As world economies continue to shudder at a still-spreading network of recessions, arguments for green technology are finally starting to win big businesses round.
Big business thinking greener
For homeowners, green technology currently means solar PV panels and the feed in tariffs (FITs), and by the end of the year it will mean insulation and other energy efficiency requirements for anyone signing up to the Green Deal.
But recent big business news should give encouragement to anyone interested in sustainable energy, as it is becoming clearer how after an initial investment green technology can be cheaper and – think about a house that retains heat and generates its own energy - far more valuable in material terms.
Screw Business as Usual
Richard Branson’s new book Screw Business as Usual is an example of a successful businessman with serious green intentions.
He is a businessman to the bone and writes about the environment in business terms:
“Doing good is good for business.”
This is the language also being spoken by General Electric, who have pledged an initial £3.1m to invest in ‘clean startups’ in a joint venture with The Carbon Trust.
They will provide an ‘incubator’ for start-ups of between £100k - £250k.
Investment race
There is clearly a race for the green technology market and no one would dispute that behind the good intentions is an intent to profit as much as possible. However the point is not that good business doesn’t make money but that bad business is unsustainable.
As Richard Branson writes,
“Business, or capitalism, for the most part, has been a means of making money… [it] has come at a cost not reflected in the balance sheet.”
Billions and billions of pounds
Green Party MP Caroline Lucas is calling for a £70bn Green Quantitive Easing (GQE) package that is comprised of £20bn for fitting free sola PV panels for 3 million south-facing UK homes and £18bn for spreading around various other measures to kick-start the Green Deal. It’s not clear what the other £32bn would pay for.
The conclusion that can be drawn here is that the argument will be won not around which makes better economical sense – sustainable or unsustainable energy – but how to harness the savings and turn them into big scale profit.
