Hult International Business School Publication "Greenovate!"

A Hult International Business School publication named "Greenovate!" is the first publication in the Beyond Eureka! series of studies by the Center for Innovation, Excellence, and Growth (IXL). The joint publication explores the topic of developing consistent and dependable processes of innovation as well as how companies can employ environmentally-friendly strategies and turn a profit.

The companies they profile include one that makes smart, solar-powered garbage cans that signal trash collectors when they are full, thus reducing fuel costs. This is but one innovative example of the 50 companies featured in the inaugural publication.

The book examines a range of industries and many different products that are profiting from the adoption of sustainable business practices. Each company profile includes the goals and barriers encountered.

Research compiled for a unique hands-on MBA consulting course by the Hult graduating class of 2009 was also incorporated into the book. The publication clearly illustrates that the confluence of good business sense with environmentally-friendly strategies can enhance a product or service.
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Ferrum College's Climate Research Opportunities

Ferrum College offers an excellent undergraduate program and great opportunities for environmental research. Ferrum College professors Bob Pohlad and Carolyn Thomas are part of a team that will receive $494,980 from the National Science Foundation (NSF) for environmental research related to climate change.

The money will be used to establish a national ecological and education network that will begin with 12 primarily undergraduate institutions (PUIs) and expand to colleges and universities throughout the United States. The work has been shown to be significant both in terms of tracking environmental issues, and increased student learning and understanding.

Collaborative projects engage students in scientific research while teaching them basic ecology, “It’s unusual for undergraduate students to be able to do this kind of research,” said Thomas.

“It’s important to point out that students at Ferrum College and the 11 other PUIs, will be out in the woods and wading streams — taking measurements, studying wildlife, and learning how to use the data.” Thomas explained that the data is combined with research from other institutions, so scientists can measure changes over time.

"What is most important," Thomas expained, is that “students will be learning, while the world gains a clearer picture of what’s happening around us.”
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Green Investing Part 3: Finding and Assessing

Finish Rich has a few useful suggestions for finding and evaluating Green Investments. If you are eligible for a 401(k) plan at work, find out if your “investment menu” includes a green fund. If it doesn’t, speak to your plan administrator and express your interest in having an SRI or a green fund added to your choices.

Begin researching a few green funds Many green funds have posted double-digit returns, and some were up over 30 percent in 2007. This does not mean you should invest your entire retirement savings in a green fund. Many of these funds are narrowly focused and volatile. Others are more broadly diversified. So before you invest, do your research carefully and consider green investing as a piece of your overall financial plan and diversification. A great place to start your research is at Morningstar, which evaluates funds, their diversification, and their levels of risk.

Find out how your current investment holdings perform in terms of sustainability by visiting Climate Counts, a nonprofit organization that brings together companies and consumers in the fight against global warming. Climate Counts provides a scorecard for companies in eight sectors based on their commitment to fighting global warming.

Find a financial planner who specializes in socially responsible investing. Go to Social Investments Forum, and click on “individual investors” to find a financial services directory and other tools.

Next: Green Investing Part 4: Top Performing Green Funds and Resources

Green Science

Green science is very important to anyone who seeks to employ sustainable business practices. Although rarely explicitly communicated in an effective marketing message, scientific evidence must implicitly support Green marketing claims. By definition scientific investigation means that conclusions will always be subject to review. Therefore it is incumbent upon sustainable businesses owners to continually reevaluate their Green promises.

Atmospheric sciences, environmental chemistry, ecology, and geosciences have all contributed to the large and growing body of evidence. Taken as a whole the results confirm climate change, reductions in biodiversity, diminished water quality, soil contamination, resource depletion, and air pollution.

Those who try to dismiss the plethora of data ignore the facts. There are those who have funded environmental research as a stall tactic. Others argue that such things as climate change are part of a normal process citing the fact that we have experienced periods of global warming (and cooling) in the past. However it is a fact that our climate is warming faster as a consequence of human habitation. This should be obvious to even the most cynical scientist, taken as a whole the weight of the evidence is irrefutable. There is no simple panacea, but there is scientific consensus: Threats to our environment are real.

Marketing messages that pander to doubters may lose the attention of their core audience. There is adequate exposure to scientific evidence to discard the views of the politically motivated or intellectually questionable luddites who feel climate change is some kind of hoax. Effective Green marketing is often best when it implicitly incorporates sustainable attributes. Knowledge does not infer wisdom, but it is an important step on the road to intelligent stewardship. Scientific observation is an invaluable tool, what we do with it, is up to us.