Making green by going green
Irish Satirist Jonathan Swift once wrote “A wise person should have money in their head, but not in their heart.” Now Swift penned this thought in the 18th century, but this belief is still prevalent in the world of business today; when it comes to financial matters, you are in the business of making money, not making friends.
In the interest of full disclosure, I’ll admit to being a follower of the financial world. I even dabble a little bit with investments. The amount is nothing substantial, just a little start towards putting something in the hopper for retirement. And in following financial trends over the past few years, one common theme that has been tossed around has to do with the ideology that one cannot make any serious money by investing in green companies. Of course there are disclaimers to that.
For example, one of the biggest companies involved in the technology behind wind power is General Electric. GE, which also happens to be one of the biggest companies in the world, would not be classified as a green company. They have minor stakes in a few related industries, but for the most part, their bread and butter is still being a multi-faceted mega-conglomerate company with interests in major industrial fields such as jet engines, diesel locomotives, parts for military and commercial aircraft, etc. Along with being parent company of NBC and being well-known in the commercial appliance market.
So why would GE, a company projected to earn in the neighborhood of nearly 190 billion dollars in 2008, yes that’s billion with a b, invest in technologies that are guaranteed to lose money? Perhaps the notion that no money can be made in green investments is a farce?
Microsoft, for all their negative press regarding their computer business and the Vista debacle, has also jumped on the green bandwagon as well. Microsoft is headed by Bill Gates, a name known to just about anyone with a pulse. Through the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, the Gates’ have funded such worthwhile causes as college scholarships, AIDS prevention programs in Africa and other third-world nations and the Foundation currently funds 17% of the WORLD’S budget for the eradication of polio.
And it was Bill Gates who spearheaded Microsoft’s investment in Pacific Ethanol. In terms of market capitalization, only Archer-Daniels-Midland, based in Decatur, IL, has a higher success rate in ethanol production. Maybe ethanol is not the alternative fuel of the future, but it is the alternative fuel of the present and Microsoft saw an investment opportunity to pounce on.
On Thursday, Nike announced their latest version of the Air Jordan shoes were green. No, you couldn’t buy them in the color green. The shoes themselves were produced with more environmentally safe methods and materials such as recycled rubber for the soles as well as less reliance on harmful adhesives and glues. In fact, Nike built new machines specifically for the purpose of producing their new eco-friendly footwear, which will only set you back $230 a pair.
No one wants to be viewed as the bad guy. Everyone wants the best of both worlds; to do something good, but make a profit in doing so. Make no mistake about it, these companies, GE, Microsoft and Nike, are all in the business of making money. They have shareholders and investors to answer to and all three companies are major driving forces in how the markets perform on a daily basis.
Perhaps with these major companies getting on-board, others will join the green wave and provide some much-needed capital infusion in fledging green companies. Appeal to someone’s bottom line and it’s amazing to see how quickly they snap to action.
But if going green is a losing proposition, why are these companies doing it? Long-term investments and public relations aside, these companies see that going green is going to become more than a buzzword. It’s going to be a lifestyle choice for their consumers and they know business will be driven towards these new, emerging technologies. They are making small sums now, but they will be making huge sums in the very near future.
Soon, by going green, they will be making a lot of green.
In the interest of full disclosure, I’ll admit to being a follower of the financial world. I even dabble a little bit with investments. The amount is nothing substantial, just a little start towards putting something in the hopper for retirement. And in following financial trends over the past few years, one common theme that has been tossed around has to do with the ideology that one cannot make any serious money by investing in green companies. Of course there are disclaimers to that.
For example, one of the biggest companies involved in the technology behind wind power is General Electric. GE, which also happens to be one of the biggest companies in the world, would not be classified as a green company. They have minor stakes in a few related industries, but for the most part, their bread and butter is still being a multi-faceted mega-conglomerate company with interests in major industrial fields such as jet engines, diesel locomotives, parts for military and commercial aircraft, etc. Along with being parent company of NBC and being well-known in the commercial appliance market.
So why would GE, a company projected to earn in the neighborhood of nearly 190 billion dollars in 2008, yes that’s billion with a b, invest in technologies that are guaranteed to lose money? Perhaps the notion that no money can be made in green investments is a farce?
Microsoft, for all their negative press regarding their computer business and the Vista debacle, has also jumped on the green bandwagon as well. Microsoft is headed by Bill Gates, a name known to just about anyone with a pulse. Through the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, the Gates’ have funded such worthwhile causes as college scholarships, AIDS prevention programs in Africa and other third-world nations and the Foundation currently funds 17% of the WORLD’S budget for the eradication of polio.
And it was Bill Gates who spearheaded Microsoft’s investment in Pacific Ethanol. In terms of market capitalization, only Archer-Daniels-Midland, based in Decatur, IL, has a higher success rate in ethanol production. Maybe ethanol is not the alternative fuel of the future, but it is the alternative fuel of the present and Microsoft saw an investment opportunity to pounce on.
On Thursday, Nike announced their latest version of the Air Jordan shoes were green. No, you couldn’t buy them in the color green. The shoes themselves were produced with more environmentally safe methods and materials such as recycled rubber for the soles as well as less reliance on harmful adhesives and glues. In fact, Nike built new machines specifically for the purpose of producing their new eco-friendly footwear, which will only set you back $230 a pair.
No one wants to be viewed as the bad guy. Everyone wants the best of both worlds; to do something good, but make a profit in doing so. Make no mistake about it, these companies, GE, Microsoft and Nike, are all in the business of making money. They have shareholders and investors to answer to and all three companies are major driving forces in how the markets perform on a daily basis.
Perhaps with these major companies getting on-board, others will join the green wave and provide some much-needed capital infusion in fledging green companies. Appeal to someone’s bottom line and it’s amazing to see how quickly they snap to action.
But if going green is a losing proposition, why are these companies doing it? Long-term investments and public relations aside, these companies see that going green is going to become more than a buzzword. It’s going to be a lifestyle choice for their consumers and they know business will be driven towards these new, emerging technologies. They are making small sums now, but they will be making huge sums in the very near future.
Soon, by going green, they will be making a lot of green.
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