Going green: Damn the economy, full speed ahead

Going green: Damn the economy, full speed ahead

There is, of course, a huge interest at the moment by companies and venture capital people in going green. And often they find they can be environmentally wise and save (or make) money at the same time.

But with the U.S. economy staggered by the sub-prime mortgage mess, with the dollar losing value against other currencies, with the “R” word now in the vocabulary of economists and analysts, and with $4-per-gallon gas on the horizon, there is some danger that green will become less of an interest.

Stay the course. Keep going green despite new pressures on sales and profits. Because going green is good business, as well as good for the planet.

The encouraging news is there are lots of companies that are trying to make a difference—and succeeding. Our own Hearst tower in Manhattan, the first building to receive a Gold LEED-certified rating in New York City, features low-E glass in the building envelope, sensors that control lighting based on the natural light available, and over 90% of the buildings structural steel contains recycled material.

Applied Materials is installing 1.9 megawatts of solar power generation capability on the roof space and parking areas of its research campus in Sunnyvale, CA.

In July of last year, Hewlett-Packard announced it had met its goal six months early to recycle 1 billion pounds of electronics, and set a new target for another billion pounds by the end of 2010.

Thousands of energy saving innovations that component suppliers are coming up with will make a huge difference. Such as ON Semiconductor’s recently released 8-W external ac/dc power supply reference design that takes only 200 mW at no load and is at least 75% efficient at all loads.

The environmental movement is not a short-term fad. It can’t be, because it is too important—important to each of us and important to business. It is here to stay and it’s making a difference right now. So stay the course and overcome any reluctance to spend money on green if or when profit goals become harder to obtain.

Jim Harrisonjpharrison@hearst.com