Will you support companies with "Chief Green Officers"???

[EcoConnoisseur]

EINI's CEO & CGO, Yeves Perez, and GM, Anthony Harris, were interviewed on February 11th, 2009 by Fox 5 San Diego reporter Brian Flores. The story was about the rise in the Green Economy, the increase in Green Building, the investment in Green projects (which Green Investors should pay attention to San Diego), and noting the many new Green Collar jobs that are being created in today's recession. One such notable and possibly the highest paying (and high accountability) Green Collar job, even with the current economic mess, is the Chief Green Officer or Chief Sustainability Officer.

See the interview here:


Also see the highly visible article by the NY Times: "Companies Giving Green an Office"
http://www.nytimes.com/2007/07/03/business/03sustain.html

"Many high profile appointments have already been made", says Perez. Mitsubishi has already announced that President and CEO, Ryoichi Ueda, has been appointed as Chief Sustainability Officer for the company's North American operations. According to the press release, the move signals the rise in importance of environmental considerations within the company. Several other corporations have also made such appointments including, Georgia-Pacific naming Bill Frerking as its CSO, Polymer Group Inc (PGI), a producer of engineered materials named their chief marketing officer, John Heironimus, to be its first CSO, and even Law firm Nixon Peabody has appointed Eco-Warrior, Carolyn Kaplan as its Chief Sustainability Officer. The firm says it is the first in the legal industry to establish such a position.

Although many law firms have separate practices that occasionally serve sustainable clients needs, at Nixon Peabody, we combine our legal experience, thought leadership, and good citizenship to serve our clients as very few other law firms can, said Harry P. Trueheart III, chairman and managing partner of Nixon Peabody. With Carolyn serving as chief sustainability officer, we intend to take our firm-wide green initiative to the next level.

Yeves Perez is also noted as San Diego's first "Chief Green Officer" and was inspired to form the position by a report by AMR Research titled, "The Rise of the Chief Green Officer" from November 2006 and written by John Davies.

Davies reports, "While solving the worlds biggest problems profitably may seem like a stretch goal, AMR Research has discussed that specific topic during 2006 with many of our Global 2000 clients. What weve found is that industry leaders understand the need for building a sustainable business. Few, if any, question the impact of global warming, all have concerns about energy security, and the role of globally responsible citizenship is taken seriously. They also see unique opportunities for new products and services for the emerging green economy. The intersection of business risk and profitable opportunity is giving rise to a new role in the organization: the chief green officer."

The Report goes on to target specifics:

Global enterprises do not pick up a focus on sustainability overnight. While many companies can rightly point to a long history of good citizenship and responsible stewardship, the impact of a business on the environment has become an increasingly important issue for senior management. Many of the companies describe a journey of transformation—a journey some have only recently begun while others started decades ago when their businesses faced critical environmental challenges.

For each of these companies, the journey can be characterized by four major stages:

Compliance—Being legally accountable isnt really an option, but as a director at a large chemical company explained, Compliance by itself is extremely expensive. You need to integrate compliance to be a minor piece in a broader framework of sustainability.

Personal commitment—In many of the leadership companies we visited, while past and present CEOs may have provided the initial enthusiasm, they also recognized the need for institutionalizing a philosophy of sustainability.

Public trust—Earning public trust is a matter of mitigating risk as well as increasing brand attractiveness. While public relations, marketing, and lobbying efforts are sometimes viewed as greenwashing, executives in leading companies dismiss that label. Their response is typically, Dont trust us, track us.

Sustainable growth—Besides being good community citizens, green business leaders are identifying opportunities to develop new green products as well as technologies that increase energy efficiency, reduce waste, and conserve critical resources.

http://www.amrresearch.com/Content/View.asp?pmillid=19972

The reason why we ask the question, "Will you support these companies with Chief Green Officer's??", is because the conversation needs to be started for one, and two, the Eco Investment Club has worked to create real world curriculum to train executives for this new c-level position. The first step was to found a practical definition on Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chief_Green_Officer

So, what do you think??? Do you think you have what it takes to be a Chief Green Officer? Do you think your company needs one? And, do you have a company you love that has let you down in not keeping long-term commitments, but you think that having someones butt on the line (a Chief Green) will change things around?

We think Apple needs a Chief Green Officer for sure! Read this post: "Where's My Greener Apple"
http://www.ecoinvestmentclub.com/content/view/43/40/

EINI, Inc. is the parent company of the Eco Investment Club. Visit http://ecoinvestmentclub.com to learn more.

[greenteadrinker]

If it's just a title for some slob -then no.
But if he or she is truly accountable for sustainable products going out the door-you bet!

[tigerlily78]

I'm not sure if I would support them or not...

There is potential of course for the Chief Green Officer to be a strong influence on company policy and product development. On the otherhand, it can just as easily be a "fluff" position which gives a good impression in terms of PR, but doesn't afford the power to change anything. The best thing is probably to support companies where the CEO is essentially the CGF as well (Seventh Generation, Pangea Organics, etc).

With the mad rush to jump on the Green bandwagon, I imagine we are going to see more and more one-dimensional environmental policies ("we cut our water use by an astonishing 7% this year"... while increasing energy use 25%), greenwashing, and other signs that the Sustainability Department is still just an afterthought for most companies.

I think there will be a tendancy to hire people for these positions who were MBAs first, with sustainability being something they merely learned about from reading a trade magazine. Just like with the EPA the last 8 years, there will be a concerted effort to "talk the talk" with enthusiasm and confidence, but when it comes to action the Sustainability officer may be a lame duck.

[David Balch]

I won't purposely support any large company that pays their higher ups high salaries while laying off the working man

[SgtMaj]

If it's just a title for some slob -then no.
But if he or she is truly accountable for sustainable products going out the door-you bet!

Exactly!

[SgtMaj]

I won't purposely support any large company that pays their higher ups high salaries while laying off the working man

Just accidentally, eh?

[EcoConnoisseur]

If it's just a title for some slob -then no.
But if he or she is truly accountable for sustainable products going out the door-you bet!

I happen to agree that a slob with a title is a 'bad idea', however true accountability is the point and hiring someone to manage long-term efforts and paying them well is a good thing, right? I would also like to point out that the more a company stays on track with a initiative to build brand value and consumer loyalty, the better the chances the company can offer job security to it's labor force (in most cases).

For Example:
On Apple’s website the company clearly stated:
“From the earliest stages of product design through manufacturing, use, and recycling, we take care to keep our activities and our products environmentally sound". Four areas of particular attention are product and packaging design, responsible manufacturing, energy efficiency, and recycling. Each aspect of the design cycle provides significant challenges, yet our efforts in these areas have resulted in some impressive results.”

Now, I'm sure that non of us here (maybe not everyone agrees) doubts that Apple makes good, solid products and has made some significant environmental commitments. But, the fact is that Apple put out one of the most toxic phones on the market, the iPhone, and there was no one responsible to the CEO and the board of directors for keeping their 'products environmentally sound'.

Read More about Apple here: Missed call: the iPhone's hazardous chemicals
When will promises of a greener Apple bear fruit?http://www.greenpeace.org/international/news/iPhone-test-hazardous-toxic-chemicals151007

So, the question is: If a company like Apple, had a CGO that was held fully responsible for not keeping commitments and would possibly lead the way for the industry by setting significant milestones in reducing Carbon Emissions and keeping the company's 'feet to the fire' before releasing even one toxic product to its customers... would you support Apple more or less?

And really, Apple doesn't need a CGO for PR or marketing, when they have U2...

Steve Jobs, the CEO of Apple, also wrote the following on his “Greener Apple” page:

HIgh C02 Emissions Plaguing Apple? “Apple has been criticized by some environmental organizations for not being a leader in removing toxic chemicals from its new products, and for not aggressively or properly recycling its old products. Upon investigating Apple’s current practices and progress towards these goals, I was surprised to learn that in many cases Apple is ahead of, or will soon be ahead of, most of its competitors in these areas. We will be providing updates of our efforts and accomplishments at least annually, and we plan to bring other environmental issues to the table as well, such as the energy efficiency of the products in our industry. We are also beginning to explore the overall carbon footprint of our products, and may have some interesting data and issues to share later this year. I hope you are as delighted as I was when I first learned how far along Apple actually is in removing toxic chemicals from its products and recycling its older products. We apologize for leaving you in the dark for this long. Apple is already a leader in innovation and engineering, and we are applying these same talents to become an environmental leader. Based on our tangible actions and results over time, hopefully our customers, employees, shareholders and professional colleagues will all feel proud of our ongoing efforts to become a greener Apple.” - Steve Jobs
http://www.apple.com/hotnews/agreenerapple

[EcoConnoisseur]

I think there will be a tendancy to hire people for these positions who were MBAs first, with sustainability being something they merely learned about from reading a trade magazine. Just like with the EPA the last 8 years, there will be a concerted effort to "talk the talk" with enthusiasm and confidence, but when it comes to action the Sustainability officer may be a lame duck.

I would definiately take a closer look to the writing on the wall, as the rise of Green MBA programs increase dramatically, like Presidio's MBA in Sustainable Management program and other world renowned institutions work to lead the way by hosting groundbreaking programs like, UC San Diego's Scripps Institution of Oceanography and the Rady School of Management parntering to offer an executive education course tailored to Senior level executives called, "Climate Change and Business: The ROI for Going Green.” The fact is that these new leaders may be our greatest hope in the realm of Corporate Leadership.

[EcoConnoisseur]

I won't purposely support any large company that pays their higher ups high salaries while laying off the working man

Not to be rude, but we are in a recession, and that means consumer confidence is low. So, if 'all of us' clicked on less advertisements of Treehugger.com and revenue hit an all-time low for the company, and management decided to lay off a couple of hard, working men or women... your saying you would not support them in hiring someone that could make better corporate decisions in the realm of energy efficiency in the IT department and possibly taking the company virtually paperless, which may reduce operational costs by 15% and allow them to rehire?

[EcoConnoisseur]

See for yourself what a Qualified Chief could bring to a company:

Meet Carolyn S. Kaplan, Counsel and Chief Sustainability Officer
For Nixon Peabody in Boston, MA (an international law firm)

Practice Areas:

Environmental
Cleantech
Energy
Project Finance
Real Estate & Community Development
Experience

Carolyn Kaplan serves as Chief Sustainability Officer for Nixon Peabody. In that role she identifies opportunities to better service and partner with clients and others on joint sustainability initiatives and she works closely with the firm’s Chief Administrative Officer to reduce the firm’s carbon footprint and green its supply chain. She also co-chairs the Renewable Energy Team in the firm’s Energy and Environmental practice group, which is composed of attorneys experienced in the development, construction, financing and operation of renewable energy facilities. She has assisted clients on a variety of renewable energy projects, including siting of land-based and offshore wind energy facilities.

Carolyn Kaplan concentrates her practice on federal, state, and local land use and environmental matters. She represents developers, property owners, institutions, corporate clients, and other regulated entities concerning the land use implications of complex real estate transactions. Ms. Kaplan has built a reputation for applying creative development techniques to achieve client business goals, and she is skilled at developing permitting strategies that facilitate project review and approval.

Ms. Kaplan counsels her clients on the array of issues that affect development projects and facilities, including environmental impact review, wetlands, waterways, and tidelands licensing, storm water, water supply, wastewater, zoning, and hazardous waste site assessment and remediation. She is adept at navigating the often overlapping jurisdictions of federal, state, and local permitting programs. Ms. Kaplan interacts with and appears before various regulatory boards and agencies, including local conservation commissions and zoning boards, state environmental agencies, and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).

Ms. Kaplan frequently assists clients on “bet-the-company” matters and in high-stakes enforcement and litigation. She has negotiated settlements, administrative orders, and consent decrees with federal, state, and local enforcement agencies, including the U.S. Department of Justice and the U.S. EPA. She has successfully litigated and settled matters with opposing nongovernmental organizations.

Ms. Kaplan is well-versed in the detailed regulatory requirements applicable to contaminated properties, and assists her clients to minimize liability and cleanup costs while expediting site closure. She advises her clients to take advantage of brownfields incentives and environmental insurance, as appropriate. She has negotiated settlement agreements and covenants not to sue with state environmental agencies and has overseen complex remediation projects.

Ms. Kaplan serves actively on the American Wind Energy Association’s Siting Committee and Offshore Wind Working Group and co-managed the drafting of AWEA’s Wind Energy Siting Handbook. She also participates in several state wind energy working groups. She is also a member of the Steering Committee for the State Bar Task Force on Sustainable Law Practice in California.

Ms. Kaplan’s legal experience and skill is complemented by her prior work as an environmental consultant with ICF Inc. in Fairfax, Virginia, where she provided regulatory advice and technical support to the U.S. EPA.

Ms. Kaplan has been recognized as a “Super Lawyer” in environmental law based on a peer-review survey by Massachusetts Super Lawyers magazine (2004, 2005, 2006, and 2007).

Publications:

“Congress, the Courts, and the Army Corps: Siting the First Offshore Wind Farm in the United States,” Boston College Law School Environmental Affairs Law Review, Vol. 31, Issue 2 (2004).

“Opportunities and Challenges for Wind Power Developers,” North American Wind Power, Vol. 1, No. 6 (July 2004), coauthored with Richard M. Cogen, Esq.


Speaking Engagements:

Panelist, "Getting from Trash Cans to Recycling Bins....and other ways to green your office", Urban Land Institute Green Program, Boston, MA, April 2008.

Program Chair and Panelist, Environmental Business Council of New England, Seminar Series on Land Based Wind Energy, Boston, MA, March 2008.

Panelist, “AWEA Siting Handbook,” AWEA Wind Power Project Siting Workshop, Austin, TX, February 2008.

Panelist, “Case Study: Mobilizing to ‘Go Green,’” Law Firm Green: The New Black, Association of Legal Administrators, Washington, DC, February 2008

Introductory Speaker, “Logistics: Garnering Wind Power Offshore,” EBC Seminar Series on Offshore Wind Energy, Environmental Business Council of New England, Boston, MA November 2007.

Panelist, “Legislative Update and Policy” and “Siting, Real Estate, Environmental and Regulatory Issues,” Institute for Professional and Executive Development, Inc., Financing Wind Power: The Future of Energy, Santa Fe, NM, July 2007.

Panelist, “Navigating Environmental Review: Lessons Learned from Large-Scale Offshore and Land-Based Wind Projects,” American Wind Energy Association, Windpower 2005 Conference and Exhibition, Denver, CO, May 2005.

Moderator and Panelist, “Local Permitting: Strategies and Pitfalls,” American Wind Energy Association, East Coast Siting Workshop, Boston, MA, March 2005.

Panelist, “Wind Energy Development,” Edison Electric Institute (EEI) Fall Legal Conference, Boston, MA, October 2003.

Moderator and Panelist, “Coastal Wind Power Energy Generation: Capacities and Conflicts,” Boston College Law School Environmental Affairs Law Review, Fall Symposium, September 2003.

Education:

Boston College Law School, J.D., cum laude
Cornell University, B.A.

Admissions:

Ms. Kaplan is admitted to practice in Massachusetts and the U.S. District Court, District of Massachusetts.

Affiliations:

Ms. Kaplan is active in the New England Environmental Business Council (EBC) and served as co‑chair of EBC’s Public Policy Committee. She served as a member of the Transition Committee for Massachusetts Attorney General-Elect Tom Reilly. Ms. Kaplan is a member of the Environmental Law Section of the Boston Bar Association, and the Energy and Natural Resources Section of the American Bar Association (ABA). She coauthors the renewable energy section of the biannual report for the ABA’s Section of Public Utility, Communications and Transportation Law (PUCAT). Ms. Kaplan provides pro bono assistance to the Attleboro Land Trust and the Courageous Sailing Center, a not-for-profit organization located on Boston Harbor that offers learn-to-sail programs to children.


Do you think this the Sustainability officer may be a lame duck???

[EcoConnoisseur]

I'm not sure if I would support them or not... it can just as easily be a "fluff" position which gives a good impression in terms of PR, but doesn't afford the power to change anything. The best thing is probably to support companies where the CEO is essentially the CGF as well (Seventh Generation, Pangea Organics, etc).

With the mad rush to jump on the Green bandwagon, I imagine we are going to see more and more one-dimensional environmental policies ("we cut our water use by an astonishing 7% this year"... while increasing energy use 25%), greenwashing, and other signs that the Sustainability Department is still just an afterthought for most companies.

FYI- Did you see this... Justine Burt, Chief Green Officer of Greenwala Inc. Interviews Andrew Winston about greenwashing...

[MrGreenGear]

In many companies, the role of green officer falls under the growing area of CSR "Corporate Social Responsibility"

But a Chief Sustainability Officer would be a great title

[EcoConnoisseur]

In many companies, the role of green officer falls under the growing area of CSR "Corporate Social Responsibility"

But a Chief Sustainability Officer would be a great title

Really, it's much more than CSR folks... they get slaps on the wrist compared to C-level accountability!

And, it's much more than a mire title - Read More about Google's Chief here: Meet Google’s Chief Sustainability Officer (What a Cool Job!)

By: Bob Keefe (View Article - http://www.divinecaroline.com/article/22277/44799)

When it comes to searching for ways to help the environment and reduce energy costs, few companies are looking harder than Google Inc.

In the past year, the Internet giant flipped the switch on one of the world’s biggest solar power arrays (9,200 solar panels that cover its corporate headquarters). Together with its philanthropic arm, Google.org, it also set aside $10 million for a program to speed development of plug-in electric cars, invested $20 million in wind and solar companies, and pledged tens of millions more for an ambitious initiative to find ways to make renewable energy cheaper than coal.

Why is an Internet company so interested in energy?

Partly, because it uses a whole lot of it. The massive network of computer servers Google uses to run its Internet search engine suck up millions of dollars of electricity each month, by some estimates. Finding cheap, reliable power is of utmost importance to the company. It also hopes to make money off its energy investments in the future.

But there’s also a deep streak of environmentalism that runs throughout Google, from its billionaire founders to many of its newest employees.

At the center of it all is twenty-six year old Robyn Beavers, a redhead from the Boston area who now runs Google’s “Green Biz Ops.”

In a recent interview at the company’s “Googleplex” headquarters in Mountain View, CA, here’s some of what Beavers had to say about her job, herself, and her role at Google.

Q: So what exactly do you do?

A: We basically focus on the direct environmental impact from Google. We also focus on... Click to read more http://www.divinecaroline.com/article/22277/44799

[EcoConnoisseur]

A CGO or CSO's job can also get really complicated depending on the industry which the company is firmly planted... Read the story of Dave Douglas, Senior Vice President of cloud computing and chief sustainability officer, Sun Microsystems:

News: Web Hosting Firm, Sun Microsystems, Opens Energy Efficient, Flexible Datacenters
http://www.thehostingnews.com/news-web-hosting-firm-sun-microsystems-opens-energy-efficient-flexible-datacenters-5124.html

Santa Clara , California - (The Hosting News) - February 16, 2009 - Technology firm and web hosting provider, Sun Microsystems, Inc., has introduced its newest line of highly energy efficient, flexible data centers, through the opening of a facility in Broomfield, Colorado.
Dave Douglas, Senior Vice President of cloud computing and chief sustainability officer, Sun Microsystems remarked, ''The Broomfield datacenter showcases revolutionary datacenter design with the latest in modularity, scalability and flexibility to drive incredible efficiencies in cost, electricity and overall carbon savings. As a company we've achieved our first 20 percent reduction in electricity usage since 2002, and the Broomfield datacenter is a great step forward in meeting our goal of another 20 percent reduction.''

Powered by its award-winning Sun technology and revolutionary design, the data center is estinated to save 11,000 metric tons of CO2 per year, along with the new advanced efficiency services.

Sun developed the new data center and efficiency systems in response to market demand. The largest datacenter consolidation project undertaken in the company's history, the Broomfield facility incorporates the latest in Sun's portfolio of energy-efficient systems and expertise, including breakthroughs in innovative datacenter design and power and cooling technologies. With this project, Sun estimates it will save more than $1 million in electricity costs and 11,000 metric tons of CO2 per year in Broomfield and will help Sun reduce its carbon footprint by 6 percent in the U.S. Sun also announced the availability of new datacenter efficiency services to help customers retrofit and build more efficient datacenters like Sun's Broomfield and Santa Clara datacenters.

Sounds like a fun job right?

[David Balch]

I won't purposely support any large company that pays their higher ups high salaries while laying off the working man

Not to be rude, but we are in a recession, and that means consumer confidence is low. So, if 'all of us' clicked on less advertisements of Treehugger.com and revenue hit an all-time low for the company, and management decided to lay off a couple of hard, working men or women... your saying you would not support them in hiring someone that could make better corporate decisions in the realm of energy efficiency in the IT department and possibly taking the company virtually paperless, which may reduce operational costs by 15% and allow them to rehire?

No I would not, not if they were already paying the higher up idiots too much
These companies that pay people 1 million + a year
Are you telling me one person making 1 million a year can do more work then 10 people being paid $100k a year?
If so you are lying, plain & simple