To Really Save the Planet, Stop Just Going Green

"To really save the planet, stop going green." Those powerful words headline a recent piece by Mike Tidwell, Executive Director of the Chesapeake Climate Action Network (CCAN) and our nation's leading visionary for a cleaner, greener future. Strong, but true words, spoken at the exact right point. I believe that we've now reached a tipping point in the world of all things "green." Every business with even a hint of a consumer face now has some "green" statement, message, program or item. Businesses across the nation, including Clean Currents, are committed to some sort of voluntary environmental pledge. The greening of America's businesses is done. No, not literally done. There's still a lot to do. But the process has been started and will only continue to grow. Everybody is already, or about to, "go green." That's great, but now it's time to move to the next phase and that's where Mike Tidwell's strong words come in.

The recent news about companies leaving the U.S. Chamber of Commerce is perhaps the first battle in the next phase of our march to a secure climate, free of global warming. Apple led the charge of companies leaving the Chamber, which also included electric utilities such as Exelon. Nike resigned from the Board of the Chamber. All of this was done because of the Chamber's stance on climate change legislation. Apple and these others are showing that just 'going green' is no longer enough. That was Climate 1.0. In Climate 2.0, all of us, consumers, businesses, etc. will be judged on our greeness not just by our voluntary actions, but by our commitment to positive legislation that will dramatically cut the greenhouse gases causing climate change.

I'm proud to work together with my colleagues in the non-profit environmental advocacy world to push for this kind of legislation at both the state and national level. At Clean Currents, we incentivize our employees to get involved by providing a subsidy for membership in environmental organizations and by encouraging them to make their voices heard in the climate debate. We need to change the laws of this nation to better protect our environment. Yet, we should also continue our voluntary efforts. They make a small difference, perhaps, but they also introduce people to important environmental values. They educate the broad swath of the population that helping the environment can sometimes help protect your bottom line as well. I understand that it is a combination of voluntary actions and positive environmental legislation that will save the planet. Thus, I would tweak Mike's words to perhaps say, "to really save the planet, stop just going green."

In 2010, Clean Currents will commit to improving our environmental performance. We will work for positive environmental legislation in the nation's capital, and in our home state of Maryland. We will help our employees and customers understand the nature, and urgency, of the energy choices before us. We aim to be a leader in Climate 2.0 - to advocate for green laws as well as continue to make green choices. Our planet's future is at stake, so we can do no less.