True Meaning Of Green $
A new generation of mean, green, marketing machine has been shifting attitudes towards electric cars. Most large automotive companies are still pouring money into electric vehicle development, and venture capitalists are still hot on their heels. Despite the epic financial recession, venture capital investment in green automotive technology keeps rising, and the biggest winners; smart automotive suppliers. But it isn’t just about electric vehicles, it is also about time automotive companies started considering complete energy and manufacturing cycles.
The problems faced by the traditional automotive industry, particularly companies in the US, have been well documented. Maybe only to support a glorified lessons-learned system that will never see the light of day. But for many outside investors, now is “THE opportunity” to take a chunk of the market themselves by supporting new clean technologies. Those investors are perhaps supported by naive government initiatives to drive green solutions forward. This opinion based on recent investment decisions in the automotive industry. Governments are being urged to use their new-found power over the banks to pursue environmental goals. They should create a “green bank” to finance the building of energy infrastructures for a low-carbon economy. One idea to raise money; banks should issue green bonds. The borrowing could be specifically for low-carbon investment, and the bonds guaranteed by the governments, making them a sound bet for investors.
So then, is turning green really all about churning green? From a profit standpoint, turning green is creating opportunities for automotive companies to increase their profit margins. One can say that turning green does translate to a bigger profit for automotive enterprises willing to gamble. However, problems arise when some of these businesses start initiatives to somehow justify the unbelievable price tags that they put on their green technologies. In direct contrast to warnings that green policies will harm the automotive economy even further, such practices will actually create new jobs and generate extra revenues. Also reducing waste and pollution usually saves businesses money, which should mean higher profit margins and better, greener automotive products for consumers.
Green is still THE automotive business catchword these days. It helps sell simple technologies branded as planet savers. It compels companies to launch campaigns asking customers to use less fuel. It fuels investment in startups that promise to make energy out of things like algae, hemp, and sunlight. But since the credit market squeezed shut and the stock market began to plunge, the “economy”, “redundancies” and “credit crunch” are becoming the new automotive catchwords – competing with “green”, and “green” is now simply becoming “expensive”. Hybrid technologies might shrink fuel bills in a few years, but it costs a lot upfront. And investors, who have just watched the money in their bank accounts evaporate, are once again wary of investing in risky green technologies.
Governments have vowed that energy independence is a top priority, and have pledged to invest billions over the next decade in clean energy innovations, and have indicated support for systems that penalise pollution. Plans to create green-collar jobs are crucial to build a new green automotive industry. Successful green automotive businesses will have a double bottom line, measuring both their profit and their impact on the environment. But it’s not just about the latest and greatest green technologies. Some suppliers are profiting by changing the way they produce components they have long been making, rather than by marketing new green technologies. But with oil prices reaching record highs again, and with renewable power upstarts luring hundreds of millions of investment dollars; with most car companies struggling to develop more fuel efficient cars; and with automotive businesses from every tier level scrambling to cut their energy costs and burnish their public images with a green veneer, it seems the right time work smarter, not harder.
Here at CARNORAMA we can discuss trends as they unfold. At its most fundamental level, the automotive demand for energy in order to grow and prosper is set hard against the realities of climate change and the impacts of business-as-usual on the environment. How those tensions are resolved will depend in large part on which policies are pursued now, and where the money is going to flow next. In most cases automotive companies are thinking about environmental issues because they’re feeling more heat on the subject and want to be part of this fashionable hype cycle. Energy costs are soaring, shareholders and drivers are pushing harder for eco-friendly practices, and regulators are finally laying down stiffer rules and penalties. In this new climate, simply recycling cars or improving fuel-efficiency just isn’t enough anymore. But the corporate sustainability push isn’t just about avoiding trouble. Businesses are also recognizing the opportunities of going full-cycle green may provide in future. The green-consulting business is still in its early stages, and it’s not just big automotive companies seeking out advice; suppliers of all sizes are turning to consultants to overhaul their operations and portfolio.
In the advent of a renewed consciousness and concern over the planet’s future, some automotive companies have started initiatives that are supposed to be beneficial for the environment because of recycled materials, lower energy consumption, etc. However, simple logic tells us that companies are still businesses, and as with all businesses, they exist for the same reason: MONEY – the true meaning of green $.
