Smart guy, interesting--and perhaps prophetic--words.

Today, Apple became the fourth company (last week, Oregon-based Nike left the Chamber's board, but remains a member) to leave the Chamber over the group's policy of denying climate change and fighting all efforts to reduce greenhouse gases.

It's too soon to call this a "revolt," but I think that the wind may have shifted a bit, and it's definitely no longer blowing at the Chamber's back. We'll see what the next few weeks bring, and how this impacts the Waxman-Markey discussions on Capitol Hill.

Count this development a hopeful sign in a dark time.

Those that do often find that they are able to move more quickly to success, but still, it's awful hard for companies--particularly the biggest--to 'fess up to greenwashing.

I would like to argue, however, that there are many PR people (present company included) that counsel the benefits of truth-telling and sincere apologies. Don't leave us all at home. 

Many shoe companies are trying to green up their processes and products, and I expect that in the future this will accelerate now that the sportswear industry has become more sustainable. Cosmetic companies are also making the first, tentative steps towards sustainability, but too often these steps come in the form of "green" brands instead of changing their core business.

Aveda is one cosmetic company that appears to be going for sustainability in a big way, both in terms of operations and products. Here's a great interview with the President of Aveda, Dominique Conseil, about what they are doing.

Instead of basing bonuses strictly on share earnings, companies like Xcel Energy base a quarter of their bonuses on how well staff help them cut emissions. And they're not just doing this for good publicity--greenhouse gas emissions and cuts are increasingly being viewed by investors as a "risk" as well as an "opportunity."

What's more, reducing carbon just might equate to making more money, rather than less, according to Neil Braun, CEO of the CarbonNeutral Company.

Our clients report substantial economic savings achieved by putting a real cost of carbon on the P/L (profit/loss) and assigning specific reduction targets to line management.

Most interesting to me, however, is the quote from an HSBC director:

Climate change is no longer an environmental and social issue, but a huge economic global opportunity.

Don't Shoot the Messenger
New HP laptop packaged in messenger bag instead of box

Don't take Grandma to Wal-Mart: the big-box store's new Hewlett-Packard laptop "will be displayed on shelves wearing only the HP Protect Messenger Bag." Scandalous! But actually, there's no need to avert your eyes: the HP Pavilion dv6929 is served up in a recycled, reusable messenger bag instead of a box, cutting cardboard and plastic packaging by 97 percent. Thinking outside the box helped HP win Wal-Mart's Home Entertainment Design Challenge, which judged suppliers' products on attractive design, environmental innovation, and less-wasteful, less-toxic packaging. Wal-Mart says 25 percent less truck space is now needed to schlep the computer to stores, cutting transportation costs by 31 percent. In addition, purchasers of the $798 laptop, which is available only at Wal-Mart and Sam's Club, can recycle an old PC for free.

Hat tip to Grist, one of the liveliest, best-written publications about sustainability in the world. Seriously.

Even when they were talking about national security, the Democrats in Denver mentioned energy as key to safety at home.  They directly linked our foreign policy to our energy policy--and talked about the drastic consequences that oil addiction has to our pocketbooks and our ballooning budget deficit. This is not just about drilling, said many on the dais, but about building a comprehensive energy plan that reduces our use of foreign oil, promotes renewable resources and makes us the market leader for new technology and green jobs.

It will be tough for the Republicans to top that, and given Hurricane Gustav, I expect we'll hear little about a comprehensive energy policy from them, outside of offshore drilling and maybe promotion of  nuclear energy. The Republicans seem content to propose a few magic energy bullets (offshore drilling, nuclear) rather than raise the level of discussion about a diverse energy mix, which most experts believe is best.

The next few weeks of the campaign, however, I expect energy to be a much-talked-about topic. I sincerely hope Americans are listening and thinking critically about life in the decades to come, and not just worrying about the price of gas tomorrow.