It is Okay to be a Capitalist, Right?

Post contributed by Aaron Fairchild:

Not too long ago I gave a talk at Bloom!, a local Seattle function where sustainable business entrepreneurs have 18 minutes on the clock to tell their story, answer questions and then move on.

It is a jazzy and frenetic format, and I had a lot of fun being part of the party-like speaking event. A week or so afterwards I asked the event organizers if they received any feedback on my talk, good or bad. The response was for the most part positive, except one person who commented that I was, well, “too capitalistic.” Pause… Deep breath… Contemplative grin…

I cut my green teeth nearly 20-years ago, at what was then, the hippy liberal University of Western Washington, taking classes on environmental justice and ethics. At the time I lived with Johnny D, an Earth First activist who used our kitchen as the hub that the local Earth First crew used to plan out their next monkey-wrenching action against the man. We thought that a career in environmentalism meant that you were either going to be an activist, an advocate in a non-profit somewhere, or an academic. No one at that time was considering capitalism’s role in the environmental movement. We considered capitalism to be the cause of our environmental problems, and not one of many remedies that can be used to cure them.

I understand where the comment after the speaking event comes from, and it continues to cause me to smile when I reflect on it. I don’t begrudge that perspective; I welcome the discussion as long as we don’t get bogged down in it. I continue to think it is amazing that there is even a discussion to be had, which is a sign of how far we have come. The fact is, markets that are allowed to run free within the regulatory framework imposed by society have efficiency, scope and scale far beyond academia, advocacy, and activism. However, we shouldn’t embrace free markets and capitalism at the expense of the others. They all need to co-exist and be cross-functional and supportive, but we must recognize that economy rules our world, and a fringe issue that is not embraced by the economy will always remain on the fringe. Until capitalism goes green, or the green movement goes capitalistic, society will continue creating brown fields, brown skies and toxic resources at the expense of future generations. Let’s take a peek into where capitalism is heading…

Daniel Goleman, the nationally known social psychologist and author of the #1 bestseller, Emotional Intelligence, recently completed a new book, Ecological Intelligence. In his book he explores how to remedy the lack of insight and understanding into the ecological impacts of the products we buy. He argues that by boosting our “ecological intelligence” we will collectively increase our understanding of the hidden ecological impacts and in so doing, bolster our resolve to improve them. He discusses how brain researchers examining purchase decisions have demonstrated that consumers’ emotional reactions to products’ ecological impacts matter for sales. Goleman examines how companies in several industries such Wal-Mart and industrial chemical production companies are already changing the way they manage their supply chains to address the need to limit their impacts and position the business to thrive in a radically transparent marketplace. He states that his mission is to, “alert businesses to a coming wave, one that will wash over any company that markets a man-made product.” He calls for “radical transparency” in the marketplace that allows consumers to be ecologically intelligent about the products they purchase.

Another new arrival on the marketplace scene is the L3C. The L3C is a “Low-Profit, Limited Liability Corporation.” This is a new type of LLC that is designed to attract private investors and philanthropists in ventures designed to provide a social benefit. An argument can be made that a new legally designated entity doesn’t need to be created in order for organizations to provide a social benefit. If a profit maximizing organization tackled the same business sector as a low-profit organization I would submit that it could provide a far greater social benefit. There are several issues that would need to be addressed to flesh out the argument, but the fact that there is an argument to be had is encouraging. The L3C is yet another sign of our progress and the nature of our progressive times.

There are more examples of capitalism gone green, from Socially Responsible Investing (SRI) to sustainable supply chain management. In fact, there are so many examples that I simply can’t mention them all, however, one example that is close to home remains. At G2B Ventures we are actively engaged in helping to support efforts in profitable environmental enterprise. We are working hard to demonstrate the value of smart energy efficient refurbishments in the residential housing market using a market-based approach that is acutely aware of public policy overlap into the sector. By being focused on profit maximization, and working with several local stakeholders to develop a market-driven premium for energy efficient homes, we will capitalize on the enhanced returns of energy efficiency to the benefit of our investors. If we can do this, we will be one more example that when green goes capitalistic, society and the environment are beneficiaries as well as the investor.