Green is as green does
Posted on August 19, 2008
When Al Gore won the Nobel Peace Prize for launching his assault on the climate crisis, people started giving green initiatives a little more attention. Now, he’s spending $300 million on a really cool campaign
produced by the Martin Agency in Richmond to get people to join his cause.
Not to be outdone, Exxon, BP and other big oil concerns are spending an equal amount to convince us that they are doing their best to find alternatives to oil. For American oil icon, T. Boone Pickens, it’s not oil that’s the problem – it’s foreign oil. He’s spending another small fortune on television commercials to tell us about his plan to displace foreign oil with wind and natural gas. Overall, companies and causes are spending over a billion dollars a year to tell us how green they are.
The green economy is creating opportunities that weren’t there before. Whether it’s a market for carbon credits or a certification program for paper products, a lot of the new revenue in the green economy is being created out of thin air. The majority of this new green wealth will do little to save the planet. But, the very existence of this new economy is based on the fact that there’s a crisis. It’s a lot like 1999, when computer software companies created a market around the fear that January 1, 2000 would bring mass calamity. The difference with the climate crisis is that we’re talking about saving the world several thousands of years from now. It’s a sustainable market.
About a year ago, Citibank announced it would be investing $50 billion over the next ten years in green technology and green business models. In a world where we follow the money, that’s a pretty difficult signal to ignore. If you look at Gore’s Plan, Exxon’s Plan and the Pickens Plan, each one is designed to take advantage of the new green reality. Gore’s “WE” campaign will capture the fastest growing segment of consumers and voters by appealing to their sense of social responsibility. Exxon will spend just enough on green R&D to justify its $50 billion profits until the oil runs out. And, T. Boone Pickens wants to appeal to our national pride and convince the government to buy into his wind farms and natural gas caverns.
So, what’s the Valley’s Green Plan? Recently, Councilwoman Gwen Mason teamed up with Stan Breakell, who recently put his construction company through a green makeover, to form the Roanoke Business Environmental Leadership Coalition. More than a dozen of Roanoke’s largest employers endorsed a plan to make the city “cleaner and greener.” Meanwhile, the Roanoke Valley-Allegheny Regional Commission is just beginning to develop a comprehensive environmental plan for the broader area.
While these efforts may be a step in the right direction, how can the Valley position itself to take advantage of the tidal wave of green investment? When you’re looking at a line of coal cars stretching as far as the eye can see, it’s difficult to be objective. And, when you pull out of town and enter the flow of diesel engines on I-81, you’re not exactly feeling environmentally inspired.
In that wonderful world of potential, there are hundreds of marketable green technologies being developed in conjunction with Virginia Tech right now. We’ve got a functional partnership between the University and Carilion Clinic to develop medical technologies and educate medical researchers. The same opportunity exists to leverage partnerships between the University and companies like Novozymes, Meridium, or Luna into a green story.
Remember, in this new economy, crafting your green story is just as important as minimizing your carbon footprint. The great thing is that it doesn’t matter what your current green profile is. If Exxon can make you believe that they’re saving the environment, then our Valley can be the greenest place on earth.
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