think that her strongest point is that consumers can really get excited about cool eco-products. Like the solar roof tiles, handheld wind turbines, or eco-friendly pesticides. The best way to start a move to more eco-friendly products and processes is with your product development team and supply chain people - not with marketing.

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