capitalism4good

The green consumerism trap

As the sustainability movement takes hold, more and more companies are redesigning products and marketing them to “green consumers” – but the problem is, fundamentally, consuming isn’t very green.

A great article in the New York Times follows a reporter’s dilemma of whether to replace her decade-old refrigerator with a newer and greener model. The trouble was, her fridge worked just fine, and there is some ecological cost to manufacturing a new appliance.

Further, if you replace the fridge, the eco-sensitive solution is not to put the old one in the garage and use it for beer – then you’re practically doubling your environmental impact. And selling the old fridge isn’t the right environmental solution either, because someone else will be wasting the same amount of energy that you’re trying to save. Proper disposal can be tricky as well. 

In the end, someone from the National Resources Defense Council came up with a great rule-of-thumb: if the fridge is avocado-colored or brown, it was probably made in the 60s, and is so inefficient that it’s worth replacing. Any later than that, and the greenest consumer choice is to not buy anything.

See:  “If Your Appliances Are Avocado, They Probably Aren't Green”

Switzerland and Sustainability

I'm writing from St. Gallen, on the eastern edge of Switzerland, where I'll soon be starting some studies in sustainability - and getting the European perspective on these issues.  More on the program later, but for now I wanted to relate what my hairdresser had to say about the country's environmental woes.  Here is a paraphrase:

"They have to wash the water from the lake now, before we drink it.  I know that sounds crazy, but they do.  And up in the mountains, the cows have to go higher and higher to find land, and to make the grass grow up there they use fertilizer, and it kills some types of native wildflowers."

Unilever concedes to Greenpeace on palm oil

Following an immense, costly, and very successful multimedia attack by Greenpeace, “Unilever Does About-Face On Palm Oil” and officially backed a call for a moratorium on deforestation in Indonesia and said it would buy palm oil only from suppliers who can demonstrate they haven't cut down forests.

A new critic for Exxon

Exxon-Mobil, already perhaps the most heavily criticized of all oil companies, has a new and powerful critic: its founding family, the Rockefellers. Through proxy resolutions and a press conference, a dozen family members are criticizing an over-centralization of management and a failure to “address the future of energy and related industry hurdles.” (“Rockefellers call for change in Exxon leadership”)

NYT Magazine's "Green Issue"

Just a quick note before I run to the airport (next blog post will be from Switzerland!)... Check out the New York Times Magazine's first-ever "Green Issue" here. 

Lots of great stuff, both of interest and of use, in really readable nuggets.

SRI for small investors

I'm working on a new project with the Institute for Responsible investment in which we're developing a curriculum of mini-cases for business school students on the topic of ethical investing.  Yesterday I had my first interview, in which I discussed some of the draft cases with a portfolio manager who is also a Principal at an ethically-oriented investment house.

Some of his answers surprised me, but also made a great deal of sense.  He argued that ethical investing is essentially a rich man's (or rich woman's) business, because without at least $300-$400k invested, the fees aren't enough to buy you thoughtful advice - unless you're being overcharged.  And assuming we are never able to prove definitively that social investing comes without cost, the wealthy are better able to absorb the risk that social funds could conceivably under-perform.   

Eco-imagining a recession

So far, the story of GE's surprise drop in profits has not been explicitly tied to sustainability, but I'm sure it will be soon.  After all, Jeff Immelt's name has been closely associated with the Ecomagination campaign as his major contribution to both the company and to the sustainability movement.

Wormwood Bayne

I've often attested that most investors would join the "socially responsible" camp if only they could visualize the effects of agnostic investment strategies.  One analogy I've used: if you knew a company used slavery to make its products, would you invest?  Of course not.  So where exactly is the line between slavery and, say, child labor?  Environmental degradation?  Human rights?

Well, I still stand by my point, but I'm willing to admit that my words are not nearly so compelling nor memorable as the "Wormwood Bayne" mock-ad on YouTube.  I absolutely love the false self-empowerment ("Today, I will act as if I am the only person who matters....") and the confident values statement ("We just don't give a sh*t!). 

This video just might be the best SRI sales pitch to date.

JustMeans Just Got Better

I was involved with some very early-stage development of the site JustMeans.com, back when it was a fantastic idea (social networking for social entrepreneurs) with a poor platform (a clunky and buggy website). 

Just now, however, I learned that Founder Martin Smith spent the past three months in India working directly with the site developers to move it to an open-source design, and now it's so much better.

JustMeans provides networks, jobs, and news to thousands of socially-minded young people, while creating a unique forum that connects corporations and individuals who are passionate about finding solutions to today's problems.

If you haven't checked out JustMeans yet (or even if you have), definitely take a look: http://www.justmeans.com/

Technical difficulties

Apologies, I allowed my domain registration and forwarding to lapse - while at the same time making some big changes in my life/career.  I'm back on the blog now though, with plenty of news and analysis in the pipeline.

On the personal front, I'm now working closely with Andrew Savitz, author of The Triple Bottom Line and formerly of PriceWaterhouse (he founded PWC's sustainability practice).  Together, we're consulting via Sustainable Business Strategies, working with large businesses and other organizations to develop triple-bottom-line strategies, sustainability programs, and GRI reporting. 

In the fall, I'll be heading to Europe to study sustainability at the doctoral level - but more about that as the semester approaches.