At the first Earth Day protest in , Margaret Mead, the American Anthropologist and proto-environmentalist, issued a call to action: "We have to learn to cherish this earth and cherish it as something that's fragile, that's only one, it's all we have. We have to use our scientific knowledge to correct the dangers that have come from science and technology. Would she be surprised to see how mainstream the green movement is today? Probably not. After all, she once said, "Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world.
Here we've gathered 10 of those, along with the stories of the thoughtful citizens who are trying to make them a reality. Who knew hamburgers could wreck the planet?
That's what environmentalists say is happening, as ranchers raze the Brazilian rainforest and their methane-emitting cows foul the atmosphere with greenhouse gases. No one has been more a target of environmentalists' ire than Blairo Maggi. Though known as a soybean tycoon, Maggi became Big Beef's best friend as a two-time governor of Mato Grosso, the frontier state that boasts Brazil's largest herds and has helped make that nation the world's No.
But this "developmentalista," who in won Greenpeace's Golden Chainsaw award for the havoc he had wreaked on the Amazon, has become Brazil's latest tree-hugger. The talk in Maggi's corral is all about "sustainable development," "carbon credits," "avoided deforestation"—and green beef. After signing on to a moratorium on selling soybeans harvested from recently deforested lands, Maggi last year extended the ban to Amazon beef cattle. He has urged ranchers and Brazil's giant meatpackers to clean up their act, and is even using satellites to monitor illegal clear-cutting and burning of forests.
Why Maggi's change of heart? It's smart business. They say great risk brings great reward. Khosla's flock includes investments in battery-technology startups like Recapping and Pellion, which he describes as "some really long-shot things on electricity storage, some of which are really not even batteries. Luckily, he can afford to be patient. Before this year's massive oil spill, the U.
That statistic alone helped oil executives persuade President Obama last week to reopen the area. Demand, they said, is simply too high to keep the rigs dry. But is it really? Jackie Savitz, a political-policy analyst with the ocean-advocacy group Oceana, sees a fairly simple way to get out of the gulf completely. For starters, electrify 10 percent of America's cars by we're already at about 1 percent.
Switch oil-based power plants to clean electric ones there are only of them. Update one quarter of oil-heated homes to electric power also doable; the number has been decreasing. And phase in all available non-feedstock biofuels much of which are going unused. Total barrels saved? Yep, 1. The Southern Alliance for Clean Energy gave Oceana a grant this summer to implement the agenda, which could be passed in pieces.
And during a debate last month, a senior Interior Department official admitted the idea wasn't so farfetched. According to a study, when people feel they have been morally virtuous by saving the planet through their purchases of organic baby food, for example, it leads to the "licensing [of] selfish and morally questionable behaviour", otherwise known as "moral balancing" or "compensatory ethics".
Its authors, Canadian psychologists Nina Mazar and Chen-Bo Zhong, argue that people who wear what they call the "halo of green consumerism" are less likely to be kind to others, and more likely to cheat and steal. The pair found that those in their study who bought green products appeared less willing to share with others a set amount of money than those who bought conventional products.
When the green consumers were given the chance to boost their money by cheating on a computer game and then given the opportunity to lie about it — in other words, steal — they did, while the conventional consumers did not. Later, in an honour system in which participants were asked to take money from an envelope to pay themselves their spoils, the greens were six times more likely to steal than the conventionals. The line of household cleaners emerged from a small skunkworks in the Clorox Technical Center led by a handful of independent and dedicated scientists.
The big surprise came when the marketing team shopped the original five Green Works products glass, surface, all-purpose, bathroom, and toilet-bowl cleaners to major distributors, including Wal-Mart and Safeway. Distributors across the board asked for the entire Green Works line and requested that the brand be extended into other categories. Even niche brands such as Seventh Generation and Method benefited from its market development. With an understanding of the three paths to green growth, managers can begin to craft a strategy that suits their objectives and their business context.
They should begin by evaluating each option: Is it feasible? Is it desirable? How would it be implemented? Should our greened brand be a stand-alone or a strategic brand that puts a green halo on the business as a whole? Should our acquired brand be a stand-alone or a strategic brand that puts a green halo on the business as a whole? Can we add green attributes to the new brand or emphasize existing attributes to increase competitiveness?
Does the proposed acquisition have an iconic founder, a countercultural workforce, or some other aspect that might create culture clash?
In this step companies take stock of their assets along two dimensions: greenable attributes of their existing products and brands, and organizational green product and brand development capabilities. Of course, each product will have its own category-specific attributes, ranging from recyclability to energy efficiency to reduced toxicity. It can help them to identify less obvious green features and benefits that are suited to an accentuate approach or to frame strategies and gauge capabilities required for an architect approach.
This may include a broad review of the processes and priorities for innovation and new-product development, supply chain management, the coordination of and collaboration among distributors, and even partnerships with environmental organizations.
They need to consider speed to market and the investments, reputation, and competencies that the initiative will require. For example, an acquire strategy will deliver high speed to market for a company setting out with low green credentials and low to medium green capabilities—but it involves significant investment.
A company choosing an architect strategy must have high green capabilities and medium to high green credentials—and be prepared for a low speed to market. Companies unwilling or unable to allocate major resources for green initiatives will find accentuation the most attractive way to enter green markets.
For others, green growth may be part of an enterprisewide sustainability initiative to retool operations, shift the culture, and, ultimately, reposition the organization. This third step involves acting on all the factors that affect successful execution.
That means the companies that ultimately succeed in growing green will be distinguished by their commitment to corporatewide sustainability as well as the performance of their green products. You have 1 free article s left this month. You are reading your last free article for this month. Subscribe for unlimited access. Create an account to read 2 more. Competitive strategy. Three smart paths to developing sustainable products. Manufacturing: Frito-Lay installed solar panels on its SunChips factory.
To leverage latent assets? Revitalize existing brands? Broaden appeal to green customers? Gain green credibility? Are there potential green brands in our portfolio? Do we have the resources and capabilities needed for this initiative? Your portfolio How will this initiative affect the positioning of and resources for our existing brands? Your customers Which consumers in the category are looking for greener products?
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