Commitment to Green

With the economy nosedive, everyone's questioning the commitment to sustainability - both by businesses and consumers. A slew of research has come over the transome and the blogosphere is spreading it all over the place. RSS feeds lit up like Vegas on this topic in the past couple weeks.

It seems the market is still jittery about how real this shift to sustainability is - I haven't heard the "is green just a fad?" question lately, but there does seem to be fatigue in the media and general consumers about the topic. My stock answer about the cleantech category is that it's not going anywhere - it's as stable as biotech is - and the VC funding figures back that up. Q3 08 saw a billion dollars go into 73 deals. But this jitteriness can threaten marketing investments as CMOs get the axe out.

The sense of doubt about the longevity of sustainability is probably a hangover from being beaten over the head with political and Chamber rhetoric of the past several decades that "dirtier" technologies are the safe bet where all the jobs are, and that any move forward toward a new energy and sustainable business economy would drive the US lifestyle to the brink. Ironically, it turned out sticking to the old ways of thinking has driven Detroit to the taxpayer handout window and put the US behind the EU in wind and solar - big margin business with lots of jobs.

Here're a handful of links to some interesting stats:

Sustainable Life Media -
70% of IT Managers Say "Green" is Still Top Priority

IDC Touts Business Benefits of Green

Markets Chucking Green Campaigns as Economy Slows

Are Consumers Rethinking Their Commitment to Green?

Center for Media Research - Green not Consumers "Go" Button

Christian Science Monitor - Even as Economy Lags, Corporate "Green" Push May Advance

CIO Magazine - How CIOs are Responding in the Economic Downturn