Winston explains companies are facing a growing number of stakeholders concerned about the environment, from four basic ones (shareholders, customers, government, competitors) to at least twenty in five major categories:

1. Rulemakers & Watchdogs Government concerns used to be mainly federal. Now there are pressures from multiple entities — global and international (EU, Kyoto protocols) as well as state and local. Example of local initiative: US Mayors Climate Protection Agreement, which 393 cities have adopted as of February 1, 2007.

2. Business Community (pressure from partners and competitors) Wal-Mart [WMT], a key driver at 2-3% of U.S. GDP, announced a six part sustainability plan February 1, 2007 engaging suppliers and workers to join in greening effort.

3. Consumers & Community (power of boycotts)

4. Investors & Risk Assessors Banks, Capital Markets used to stand back but now assert enormous impact VC world made a giant leap — now 14% of venture capital going into alternative energy.

5. Idea Generators & Opinion Leaders (think tanks, academia)

• Rise of the consumer
• Globalization
• Technology
• Transparency — everything is now captured, recorded and transmitted around the world in real time. When everything is accessible, you have to do the right thing.

• DuPont [DD], created an eco-efficiency plan between 2003-2005 yielding $1.6 billion savings in waste reduction and $.3 billion savings in holding energy use flat. Their net income during that period was $1.6 billion. What would have happened if they hadn't made this effort?
• Toyota's [TM] Prius comprises only 1-2% of sales, but they are ramping up production. GM executives believe Toyota has gained an edge and WSJ reports that "Record profits, virtuous cycle could allow it to open a yawning lead over rivals."
• GE's [GE] ecoimagination and BP's [BP] brand building campaigns. [Hmm... are these not more greenwashing than actual strategies for sustainability?]

What doesn't work: ignoring the real needs of the customers. McDonald's [MCD] introduced a ceramic coffee mug to cut down on disposables, not acknowledging their customer was interested buying mobility.

Why aren't there more green products? Green companies? How do we get there?

• Culture: A company needs to instill a culture where everyone is included and accountable in green efforts.
  Everyone's familiar the Exxon [XOM] Valdez fiasco. No one's heard of oil spills from Conoco [COP], the energy unit of DuPont, because they invested in double-hulled ships to prevent the problem. (Multinational Monitor offers a less rosy take on their efforts.) Dell [DELL] is thinking of the complete life cycle of their computers, offering donation and recycling plans for their customers.
  
  
• Goals: Think Big.
  Toyota's [TM] president, Katsuaki Watanabe announced he wanted to make a car that drives across the United States on one tank of gas. Today, the Prius can make it from New York, NY to Columbus, OH on one tank.

More information about the book, Green to Gold, and Andrew Winston's blog can be found at Eco-Advantage. The talk was introduced by Jacquelyn Ottman, green marketing author and innovator, and followed by a panel of people that discussed how they are capitalizing upon eco-advantages in their own firms. Most intriguing was Miranda Magagnini, CEO of IceStone, who's creating green-collar jobs and gorgeous cradle-to-cradle certified surfaces made from recycled glass and concrete at IceStone's factory in Brooklyn.

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