greenish companies
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Oh what a relief it biz
The United States Climate Action Partnership, the group of corporations calling "on the federal government to quickly enact strong national legislation to require significant reductions of greenhouse gas emissions," just doubled in size (PDF):
With its new members, USCAP companies now have total revenues of $1.7 trillion, a collective workforce of more than 2 million and operations in all 50 states; they also have a combine market capitalization of more than $1.9 trillion.
The big news is that General Motors has joined the list:
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An interview with Duke Energy CEO Jim Rogers
Meet Jim Rogers, a great American paradox. He’s the top gun at Duke Energy, a huge (and hugely polluting) power company; he’s also one of the nation’s most dogged advocates for federal regulation of greenhouse-gas emissions. Jim Rogers. Duke Energy operates smack in the heart of coal country in the Midwest and Southeast and derives […]
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An interview with IKEA sustainability director Thomas Bergmark
Green by design. Photo: IKEA Last week, IKEA U.S. announced a “bag the plastic bag” initiative: the retailer will charge a nickel for plastic bags to discourage their use, donating all revenue to the nonprofit conservation group American Forests. The store will also let shoppers walk away with one of its iconic reusable blue bags […]
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With big biz jumping on the green bandwagon, should activists cheer or jeer?
“The test of a first-rate intelligence,” F. Scott Fitzgerald once wrote, “is the ability to hold two opposed ideas in the mind at the same time, and still retain the ability to function.” It’s time for greens to co-opt corporations. Photo: iStockphoto If so, then the growth of the green economy — embraced by corporations, […]
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Business is already acting on the climate threat — and waiting for Washington to catch up
You don’t need to look for receding glaciers or pore over the latest IPCC report to know that climate change is already happening. Just talk to Diavik Diamond Mines Inc. Captains of industry want to know what’s up ahead. Photo: iStockphoto The company relies on ice bridges to move equipment and materials through the northern […]
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Senate bills and corporate coalition push Washington toward climate action
Will January 2007 prove to be a tipping point for U.S. climate-change policy? Already this month we’ve seen a barrage of high-profile activity — and President Bush hasn’t even given his State of the Union address yet. Are we at a tipping point? First there was a rapid-fire succession of four major climate-change bills proposed […]
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Wal-Mart may sell organic, but it also thrives on ruined downtowns and long freight hauls.
I've always been a bit appalled by the polite applause with which some enviros greet Wal-Mart's "green" initiatives. Seems to me that the only way the company could really "go green" would be to stop selling cheap plastic crap shipped in from halfway around the world in vast suburban megastores. In other words, completely change it's business model -- not, say, adopt "green" building techniques for its appalling superstores, or haul mass-produced "organic" food from California, Mexico, and China to stores nationwide, thus burning lots of fossil fuel and potentially squeezing profits for farmers and sparking consolidation and industrialization in a movement that arose to challenge same.
Deep breath.
Sometime Grist contributor Bill McKibben nails it in the latest Mother Jones.
Money quote:
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Virgin founder’s $3 billion climate pledge heralds new era in philanthropy
Richard Branson, founder and chair of the British conglomerate Virgin Group, has racked up more than his share of high-profile high jinks over the years. Among them, signing the notorious Sex Pistols to his young record label, dangling nearly nude over Times Square, and botching numerous transoceanic hot-air balloon expeditions, necessitating rescue by helicopter. But […]
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The ebb and flow of corporate eco-consciousness
We remember a certain look businesspeople used to struggle to hide when confronted with their first real-life environmentalist. It was as if they had been presented with an alien life-form — a creature from some green lagoon. Some felt threatened, no doubt, but others were genuinely perplexed, curious, sympathetic even: “What made you one of […]