2011: Big Changes in Store for The Green Suits

Cross-posted from TheGreenSuits.com:

2010. What a challenging year.

In January 2010, many thought that by the December 2010 we’d all be riding the green economy tsunami. Woo hoo!

And certainly, I looked forward to 2010 with great hope that it would be the breakout year.

But as each month of the year passed–and the job market showed no measurable improvement (and some months, actually regressed)– the new green economy looked less promising.

And that tsunami we thought we’d be riding by now? It is still in sight, but remains well off shore.

2010 was a truly amazing year for me as I became a published author; in April my book–Tailoring the Green Suit: Empowering Yourself for an Executive Career in the New Green Economy–debuted in hardcover and e-book formats. And it sold remarkably well! Thanks to each and every person who bought a copy or downloaded the book to their Kindles and smartphones. I hope you enjoyed reading the book as much as I enjoyed writing it.

Now…A PREDICTION: 2011 is going to be our breakout year…REALLY! (This year I truly mean it!)

And the good news for 2011? TheGreenSuits.com will reach out to thousands more aspiring green business executives across the U.S., empowering them to make the career pivot of their dreams!

You might have noticed that The Green Suits’ logo on this website’s masthead now includes a tag line: the executive recruiting and career development community for the green business revolution. And in Spring 2011, this site will become a true online community, redesigned to help business executives seek obviously green careers–in corporate sustainability–or develop resource sustainability and social responsibility practices at not obviously green companies.

As 2011 begins, we will be hard at work transforming TheGreenSuits.com into a true social community. New career advancement and training tools are being developed to help The Green Suits reach their goals, faster. And our guidance will extend to eco-entrepreneurs as they establish environmentally (and financially) sustainable and socially responsible enterprises.

The potential universe of Green Suits is formidable: over the next several years, we estimate that the universe of green-suited American business executives could grow to more than 68 million people. And the core group of Green Suits–those executives who believe “green defines them”–could tally some 15 million executives. And we want to have a role in empowering as many of them as we can!

This will probably be our last post of 2010. We need to wrap up some projects and start early on some new ones. And we are going to take some well-deserved time off.

To all who celebrate, we wish you a Merry Christmas. To others, Happy Kwanzaa. And to others still–Happy Festivus!

And for everyone who reads TheGreenSuits.com regularly, may you all enjoy a happy, healthy, prosperous, and verdant 2011.

LET THE GREEN SUITS REVOLUTION BEGIN!

Clorox Goes for Transparency, Lists “Ingredients Inside”

Cross-posted from The Green Suits:

The Clorox Company, long a proponent of green business best-practices, has extended its commitment to product manufacturing transparency by listing its products’ ingredients on-line.

Clorox’s corporate website now includes a new Ingredients Inside page which provides easy click-throughs to each of the company’s products, ingredients, and Material Safety Data Sheets.

We are encouraged that this formidable consumer packaged goods marketer has taken such big steps for the sake of transparency. Yet another reason why discriminating green business executives – The Green Suits – will favor career opportunities with The Clorox Company and other committed green businesses over non-compliant companies.

Forget Politics: Green Business is Here to Stay

Cross-posted from The Green Suits:

Yesterday, I received a comment to an earlier post. The commenter, Kwame, referenced the special election to fill the late Ted Kennedy’s seat in the U.S. Senate. He wondered what affect Republican candidate Scott Brown’s surprise special election win would have on the state of green business. I thought Kwame’s question was an interesting and timely one, worthy of inclusion in a separate post.

From a political standpoint, Tuesday’s special election struck national Democrats like cloud-to-ground lightning. And as a result, Democrats in the U.S. Senate have lost their filibuster-proof super majority of 60 seats.

Massachusetts special-election voters may not have been thinking about green business when they cast their ballots. But with the Bay State’s decision to elect a conservative Republican to the U.S. Senate, the goals that President Obama and Democrats in Congress set out to achieve – including renewable energy projects, green tech, clean tech, and so-called “green jobs” – would appear to be at-risk.

From a political standpoint, time will tell how well green business issues resonate with members of Congress.

But from business standpoint, I don’t think that green business will be severely impacted. From Fortune 100 brands like IBM to Wal-Mart to the smallest of enterprises, many well-respected companies have embraced – or are about to embrace – energy efficiency, sustainability, and corporate social responsibility.

We know that American companies of all sizes are going green because doing so makes good business sense. What we don’t know is how long will it take before the new green economy takes hold.

I have high hopes for 2010. And, in the months ahead, I believe we are going to make a lot of progress on the green business front. Hopefully soon, lots of high-paying green business executive jobs will materialize.

Maybe now, as a result of this stunning Republican win in normally Democratic Massachusetts, green energy and green jobs will be less about politics – less about avoiding filibusters in the U.S. Senate – and more about getting people back to work, quickly.

To paraphrase President Obama, Green business should not be a Democratic Party or Republican Party priority. It should be an American priority.

So to Kwame and the rest of The Green Suits out there, I say forget politics. Green Business is here to stay.

And those green business executive jobs of your dreams? Get ready! They are on the way!

2010: Green Business Outlook Hopeful

Cross-posted from thegreensuits.com

Will 2010 be the breakout year for green business?

My goodness, I certainly hope so!

Many of us thought that 2009 was going to be the year for green business, because President Obama won his landslide election partly on a pro-green business platform.

But like many things in politics, the Law of Unintended Consequences became an irrepressible force: the official unemployment rate hit 10 percent (while the unofficial out-of-work estimate spiked to 17 percent); thousands of businesses closed and millions of mortgages foreclosed; and the health care debate nearly deadlocked the 111th Congress.

With so many Americans paying singular attention to all the bad news that has been reported, in 2009, the share that identified global warming as a serious threat dropped by nearly half. What is more, President Obama’s approval rating slipped below 50 percent. Understandably so, Americans are jittery and impatient.

Some navel-gazers have already dubbed 2010 “2009.2″ But I am not aligned with such pessimists. I believe 2010 will be the year we pull out of the trough.

Here are some indicators (causal or anecdotal) that may signal a return to economic stability, and most-importantly, the growth of the green business sector:

1. American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (ARRA) funding for green business has reached very few targeted projects. But I believe ARRA funds will, during the first six months of 2010, flow more-readily to green businesses;
2. More traditional companies and organizations will embrace sustainability and corporate social responsibility. Their budgets for energy efficiency will continue to rise. And the number of professional training and career-development opportunities offered by such companies and organizations will increase, significantly;
3. The U.S. Patent & Trademark Office has indicated that patent applications for green and clean technology will now be fast-tracked. As a result, more companies will invest many millions of dollars in the development of green and clean intellectual property;
4. Seeking a way to mitigate double-digit unemployment, many states may offer new business development funding for green tech and clean tech enterprises and start-ups. We may even see a bidding war between states vying for renewable energy and conservation technology businesses;
5. Expect a spike in hiring for green industry-focused sales and business development executive talent. GOOD NEWS: that is an indicator I am already seeing. Similarly, in the aftermath of the 9/11 attacks and the 2003 recession, executive recruitment specialists saw spikes in activity that ultimately led to more wide-scale and sustained executive hiring.

For me, 2010 is a glass that is definitely more than half-full. And for all of you eager to embark on an executive career in green business, the future looks very bright.

Here’s wishing you all a Safe and Happy New Year!

2010: BRING IT ON!

Deloitte LLC’s CEO on “Getting Your Hands Dirty”

I am a big fan of global accounting giant Deloitte LLC, a professional services company that takes corporate philanthropy and social responsibility very seriously.

According to Deloitte CEO Barry Salzberg, the role of corporate philanthropy is going through some big changes.

Deloitte certainly writes a lot of checks for the benefit of non-profit organizations; it is one of the-most philanthropic companies in the U.S. and the globe. But company-culture is about “getting (your) hands dirty;” through skill-based volunteerism, Deloitte leverages the talent of thousands – its accountants, consultants, and executive-management – to help non-profit organizations “run better businesses.” As a result, communities improve and people in need are empowered by developing the skills necessary to get well-paying jobs and better manage their personal finances.

Salzberg has posted a terrific piece in the online edition of today’s Washington Post. Here he discusses how the role of corporate philanthropy has changed:

What I find so exciting in this shift is the blurring of roles — non-profits and social entrepreneurs behave more like businesses, and for businesses, there is a sweet spot where social mission merges with the organization’s strategic interests.

Corporate Social Responsibility is an essential part of the triple-bottom-line: profit, people, planet. By going beyond “cutting checks” Deloitte connects its talent to the communities it serves, and helps make life better for millions of people in need.

TIAA-CREF’s CSR Move: Drop Companies Doing Business with Sudanese Government

Cross-posted to Sturdy Roots Blog:

TIAA-CREF, the leading provider of retirement services in the academic, research, medical and cultural fields, has announced a campaign to pressure portfolio companies that maintain business relations with the Sudanese government to cease those relations or attempt to end genocide and ease suffering in Darfur. The organization plans to intensify pressure on such companies and divest from those that fail to take meaningful steps to respect human rights.

From a TIAA-CREF News Release:

TIAA-CREF believes that members of society have a moral responsibility to confront genocide and crimes against humanity. Therefore we are publicly asking companies operating in Sudan to help alleviate the suffering of its people. With that in mind, TIAA-CREF will:

Seek meetings between TIAA-CREF executives and executives of target companies to encourage them to take positive and meaningful humanitarian steps and attempt to end genocide;
Publicly endorse the U.N.-sponsored Principles for Responsible Investment. Signatories include institutional investors with a combined $2.5 trillion in assets under management with whom we will join to urge companies operating in Sudan to confront human rights abuses; and
Call upon other financial services companies to follow our lead and increase pressure on target companies.
We will evaluate progress within nine months and, if we still hold positions in these companies at that time, we will divest their shares from all accounts if milestones showing significant progress are not achieved, and announce that decision publicly. If target companies – PetroChina, CNPC Hong Kong, Oil and Natural Gas Corporation, Sinopec, and PETRONAS – refuse to meet with us, we will divest promptly. If they agree to engage in a productive dialogue, we will continue to hold their shares as long as progress continues and as long as portfolio management concerns warrant. If a company takes meaningful steps to ease suffering and attempts to end genocide, we will remove it from our divestment list and continue the dialogue to assure changes occur.

We recognize that genocide and crimes against humanity, whether in Darfur or elsewhere, require a higher standard of response. While we believe that attempts to use our standing as shareholders through quiet diplomacy is the most effective way to influence corporate policies and practices, in cases where companies may substantially contribute to genocide or crimes against humanity, we may intensify engagement, raise its visibility or limit its duration if we believe that such action is necessary to cause companies to improve their stance. Even in these cases, we believe that divestment should be considered as a last resort, only after efforts to pressure companies to revisit and change their policies have failed.

TIAA-CREF’s Policy Statement on Corporate Governance sets a high bar for divestment. In making our decision regarding Sudan, TIAA-CREF considered a number of factors, including the gravity of our concerns in Sudan, the likelihood of successful dialogue with target companies and our conclusion that divestment would have an insignificant impact on the financial performance of our participants’ portfolios.

We applaud TIAA-CREF’s noble campaign, and hope that it encourages other companies and institutions to develop their own impactful CSR inititatives. We also hope that it motivates like-minded executives to consider a career-shift to CSR program management.

In The News: Zogby Poll Finds 55% of Companies Have Green Strategy; 54% of Business Executives Favor Green I/T Solutions

A Zogby International survey of business executives finds that more than half are embracing green strategies (most especially ones that improve company efficiency and reduce operations costs).

Also:

54 percent of executives said that they’re much more likely to buy technological solutions to help with their overall green strategies, and over two-thirds said they’d also consider adopting technologies to manage energy consumption within buildings.

UPDATE: More findings from Sustainable Life Media, available here.