Greener Japanese Companies

There is a long list of Japanese companies that are investing in sustainable innovation. Many of the world's best known Japanese brands are seeing the wisdom of green.

Sharp has built a solar-cell factory that raised its output to 1.3GW last year, from 790MW the year before. According to Ernst & Young, we could see a fourfold growth in Japan’s solar panel market by 2020.

Sanyo has re-emerged as the world’s largest maker of rechargeable batteries as well as a producer of solar panels. On April 1, 2011, Sanyo Electric became a wholly owned susbsidury of Panasonic.

Panasonic is expanding its energy businesses, from electric-vehicle batteries to hydrogen fuel-cell generators, and hopes to more than triple revenues from the segment to Y3,000bn ($36.4bn) by 2018. Like many other companies in Japan, Panasonic is also making its manufacturing operations greener, doubling the ratio of recycled materials used in its products and raising the recycling rate for its own industrial waste to virtually 100 per cent.

Nissan and Mitsubishi Motors have begun selling battery-driven electric vehicles, building on a green-car market pioneered by Toyota's top-selling Prius hybrid.

© 2011, Richard Matthews. All rights reserved.

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Consumer Demand for Green

Green is increasingly part of almost every survey measuring consumer interests and/or buying behaviour. A well informed public is asking businesses to make more responsible choices and rewarding those that do with their patronage. In response businesses of all sizes are finding ways to make their operations more sustainable and environmentally responsible.

A recent article written by Dr. David Suzuki and Dr. Faisal Moola indicates that, "protecting our planet is no longer seen as a fringe activity. Most people now consider themselves to be environmentally aware and are taking steps to help. Caring for the environment has become mainstream – it’s the “new normal. Businesses respond to consumer demand, and the right demands can result in real benefits for the environment."

With the help of the David Suszuki Foundation, the Overwaitea Food Group has adopted a program that emphasizes sustainable seafood. Overwaitea president, Steve van der Lees said, "doing the right thing always pays off.”

As Kathleen McLaughlin writes, in an article entitled "Consumers Want Green Furniture Options, "environmentally friendly has transcended from a buzzword to a multi-million dollar revenue generator spanning many industries."

A "2008 Green Marketing Consumer Study," sponsored by the Sustainable Furnishing Council, indicates that appoximately half of respondents are "very interested in global warming and have started doing what they can, with the No. 1 action being to buy green products in a variety of categories."

According to another report, a majority of respondents indicated that businesses should reduce greenhouse gas emissions. The report also indicated that people are more likely to purchase products bearing a seal that proves corporate sustainability commitments.

Earlier this year Joel Makower wrote an article in which he reviewed the marketing data on Green and discovered that the vast majority of consumers say they have adopted, "greener habits in their daily lives, and shop for at least some products with a keen eye on their environmental provenance and energy and climate impacts. In other words: the marketplace is getting greener -- way greener.."

Consumers do not appear to be deterred by the current state of the economy. One study quoted by Makeover indicates that 82 percent of Americans say they're still buying green products despite changes in the economy.

Consumers have expressed real interest in making Greener purchases in everything from seafood to furniture and the business community is responding to this ever increasing consumer demand.

Business owners simply cannot afford to ignore consumers because if they fail to respond to consumer demand for Green, others will seize the opportunity.


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Green Investing Part 2: The "Green Wave"

According to an article entitled, Finish Rich, "the financial consequences of a changing climate and the global crisis it is presenting are staggering in their implications for both corporations and consumers. Those that adapt to become “eco-conscious” will flourish financially—and those that don’t may be financially devastated. The fact is, companies are already dedicating billions of dollars annually to becoming eco-friendly, and many of these companies are quickly returning millions of dollars.

As (bestselling author) David Bach points out in GO GREEN, LIVE RICH, the emerging “green economy” presents the single greatest investment opportunity of the 21 st Century. “Green investing is finally coming into its own, which is great news for the environment—and your ability to build wealth,” he says. “Green investing is simple, it’s about investing in opportunities, companies, and services that both support and promote efforts to reduce CO2 output, improve the environment, and turn the tide on global warming.”

To catch the “green investment wave,” Bach suggests investing in the new breed of SRI (Socially Responsible Investing) index funds and exchange-traded mutual funds (ETFs) that screen out companies that engage in ethically and environmentally destructive practices and screen in those that have embraced sustainability and have demonstrated a strong sense of environmental and social responsibility. While the number of “green funds” available will explode in the coming years, many of the funds already available have outperformed the S&P 500, proving that investing green is a viable strategy."

Next: Green Investing Part 3, Finding and Assessing