Going green is all about the green

Is it politics or good business to go green?

To listen to talk radio and the pundits, you’d think going green is all about politics, regardless of which side of the aisle you sit.

While Al Gore tells us we’re all sliding to hell on a melting glacier, Rush Limbaugh argues that we have a patriotic duty to guzzle gas.

But does it really have to be a choice between liberals and conservatives, democrats and republicans even in the primary season? Why can’t sustainable business practices just be about business?

Put another way: Since when is taking costs out of the supply chain a political choice?

I got to thinking about this earlier in the week after I wrote a column on getting efficient in 2008.

No sooner had I fired the piece off into cyberspace when a newsletter from Tony Friscia, CEO of AMR Research, showed up in my inbox.

Titled “Surviving the recession by saving the planet”, Friscia explained how three industry leaders were boosting their bottom lines with sustainable business processes. These companies were getting more competitive by getting green. Friscia’s conclusion: “In this environment, the best companies will seize the opportunity to make manufacturing plants and buildings more efficient, design for sustainability, and take significant cost out of the supply chain in the name of environmental sustainability.”

I don’t know anything about Friscia’s politics or those of the CEOs of Texas Instruments, Wal-Mart and Hewlett-Packard, Friscia’s examples. I do know that all three companies understand how to make a buck.

Andrew Winston, co-author of “Green To Gold” and the keynote speaker at NA 2008 in Cleveland this April, made a similar point to me in a conversation we had right before Christmas. “The politicizing of the environmental issue has done a disservice to a lot of people,” Winston said. “That’s unfortunate because the business reality of the Green Wave should have nothing to do with where your politics are.”

Winston’s point: When GE launches its Ecomagination initiative, it’s not taking sides with Al or Rush, it’s trying to open up markets for new products and new business that will yield shareholder value.

If going green makes us all feel a little better about the planet or allows us to check off the sustainability box on the annual report, that’s great. If going green lets us create more efficient materials handling systems reduce supply chain costs, and improve the bottom line, that’s even better, regardless of whether you think Al or Rush is right.

Is your DC or factory going green? If so let me know by posting a comment below, or send me an e-mail Robert.Trebilcock@verizon.net.