{"id":1011,"date":"2007-05-29T18:50:34","date_gmt":"2007-05-29T16:50:34","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/en.greenmedia.md\/?p=1011"},"modified":"2007-05-29T18:50:34","modified_gmt":"2007-05-29T16:50:34","slug":"ges-ecomagination-green-is-universal","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/salvaeco.org\/ges-ecomagination-green-is-universal.html","title":{"rendered":"GE’s Ecomagination: Green is Universal"},"content":{"rendered":"

Last week, on the second anniversary of the launch of GE\u2019s ecomagination<\/a> initiative, the company held a massive press conference in Los Angeles to announce its many new partnerships. Since this was a press conference, I was skeptical of the information to be provided\u2026was this just going to be one big GE commercial love fest? And perhaps more importantly, would I drink the Kool-Aid?<\/p>\n

The answer on both questions? Yes and no. My skepticism of the motives of corporations aside, I must admit a bias in favor of the impact that businesses (especially businesses the size of GE) can have on the climate crisis we currently face. However, companies must be able to make a \u201cbusiness case\u201d for green initiatives. In other words, going green has to be profitable for the company. Remember, the three elements of the triple bottom line<\/a> include profit. Yes, it would be nice if companies made changes to improve their footprint out of a concern for people and the environment, and a few companies do just that, but the business world is not designed to reward such behavior. To get a critical mass of companies on board, profit must be achievable.<\/p>\n

Apparently, GE Chairman and CEO Jeff Immelt feels the same way. His new mantra is \u201cgreen is green,\u201d meaning that green business equals green money. This could not be more true for GE. According to their May 24th press release<\/a>, \u201cRevenues from its (ecomagination) portfolio of energy efficient and environmentally advantageous products and services surged past $12 billion in 2006, up 20% from 2005, while the order backlog rose to $50 billion.\u201d<\/p>\n

Wow. <\/p>\n

Immelt goes on to say, \u201cThese extraordinary revenues and orders are the initial payoff from directly aligning our product portfolio with our customers\u2019 needs and evolving trends, while \u2018doubling-down\u2019 on investments in leading edge technology and innovation. Ecomagination is growing beyond our expectations, evolving into a sales initiative unlike any other I\u2019ve seen in 25 years at GE.\u201d<\/p>\n

Though skeptics will point to the fact that ecomagination represents a small piece of GE\u2019s business, this growth can only be good news. A company the size of GE can have a huge impact with their investment in new technologies, as well as in spreading the word through their visibility.<\/p>\n

Immelt announced at the press conference a series of new partnerships and investment in many divergent industries, including:<\/p>\n