Climate Technology

Green advertising

The NYT reports that eco-themed advertising is growing ever-more-ubiquitous from big companies.

I know we're supposed to bitch and moan about greenwashing, but the way I see it, even if 50% of this is hype, a) 50% non-hype is better than nothing, and b) it speaks well to current cultural trends that companies feel the need to brag about their environmental consciousness. Environmentalism is once again coming out in the open as a mainstream value, after years of demonization and caricature.

Is the world ready to waltz with nuclear again?

Most of us know what torture it is to be a wallflower, so it’s hard not to feel at least a slight frisson of sympathy for the nuclear industry. Once considered “most likely to succeed,” this promising power source found itself stumbling in the 1970s. It was bad enough after Three Mile Island in 1979 […]

Making sustainability sexy, from an ad man’s point of view

Sustainability. Sexy. Two words you don’t often see together. Sustainability is a serious word. It’s about saving the world from ecological disaster. Getting humanity on track for survival. Heady stuff best left to academics, unions of concerned scientists, and earnest tree-huggers. Would you buy this? Photo: iStockphoto/Tyler Stalman. Sexy … now that’s a fun word. […]

Tips for greening conferences and events

Surely you’ve attended the Conference from Eco-Hell. Eco-hell, or just plain hell? Photo: iStockphoto/Elerium Studios. You know the one. It begins with an endless paper trail of direct-mail advertisements. It’s held in some remote suburban locale, accessible only by car. At registration, you are issued a conference bag filled with promotional papers and doodads you’ll […]

Terry Kellogg, director of 1% for the Planet, answers questions

Terry Kellogg. What work do you do? I’m the executive director of 1% for the Planet. What does your organization do? What, in a perfect world, would constitute “mission accomplished”? 1% is a rapidly growing network of companies (more than 200 with a few more every week) that commit to giving at least 1 percent […]

Is There a Procter in the House?

Experts say true eco-transformation of big business is under way Big business is going green … hey, where you going? No, we mean it this time! Old-guard financial-services firm Goldman Sachs Group just announced new policies to promote forest and climate protection, and intends to invest $1 billion in alternative-energy projects. Procter & Gamble, seeking […]

Wal-Mart’s eco-announcements generate a clash among activists

The mother ship. Photo: Wal-Mart. It was easy for Wal-Mart’s critics to laugh this past spring when CEO Lee Scott proudly announced that he drove a Lexus hybrid. For Scott to expect praise for his consumer choices given the abysmal record of his massive company — which has repeatedly violated the Clean Water Act while […]

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 […]

Two books explore the perks and perils of corporate social responsibility

Coturri Winery in Sonoma County, Calif., could be a poster child for socially responsible business: The family-owned company farms organically, produces critically praised wines on a small scale, supports a local moratorium on genetically modified plants, and donates to nonprofit causes. But according to the Natural Capital Institute’s responsible-investing database, Coturri wouldn’t pass muster with […]

Leave Us in Our Time of Greed

Oil execs defend profits, drink all the beer, leave the place trashed The nation was treated to an exquisite piece of Kabuki theater yesterday, as Big Oil executives trudged to Congress to justify their record profits at a time when pricey gasoline and the looming threat of sky-high home-heating costs have Americans up in arms. […]